Letters To The Press / 2021 / High-definition digital video / 16:9 aspect ratio, colour, sound / 19 minutes
This work is part of the Public Assembly series – an ongoing research project that examines the public assemblies and protests in Singapore from 1950s – 1980s. The project aims to investigate the history, performative function of public assemblies and what the mass assembly of bodies in public signifies to our understanding of power and freedom. It also attempts to explore how statements are regulated and circulated.
In this video, a succession of people – non-actors selected from different professions – read a series of ten letters to the press that were published in The Straits Times between 1953 to 1957. These strongly worded letters discuss the issue of industrial unrest in Singapore, some speaking for the strikes, and others against them.
The work focuses not on any particular perspective or position, but rather the act of speaking out. By repeating these words written over six decades ago, Letters to the Press brings the lively political discourse of the past into sharp contrast with the comparatively apolitical present.
GREEN ZENG 