| BY | Kerry Cheah |
| YEAR | 2024 |
| DETAILS | Paperback, 83pp 21cm x 29.7cm |
| LANGUAGE | English |
Exactly Foundation – National Service by Kerry Cheah
$45.00
Won’t somebody please think of the children?
As Singapore’s resident TFR (Total Fertility Rate) continues its gradual decline, it is no wonder that the government has babies on its mind. Pro-family policies are tweaked every few years, ostensibly to support young families who decide to have more children. The messaging that accompanies these policies is clear – families are the key building block of society, therefore a strong Singapore requires strong families. The state is the benevolent nanny, offering assistance and clearing obstacles where required.
From the moment Kerry started thinking about this project, she knew that she wanted to prioritise representation, sorely lacking in our media landscape today. Real families of different forms, just trying to get through the day without any romanticising of family life.
Fertility is not just a female issue that ends with childbirth and as self-apparent as it seems, the decision to have a child has life-long consequences for all parties involved. By documenting different families and their routines at similar times of the day, Kerry brings to life these “consequences” as a way of instigating reflection.
About Kerry Cheah
Kerry Cheah is a Singapore-based photographer of people’s relationships – with each other and with their environments. Her professional focus is on helping families see and embrace the beauty in their ordinary lives, by creating honest, heartfelt and intimate images of them just as they are. She is the wife of an exceedingly patient man and mother of two irrepressibly energetic boys, and struggles everyday to be grateful and kind. Her goal is to bring the same ethos of finding beauty in authentic lives to her social documentary projects, working at the intersection of light and shadow to both illuminate and provoke questions.
About Exactly Foundation
Exactly Foundation is a not-for-profit, trademarked registered label established by Li Li Chung to commission photographers to create works that stimulate discussion of social concerns in Singapore. Its goal is to produce new knowledge by having viewers engage with the photographs and share them with friends and family over a 2-3 month period.
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