While many artists look far and wide to find inspiration and fresh subject material, 24-year-old photographer Jing Quek goes no farther than his own backyard. Quek, whose style could easily be described with the name of his website -- SUPERHYPERREAL -- got his start photographing locals in his hometown of Singapore (a Southeast Asian island-state measuring only 26x14 miles). The vibrant and seductive community portraits soon took shape as an ongoing series, “Singapore Idols,” which portrays a range of distinctive Singaporean characters in their natural habitats (think hardcore Star Wars role-players, weed-wackers and uniformed schoolgirls). This blossoming Singapore idol himself has since received ITS's prestigious MiniInternational and Pitti Immagine photography awards and was selected as one of Surface Magazine's Avant Guardians this year. To boot, Quek may shock you with his ability to eat dozens of ramen noodle spice packets in one sitting -- in a video on YouTube, as well his site.

Despite having lived in New York for five years, Quek still looks to his hometown to capture the beauty of what he knows best. So, to show psychoPEDIA where to bring a date, bust a move, and find the hottest babes, is the homegrown Singaporean himself:

What inspired the “Singapore Idols” project?
I’ve always been interested in shooting normal people; there are a lot of interesting characters on the street that we take for granted because we see them everyday. I started by photographing construction workers, hawkers, and trishaw drivers, and it took off from there.

What would you say characterizes the people or makes them different from New Yorkers?
We have a certain worldliness. We’re aware of what’s going on and quite up with the times. But, at the same time, we don’t have the same kind of cold, calculating cynicism of New Yorkers.

Your photos have an overtly sexual and gluttonous aspect, yet the country is pretty conservative. Has there been any backlash?
They have a sense of humor. Some people will always object, but it’s not like a girl in a bikini will cause an uproar. It is the 21st century, and we see girls in bikinis in a newspaper everyday!

What has been the reaction in general of the people in your portraits?
The thing about stereotypes is that you don’t see yourself as fitting into them. We do fit certain molds, and what I do is exaggerate it to fit a two-dimensional personality. It’s sort of a loving poke. I haven’t had negative reactions, even though some of the pictures are not flattering, because I like to capture the non-flattering aspects of the characters — the more natural, the weird. That is the difference between doing it with intention to mock versus to do it with a sense of love involved.

Where do you like to go to observe these people in action?
It’s nice to take a bus around and stare out the window. There are all sorts of hubs around the city where you can observe different people coming together. Orchard Road is the shopping district, and it spans a wide-range of people with a lot of locals shopping and watching movies. And the smaller shopping malls across the city, the more neighborhood ones, have a different crowd. We also have town centers that share a collection of shops and amenities like libraries and such.

Where can you experience the authentic side of the country, but as a foreigner?
Once you look at the town centers, those tend to be more authentic. It’s hard to separate it though, because once the place gets popular, tourists will go there. But, I do like the vibe on the east coast of Singapore – an area called Siglap that’s very laid back with an Australian café vibe. I would just go there to chill out. The more authentic side of Singapore is in the Housing Board Development. The government makes a lot of subsidized housing there in high-rise flats. That’s where most Singaporeans live, and it’s got a lot of characters there. That’s where I enjoy looking at people.

Singapore has strict rules on cleanliness. Where's the cleanest area?
Maybe the Botanic Gardens—it’s a good place to bring a date. It’s a gigantic space that connects two roads. One part is Bukit Timah Road and the other is Tangling, so they are connected by the gardens.

Your series, “Food Porn,” tells us you must be into good food. What are your favorite dishes?
Hainanese Chicken Rice. The best is from Boon Tong Kee– it’s sort of a chain nowadays.

What is some other orgasmic food?
I like murtabak– an Indian pancake with meat and onions inside. And [Italian at] Pasta Brava at Craig Road. We also have hawker centers, which are basically food stalls put all together, and they serve all sorts of food from different cultures. It’s a market open all day, a whole block of land where there are a few rows of stalls.

What are the best hawker centers?
Usually the hawker centers have two good stalls and the rest of crap. We all have our favorites, but the Queen Street Market has good chicken and rice.

Your resume cites that you have some extensive dance experience. What’s the best place to cut-a-rug?
There’s a club called Zouk that’s one of the oldest dance institutions there. I did house dancing seriously in New York, so when I go there it’s serious dancing.

You started a series called “Seksi Singaporeans.” Where do you go to find them?
It really depends on what is your idea of sexy. There are just so many gorgeous Asian girls around, so it’s hard for me to pinpoint one place. Sentosa Beach is not bad. And most people go to the clubs—the two big ones are Zouk and Ministry of Sound. And there’s Butter Factory—a hip-hop club.

Do you have any favorite galleries?
The Jendela at the Esplanade brings some good exhibitions once in a while. It’s stuck in a weird corner of the building, but I do like that space.

Do you have an ideal place where you’d want to exhibit?
I am planning a big project to produce all those shots and exhibit along the streets, on a one-mile stretch of a block around the Marina area. I’m trying to tie it up with our National Day Parade.

Any other projects in tow?
I'm planning on creating a book of 80 to 100 photographs showcasing communities within Singapore, ranging from well known to obscure, to produce a modern day portrait or "family album" of contemporary society in Singapore, coupled with essays and interviews addressing this idea of "community." I find this essential as a visual reference for the idea of national identity in the young nation of Singapore, as we're only 42 years old since independence.

~Leann Peterson