Being Together (Parents), 2010 by John Clang (b. 1973) Artist Statement: In this series, webcam was used to do live recording of families in Singapore. The recording was then transmitted via skype to countries where the main sitters are located and projected onto their living space. This is how families, dis(membered) through time and space, can be re(membered) and made whole again through the use of a third space, a site that is able to reassemble them together within the photographic space that we call a family portrait.Drawing upon my own experiences of being separated from my family as a New York-based Singaporean, this work documents and examines our condition of new-wave diaspora – Singaporean families of various races and ethnicities grappling with the same predicament of separation through time and space.I also want this project to document and interpret a contemporary social-historical blueprint as it happens, allowing the future generations to reflect on it.In addition, this is also an extension of one of the recurring theme of my works: the fascination with the expressions of time and space and how we negotiate our human existences within these two dimensions. this work specifically addresses the phenomenon of differing time zones, the different dimensions of our human representations, and how we can finally coexist, albeit in pixilated and two-dimensional forms.This work features John's Clang's encounter with his parents at the door of his parent's house in Singapore. It captures a brief moment of reunion which is followed by a departure as well. About the artist-photographer:John Clang is a photographer and visual artist. His fascination on time, displacement and existentialism influence his work. He held his first exhibition at 20 years old and has since participated in more than 20 solo & group exhibitions in China, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States. In 2010, he became the first photographer in Singapore to receive the President's Designer of the Year award, which is the most prestigious design accolade in Singapore. Clang was also selected by a panel of jury from over 400 nominated entries, as one of the 30 finalists for the 2010 Sovereign Asian Art Prize.
