Artist: Grace Tan
Location: Raffles City Level 1
Description:
“Michael” is a work that explores the concept of culture and identity. By using the universally recognised and well loved Mickey Mouse character, “Michael” attempts to examine the fundamental elements that contributed to Mickey’s endearing success that transcend gender, age, race, religion, language, culture, region and time. Through the use of two colours at the opposite ends of a spectrum, “Michael” is reduced to the character’s essence. The iconic Mickey Mouse silhouette of three circles [head and ears] is reinforced by blacking out all the facial features while its signature white gloves are accentuated in contrast to the blackened figure. The gloves bear the mark of Mickey Mouse’s origin, a playful animated character from the 1920s that was modelled on the American blackface minstrelsy. Ultimately, “Michael” is not a representation of a particular racial stereotype or a performance tradition. Instead, the work seeks to contemplate how the mouse with a cheerful face, high-pitched voice, and slapstick antics who defeated adversities became a friend to everyone