Sebastian Tan

Originally commissioned for the 53rd Venice Biennale for the artist’s solo exhibitioin Life of Imitation at the Singapore Pavilion, this work is inspired by a scene from the classic Hollywood melodrama by Douglas Sirk, Imitation of Life (1959) where a black mother meets her mixed-race daughter who has been running away from her true ‘identity’. This version features 3 male actors from the 3 main ethnic groups in Singapore (Chinese, Malay and Indian) taking turns to play the black mother and her ‘white’ daughter. The identity of the actor for each role constantly changes with each shot.

You. Have. Only. 72 Hours. A sudden collision in outer space caused a meteorite to head towards Earth and its impact will annihilate the whole mankind. In the sterile state of Singapore, any apology from the government is deemed irrelevant and for once its people are urge to go ahead and do whatever they want and leave behind no regrets. A newscaster decides to profess her secret love for her superior to her husband. A married man decides to tell his family that he actually wants to be a woman. An old cop shares with his subordinate that he had taken a bribe 20 years ago... But what if the world does not end? For the honest ones, it is their end of their previous world.

In Achiever Secondary School, a new teacher fresh from NIE arrives for his first day of school, his mind filled with thoughts of sweet young kids who are willing to learn and altruistic dedicated teachers eager to teach. He later finds that his dream job has some nightmare moments, the kids are not so easy to lovingly nurture and the teachers he loved and respected are somewhat lacking when he has to work alongside them. Also, a group of new Secondary 1 students become friends, learning through school activities and classes about growing up and the meaning of true friendship, and sometimes even learn something academic, if they're lucky.

Bee encounters setbacks as she, with the help of neighbors, turns her humble shop house into Fried Rice Paradise the Restaurant. Hanging over all this is a mystery. Was her mother's death an accident, or something far more sinister?