A photographic exploration of online personal ads, revealing larger ideological forces at play. Online personal ads today are a distinct part of the internet landscape. They conceal as much as they reveal. In Bao Bei, an installation at The Substation Gallery, artist Jason Wee looks at the ways through which identity is reconstructed through online personal ads. In particular, photographic self-portraits found online are scrutinised for their codes and tropes, and how these tropes may reveal the affects and consequences of larger political forces. The works begin as photographs found on various online personal ad portals. These photographs are processed for online viewing, then overlaid with text taken from the individual ads themselves. The images and texts are juxtaposed with quotes from the seminal Kuo Pao Kun play, Descendents of the Eunuch Admiral, a thought-provoking dramatic exploration of origins and identity. Jason Wee was awarded the Shell-NAC Scholarship in 2004. He is currently pursuing a two-years Masters programme in Fine Arts at Parsons School of Design (New York), specialising in photography and related technologies. He has exhibited his photography in Singapore and Malaysia. His writings can be found in The2ndRule, Vehicle, The Straits Times, and the anthology Love Gathers All. He is also the co-editor of SOFTBLOW Poetry Journal. Bao Bei is Jason's first exhibition in Singapore since receiving the Shell-NAC Scholarship.