2021
Silver foil wrapper, felt, crocheted metallic polyester thread
11”W x 14”H
‘London Choco Roll’ is a roll cake snack well-known in Singapore and Malaysia. While distinctively London icons adorn its cover which claims to bring you a ‘Taste of London’, the Malaysian-made roll cake contains no actual chocolate.
The idea of London representing the ‘upper-class’ still swirls in the undercurrents of post-colonial Singapore. Is this presence of intricate lace- a symbol of wealth back in the day- enough of a masquerade for the artificial flavours sheathed in its confident shell?
The ostentatiously golden frame was acquired from a photography studio in Singapore specialising in graduation family portraits*; how else would guests of the home acknowledge the superior academic genes in the family?
*It is common practice to have family photographs framed and displayed in an Asian home, especially (or almost exclusively) when there are graduates in the family. The graduates will don the dress of their highest achievement (academically or of civil service).