The Camouflaged Man:

Invisibility & Mimicry

Enamel on Treated Wood, Acrylic, Metal, Mirrors

2019

​

The Camouflaged Man is someone you probably know. He doesn’t appear to be much different from the men you see on the street. Except that he is. This disparity might subject him to a harsh and authoritarian treatment; but The Camouflaged Man acknowledges the unchangeable nature of his circumstances, and he fully accepts that this is how life is like for him.

 

To survive life, The Camouflaged Man blends in with his surrounding environment; and this is how he remains unseen. Various methods are used to achieve this; sometimes by occupying and utilizing obscure, shadowy spaces to be away from the publics’ eye, while at other times, through the use of mimicry.

 

Obscure, shadowy nook and crannies of buildings have become spaces that provide refuge for The Camouflaged Man.  These are sanctuaries that would allow for the privacy and freedom for him to breathe and frolic with others like himself.

 

Through Mimicry, The Camouflaged Man hides himself by mimicking the gestures and the behavioral cues of a different man. This man is someone who is far more acceptable, favorable, desirable, and more likely to survive than The Camouflaged Man could ever hope to be, if he were to present his true nature to the world.

 

This everyday play-acting not only serves to appease the ones whom The Camouflaged Man wishes to gain approval from; it also, in turn, helps The Camouflaged Man to obtain peace with himself.

​

The Camouflaged Man: Invisibility and Mimicry was represented by Richard Koh Fine Art at the inaugural S.E.A Focus held at Gillman Barracks during Singapore Art Week 2019. 

​