Primary 1
Made in collaboration with Peter Reed & Sian Ni Mhuiri
Drawn from a personal experience of an education in Singapore, Primary 1 is an investigation into the potency of educational imagery as a tool that shapes the young minds of society. Exploring the balance between idealism and reality, globalisation and nationalism, the installation looks at the images we enshrine and wonders why we chose them.
Primary 1 inherently deals with the theme of art and education. The photographs have been created as a direct response to the visual imagery and the captions to the images are quotes from Singapore Primary School textbooks. The work questions and aims to discuss how education shapes young minds (both positively and negatively) as it traverses the delicate line between asserting homogeny and celebrating diversity. Drawing on Jemima's experiences in various forms of education in and out of Singapore, Primary 1 offers both a personal and universal response to growing up and out of lessons that were once held dear.
Conceived as a performance within a photographic exhibition, Primary 1 was developed and exhibited as an installation as part of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2011: On Education at Jendela Visual Arts Space, The Esplanade in January 2011.
Audience Impressions
"a memorable sight to behold... I feel it reflects the entire plethora of how students think about school"
"As always, challenged to think."
"A note for the future"
"cute and inspirational"
"I loved how you captured the tensions of conformity and individuality."
