Introduction / Curatorial Statement

Hybridity, as described by a critical theorist Homi K. Bhabha, is the third space that results from a negotiation that occurs among various entities, including inter-ethnic marriages and relationships with varied gender expressions and power structures.

Things, including social integration, boundaries, family acceptance and happiness need to be negotiated. This negotiation is not easy due to the unequal standing among different cultures. There are power relationships among these groups which results in the aforementioned hybridity.

In which spaces does hybridity occur? Considering that humans are complex creatures shaped with ethnicity, culture, religion, language, gender, education, economic level and many more. These intersecting categories are not made equal. There is a power play within that forms in-group/out-group, majority/minority, dominance/subordinance, and so on, resulting in new customs that are also reflected in our material cultures.

“Asam di gunung, garam di laut, bertemu dalam belanga juga” is a Malay proverb that describes a serendipitous union of entities despite of long distance or different cultural ethnicity backgrounds, and one that embodies the essence of the formation of our hybrid space. 

Asam di Gunung, Garam di Laut attempts to explore these daily negotiations in the creation of this space of hybridity in our modern society. What strategies do they use to find this third space or the shared identity within all these value clashes? Also, where else – art, language, or a simple daily act such as getting dressed – do these negotiations occur so that life continues to function properly in our hybrid multi-cultural Singapore?