Born in Singapore, David Chan (b. 1979) graduated from LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts in 2003 and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2004. Participating in exhibitions since 1998, Chan held his first solo exhibition, ‘Genetic Wonderland’, in 2004. In 2009, he took part in the 2nd Animamix Biennial in Taipei, Shanghai and Beijing. In 2004, Chan was the winner of the 23rd UOB Painting of the Year Exhibition (Representational Medium). Chan’s works often feature modified animals, commenting on issues such as the ethics of genetic engineering in a playful yet thought-invoking manner. This painting is the first in Chan’s exploration into this subject, and is inspired by the film, ‘Gattaca’, where the genetically enhanced population regards the normal population as inferior, subjecting them to unfair treatment. Similarly, in ‘This Little Pig Couldn’t Go Home’, the normal piglet is ostracized by its family of blue pigs, for being normal.
