Dunman Higher, 2019

Hand bounded folder with school uniform, plastic name tag, collar pin, archival pigment print

​

26.67 x 26.67 cm

​

The 3 months long artist residency program at DECK will culminate in an exhibition that will showcase new works conceived as an extended component of Qiren's critical exploration in pushing the limits of visual narration beyond the confines of the frame.

 

A combination of photography, video, objects and installation will illuminate the residency's ethos to nurture new, experimental photographic endeavors in Singapore and Asia, while at the same time casting a spotlight on Qiren's ongoing investigation on collective memory, value systems and the questioning of institutional structures.

​

This exhibition marks the first Singapore solo presentation of works by Qiren.

 

Employing satire to examine critical issues of our time, Qiren creates videos and installations that offer a subjective reading of contemporary life in Singapore.

 

Similar to other works in Qiren’s practice, the narratives and systems in his latest showcase interweave seemly disparate timelines into one another, forming a new language as a result.

 

The title of the show, Dunman Higher (2019), draws inspiration from Qiren’s personal experience with the ceaseless obsession with progress as comfort and the interconnectedness of cause and effect structures that complicate the notion of social consciousness and the production of value.

 

Together, the introspective works in the exhibition trace 3 major chapters of Qiren’s life and reveal how subtle shifting of the way we illustrate stories can challenge dominant social dogmas.