A shanty-life abode, one whole community, on stilts probably near some housing development project or even established estate of better-heeled people. Such is the reality of life and the new globalized world where mostly immigrant communities are hired to do the menial jobs the “locals” shun. Yet, it presents great socio-economic-political challenges. A shelter or roof-over-the-head is the same for an immigrant or a middle-class condo dweller or a rich towkay-politician in a posh bungalow. The difference is only the space and the creature comforts. In such temporary shanty abodes, one is also left to think about the sanitation and the safety. Still, in the artist’s Eston Tan’s romanticized impression, the dilapidated-looked wooden stilt houses do look like some movie props, with the artist’s signature flourishes of daubs, strokes and dots. Eston Tan has established himself for his large canvases of landscapes, aerial perspective of cityscapes and building facades with activities, with his often nocturnal veneer and dots. The artist himself is faced with uncertainties, and the dilemma of mobility, where Man, like a bird, moves on especially to greener pastures with better climes and opportunities. He will be uprooting his family to Taiwan to stay for some time, soon enough. Eston Tan obtained his Diploma from the Malaysian Institute of Art, Kuala Lumpur, in 1991, and the One Academy, Petaling Jaya (1992-93). He showed his promise when he won the Minor Award in the Penang Young Talent competition in 1999, and clinched the Major Award the next year.