Gathering of Flocks
2019

Presented at solo exhibition of the same title, held at Yavuz Gallery, Singapore.

Extending his explorations with objects and communities presented at the Singapore Biennale 2019, Gathering of Flocks introduces a new body of assemblages shaped by daily observations of urban surroundings. In this iteration, Khairullah’s neighbourhood in Singapore comes sharply into focus. Navigating these domestic and quotidian spaces since relocating to the area in late 2018, the artist has cultivated unspoken relationships and developed an intimate familiarity with his neighbours. This proximity, formed through repeated encounters and acts of looking, inevitably reveals fragments of private lives and the social demographics inscribed within the site.

Commonplace objects lining the corridors of his apartment building, such as altars and potted plants, operate as subtle yet potent markers of belonging, belief, and socioeconomic distinction. Positioned at the threshold between public circulation and private interiority, these objects function as uncanny gatekeepers to each respective housing unit, rendering visible what is otherwise meant to remain discreet. Gathering of Flocks engages with these silhouettes through the assemblage of familiar household items, including furniture parts, laundry pegs, and kitchenware. These garish and flamboyant “almost-altars” take on exaggerated forms, composed of materials that have been selectively chosen, manipulated, and reconfigured to evoke both congruence and excess.

In amplifying and aestheticising these gestures, the work draws attention to the quiet negotiations that take place within shared residential spaces, where care, self-fashioning, and surveillance coexist. The act of beautifying everyday objects becomes a strategic response to structural constraint, pointing toward the ways alternative modes of survival, dignity, and flourishing are improvised and sustained within the fabric of daily life.