I submitted a total of ten photos for this photography competition organised by ibis Singapore Novena.
Rachel and I enjoyed ourselves very much at the Singapore Arts Festival 2012 – Parallel Cities installation at ibis Novena and were more than keen to support them in preserving the heritage of the Balestier area.
Here is our little contribution to the history of Balestier:
A Forgotten Film Legacy
8 Jalan Ampas, the former Malay Film Studios set up in 1937 by the Shaw Brothers in the heydays of Singapore cinema. Film legend, P.Ramlee used to work here.
The Unsung Hero
Uncle Joe, the caretaker of 8 Jalan Ampas recalls that P. Ramlee and other actors used to play dum at a coffeeshop opposite the studio.
The Tau Sar Piah Rhapsody
The 89-year-old male owner of Loong Fatt Tau Sar Piah at 639 Balestier road with his longest-serving employee.
Sweetlands Sweet Bread
Sweetlands Confectionery – one of the only two traditional bakeries left in Singapore.
The Cry of the Revolutionary Hero
This two-storey villa at 12 Tai Gin Road was once the headquarters of Dr Sun Yat Sen’s Tong Meng Hui during the early 1900s.
A Piece of Burmese Heritage
Maha Sasana Ramsi, a Burmese Buddhist Temple at 14 Tai Gin Road.
Through the Looking Glass of the Past
Lim Kay Khee Optical & Contact Lens Centre – an old-school shop at 330 Balestier Road.
Carrying on the family flame
The brother and sister behind Lim Kay Khee Optical & Contact Lens Centre. Their father used to reshape old spectacle frames using a set of wooden tools seen here. They continue the tradition.
Coffee Fragrance of Yore
Mr Tan Boon Heong, 64, owner of Lam Yeo Coffee Powder at 328 Balestier Road.
Old and New
Buildings, old and new stands side-by-side in Balestier.
The previous weekend, Rachel and I visited Ying Foh Kuan/ Shuan Long Shan, a small Hakka ancestral hall complete with graveyard located in the midst of HDB flats at 9 Commonwealth Lane to catch the 兰芳记 Lan Fang Chronicles exhibition and guided tour, one of the highlights of this year’s Singapore Arts Festival.
Ying Foh KuanThe graveyard with HDB flats in the backdrop
While the guided tour is ticketed, the exhibition is free access to all. You still have till 2 June 2012 to catch it. Do go down if you have the time. Both Rachel and I found the visit very rewarding.
The exhibition is a fusion of history, story-telling, experiential and performance arts. Visitors are guided to the exhibitions from point-to-point to learn the history of a little known country in South East Asian history called the Lan Fang Republic 蘭芳共和國 (perhaps better known now that our Minister Chan Chun Sing has made reference to it during his election rally). Professional actors and actresses masquerade themselves as museum curator, researcher and Lan Fang descendent to suck you deep into the world of Lan Fang Republic.
Video Introduction (from 3:40 onwards):
The acting talents were pretty convincing – so much so that Rachel even approached two of them after their “talks (performances)” to ask more in-depth questions about the history and culture of Lan Fang Republic. For a moment, we forgot we were attending a arts festival event and not a museum!
Love it!
The exhibition tour is divided into five chapters, each with different performers:
1. The Man Who Rode Crocodiles
A documentary inspired by the poem written by Luo Fang Bo, the founder of Lan Fang Republic. The original poem narrates the ritualistic practice of exorcising the crocodiles. The story has since morphed into multiple versions in their local folklore.
Program booklets designed like Lan Fang currenciesEntranceActress Nora Samosir giving a welcome address as a researcher, recounting the story of “The Man who Rode Crocodiles”
2. The Archivist’s Room
A collection of maps, documents, sketches and photographic materials collected from the Netherlands, China and Indonesia. This collection includes rare documents and reconstructed archive on the ontology of the Lan Fang Republic, presented through the experience of research and encounters.
Luo Fang Bo – the founder of Lan Fang RepublicYak Aik-Wee as a museum curatorTelling stories with imagesLan Fang imagesThe little boy on the sedan is a Lan Fang prince
3. The De Groot Collection
A collection of speculative artifacts inspired by the works of Dutch Sinologist J.J.M De Groot who published the earliest known and most comprehensive western document on the Lan Fang Republic in 1885.
The De Groot CollectionActress Patricia Toh as a curator of the De Groot CollectionSkull with decorative craving, borrowing from the traditions of dayak head huntersA tower replicaTwo towersA Lan Fang masthead replicaLan Fang coins replicaLan Fang Republic map
4. Epic Poem of the Kongsi War
A poetry recital based on the original Maly poem, Syair Perang Cina di Mandor (Story of the Chinese Wars in Mandor) written by an anonymous author 1853, that charts the times of conflicts and uncertainty towards the beginning of the Republic decline in the last 30 years.
Actor Rizman Putra doing a poetry recital of “Syair Perang Cina di Mandor”An intense momentIn traditional Malay wearAnother intense momentEnd of recital
5. Memoirs of the Visitors
A dramatise reading of memories and diary entries recorded by visitors to the Lan Fang Republic. The recital is an attempt to re-enact the interactions with the residents of Lan Fang, and to create an imaginary panorama of the everyday life, practices and festivities of the Republic.
Incense offering before the readingActress Lok Meng Chue doing a dramatise reading of memories and diary entries recorded by visitors to Lan Fang
…what was, what if and what could have been, revolving round a small republic.
Singapore, you think. No, but the Lan Fang Republic certainly has similarities in geographical size, type of government rule and diligent citizens.
The Lan Fang Republic began in 1777 with Luo Fang Bo. Luo was a Hakka Chinese who united his group of hardworking gold miner comrades in West Borneo to establish the Lan Fang Republic. Democracy was the way to go, he decided.
The Republic thrived for 107 years, under the rule of 10 presidents, until the Dutch marched along and disintegrated it in 1884. It all sounds simple enough, but is it really?
Artist Choy Ka Fai delved further, and started his journey back in time to Mandor, the ancient capital of the Lan Fang Republic. There, a temple paying tribute to Luo, his tomb and an exhausted goldmine greeted him.
A trip to Mei Xian, China, Luo’s birthplace, uncovered a memorial hall honouring Luo and Luo’s last descendent.
In the Lan Fang Chronicles 2012, Choy presents a perspective of the Republic’s existence through an installation performance surrounding a series of speculative artifacts, archival materials and audio-visual works.
The multimedia presentation traces the historical path the Republic takes, and also meanders into the future and a pseudo-mythical past to explore Lan Fang’s potential.
Each narrative draws from fact and fiction, memories and forgeries, history and myth — all to reconstruct what is and ultimately, to tell the story of what was, and what could have been, the Lan Fang Republic.
Why you should catch the Lan Fang Chronicles:
…to create your own tale of fact and fiction, history and myth, through a ‘living’ museum experience and a free exhibition.
…to dig into Hakka history — the Lan Fang Chronicles 2012 will be set at the Shuang Long Shan (Chinese for “Twin Dragons Hills”), a 1.89ha site at Commonwealth Lane that contains relocated Hakka graves from 1887, the Hakka clan’s original ancestral hall and a newly- built community hall.
…for a mind-stirring exercise on the similarities between the Lan Fang Republic and Singapore.
I have heard some of Mark Chan‘s earlier musical works before and am pretty impressed with his East-meets-West musical fusion. This was why I was really looking forward to catch his opening show.
Alas, with great expectation comes greater disappointment when the performance somehow falls short. I am not a qualified music or art critic, but seeing that around half of the audience left after intermission, I am quite sure I was not the only one who did not particularly enjoyed the show.
Parallel Cities (Hotel) is one of three programmes that showcase a side of Singapore not often noticed. In Hotel, you’ll be at Ibis Novena and will get to visit several installations within the rooms of the hotel, giving you some perspective on the hotel’s hidden workers – its chambermaids. This is the first time this project has been carried out in Asia and I am very much looking forward to experiencing this performance myself!
THE LAST DESCENDANT – LUO FU SHENG 最终的后裔 – 罗福生 / (CREDIT: STEFEN CHOW)
Lan Fang Chronicles explores the stories behind the little known country called Lan Fang (perhaps better known now that our Minister Chan Chun Sing has made reference to it during his election rally). It will be held at Ying Foh Kuan/Shuan Long Shan, a small ancestral hall complete with graveyard located in the midst of HDB flats at Commonwealth. There will be installation exhibitions, making for pretty interesting photo opportunities and a comparison between Singapore and this eerily similar ancestor.
Video Preview:
This year’s Singapore Arts Festivalis spread over 16 extraordinary days, inviting everyone to encounter a stunning array of performances that will hopefully be close to our heart.
The Singapore Arts Festivalis just round the corner, with programs starting from 18 May (this Friday) and running till 2 June 2012. More details are available via the official website.
This year’s theme completes the trilogy started two editions ago for the Singapore Arts Festival: Between You and Me (2010), I Want to Remember (2011), Our Lost Poems (2012).
Our Lost Poems looks at myths, legends, wandering thoughts, reflections, lost riddles and hidden stories. It is a discovery of tales and aspirations that need to be told and retold. Stories that inspire us, legends that have deep cultural roots, and riddles that reveal the secrets of the world. This coming Festival finds us at a crossroad, waiting to reaffirm our sense of place in time as we uncover refreshing facets of ourselves:
Something ancient.
Something lost.
Something hidden.
Something new.
Over 16 extraordinary days, the festival invites us to encounter a stunning array of performances that will hopefully be close to our heart.
Parallel Cities (Hotel) is one of three programmes that showcase a side of Singapore not often noticed. In Hotel, you’ll be at Ibis Novena and will get to visit several installations within the rooms of the hotel, giving you some perspective on the hotel’s hidden workers – its chambermaids. This is the first time this project has been carried out in Asia and I am very much looking forward to experiencing this performance myself!
THE LAST DESCENDANT – LUO FU SHENG 最终的后裔 – 罗福生 / (CREDIT: STEFEN CHOW)
Lan Fang Chronicles explores the stories behind the little known country called Lan Fang (perhaps better known now that our Minister Chan Chun Sing has made reference to it during his election rally). It will be held at Ying Foh Kuan/Shuan Long Shan, a small ancestral hall complete with graveyard located in the midst of HDB flats at Commonwealth. There will be installation exhibitions, making for pretty interesting photo opportunities and a comparison between Singapore and this eerily similar ancestor.
Video Preview:
Are you interested in attending either of these two performances?
Here’s how you can win a pair of free tickets to either Parallel Cities Hotel or Lan Fang Chronicles:
Just tweet me on Twitter @Alvinologist or message me on Facebook @Alvinology with a short note on why you deserve to get a pair of free tickets. State which performance you would like to attend in your note. I will pick the winners by this Thurs (17 May) and announce it on this blog.
I will be watching the performances on the same day, together with the two pairs of winners. Hence we can meet up and have a quick chat on the actual day. Send in your entries now! 🙂
A L V I N O L O G Y 