Artist:
Sherman Ong. Born 1971, Malaysia. Lives and works in Singapore.
Exhibit:
Banjir Kemarau (Flooding In The Time Of Drought), 2008
Single channel video

Ong has set up conversations - among locals, foreign workers and new or potential immigrants. Water, as subject matter forms an incidental backdrop to their conversations as they discuss the pros and cons of the space that they might or might not call home. We are unable to do without water, but what about employment, peace, freedom and open opportunity? The issues may appear straightforward at first glance, but like Ong's film, it grows more complex and layered as it converges and engages - deeper and wider, like an expanse of water.