Concept
We are a group of NUS students in the University Scholars’ Programme,
and have conceptualised this piece of transactional art for the module UAR2201 Cyberarts,
under the guidance of Professor Daniela Plewe.
The stresses of society and the education system in Asia are well-known,
with demanding entrance examinations, study boot camps and rising suicide rates making headlines worldwide.
From our personal experiences, much of this pressure comes directly from our parents.
Asian parents seem to have their kids’ lives all planned out,
but their vision for their kid’s future may be too overbearing or removed from their kid’s dreams,
leading to some dysfunctional relationships.
The website’s financial services seek to parallel the parents’ drive, to the extent of objectifying their own kids.
It critiques parents who pressure their kids to fulfil their own aspirations or for their own sense of pride,
by offering them a direct financial reward for their “parenting accomplishments”.
However, the system also allows space for negotiation between the controlling parent and kid.
Parents must recognise that they will not be in full control of their kids forever – as reflected by
the dilution of their shares upon the kid’s 18th birthday.
Presumably, parents who have pushed their kids “for their own good” would be validated,
as their kid should realise this by the time they are 18 and the financial returns of the parents and kids
should not differ too much. On the other hand, if the kid wants to chart his own path away from his parents’ plans,
he has the opportunity to claim his independence.
While this concept was first conceived as a satire of Asian parents, we think it might be so absurd it could actually work.
Both parents and kids come with different intentions and aspirations, why not use an open financial system to resolve it?
At the end of the day, the message is clear – in this high pressure Asian society,
discourse must occur in order to restore the relationships between parents and kids.
and have conceptualised this piece of transactional art for the module UAR2201 Cyberarts,
under the guidance of Professor Daniela Plewe.
The stresses of society and the education system in Asia are well-known,
with demanding entrance examinations, study boot camps and rising suicide rates making headlines worldwide.
From our personal experiences, much of this pressure comes directly from our parents.
Asian parents seem to have their kids’ lives all planned out,
but their vision for their kid’s future may be too overbearing or removed from their kid’s dreams,
leading to some dysfunctional relationships.
The website’s financial services seek to parallel the parents’ drive, to the extent of objectifying their own kids.
It critiques parents who pressure their kids to fulfil their own aspirations or for their own sense of pride,
by offering them a direct financial reward for their “parenting accomplishments”.
However, the system also allows space for negotiation between the controlling parent and kid.
Parents must recognise that they will not be in full control of their kids forever – as reflected by
the dilution of their shares upon the kid’s 18th birthday.
Presumably, parents who have pushed their kids “for their own good” would be validated,
as their kid should realise this by the time they are 18 and the financial returns of the parents and kids
should not differ too much. On the other hand, if the kid wants to chart his own path away from his parents’ plans,
he has the opportunity to claim his independence.
While this concept was first conceived as a satire of Asian parents, we think it might be so absurd it could actually work.
Both parents and kids come with different intentions and aspirations, why not use an open financial system to resolve it?
At the end of the day, the message is clear – in this high pressure Asian society,
discourse must occur in order to restore the relationships between parents and kids.