Changing roles and images of buildings in Singapore - past to present

Assignment 3: Photo-essay
Equipment: Nikon D50, lens 18-55mm, free hand, printing by Epson R800
Theme: Changing roles and images of buildings in Singapore
Locations: Kampong Glam, City Hall and Choa Chu Kang Cemetery

1. Traditions
A very old Oriental Chinese tombstone, represent the past and history. A tomb is a place for 'beings’ is live in just like HDBs, it preserve the memory from past to present. The lion as if guards the safety of the 'residents'.

2. Joss sticks
A trace of giving offerings to ancestors, this trace marks not only how old the tombstone could be but also the purpose of a tombstone.

3. Old taste
Food stalls that have been there for decades, the taste is probably the same. This building no longer plays a role a shelter for the people to live in; it is place where the modern people hunt for cheap and good food. The rustic look of the building is instantly disturbed by the bright red road signs, a sign of modern live industrialization.

4. The old give way to the new
A picture of a construction work at an old building along Kampong Glam, it is possibly changing its look or restoring the beauty of this old building. The construction tools are seen as the modern life destructors.

5. Spiral Staircases
The gates and pipes are restored but the unique feature of the spiral staircase is a national heritage.

6. Intertwined
The wires are intertwined over and over again as years pass by. The paints and different wires used at different decades represent the changing environment. The background shows vaguely the ‘invasion’ of new high rise buildings behind the older shop houses.

7. New art
Graffiti is like the new art on the old pillars of the shop houses. Shop houses become a waste of the past that people today conveniently use it as they like.

8. Mosque- the place for worship
Religion now matter how different the environment is changing, it will not change. It is still respected and influential

9. Mosque – the place of interest
Here the mosque is not just a place for prayers and religious rituals but a place of interest for school children to visit as excursions. This is national education!

10. His territory
The old Mercedes, the old man the old shop sign, a depiction of the past, taken in the present day. Photographer tries to capture the essence of old. Something that is seen so dirty and everyday-life is now a beauty in photography.

11. Photographer and environment
This work is a juxtaposition of old and new, real and surreal. Seen here is a reflection from the rear of a car of the landscape of the street, which nice morning shine. The internal design of the car merged into the reflections of the shop houses. The middle portion shows the actual image of the street in front of the vehicle. The photographer immersed in the beauty of the past and the present day atmosphere.

12. At the end of your day
Things come and go, but traditions and values are deep rooted. The role of tombstone is still the same for centuries. The only change is where one stays.