Life of Imitation-

Ming WONG & Tseng Kwong Chi

My group and I went to The Tate Modern Art Museum for a gallery tour, when we came across an artwork that attracted everyone’s attention. As a result, we agreed to choose and reflect on this artwork. Ming Wong and Tseng Kwong Chi developed the piece, titled- Life of Imitation. The artwork featured two large screens side by side that showed the same scene simultaneously but with different actors from Singapore’s dominant ethnic groups of Chinese, Malay, and Indian playing in them, with the use of costume and performance to tell a story of race, nationality, gender, and identity.

Racism, discrimination, and prejudice, in my opinion, are all relatives. I admire how the two artists Ming Wong and Tseng Kong Chi recreated a scenario from the film “Imitation of Life” with a modern twist, reminding us that racism remains a throbbing problem and we should not ignore it. The anguish that has been caused persists throughout the centuries. The two running screens that play the same event with different actors seemed like a strange emotional trip to me.

The actors may look different and have distinctive features, but the one thing they wish to reiterate is that sometimes society could be brutal and that discrimination brings along sorrow, pain and suffering.

I’d want to emphasise that no one should be judged based on their looks or background. As previously stated, actors from many ethnic backgrounds were employed. As I watched the two TVs, I kept wondering if they switched roles between them. It honestly confused me. Perhaps the meaning behind is that not being able to fit in with a certain group or having difficulty embracing or discovering one’s identity is extremely perplexing and frustrating. This, I assume, is what the artists endeavor to communicate to us, the actual veiled sentiments of the sociological term- Passing.

I am happy that I get to appreciate art and learn history during this gallery visit! What a trip! : )