Greenery exists everywhere in Singapore the ‘Garden City’: slotted in strips along expressways, nestled between skyscrapers in the business district, pruned in parks. Despite this, inherently there lies a degree of moderation regarding how one may experience the natural landscape here, and a constant negotiation between feelings of unity with nature, and a sense of isolation from it.
Nature, both as a material and aesthetic resource, has been so drastically intervened upon by human endeavors, that its ability to symbolize a fundamental reality fades, in favor of complex relationships between nature and culture; it is no longer a location, but a concept in flux.
In the photographs, the humble roadside greenery appear infinite, untainted, a backdrop for environmental and historical imaginings of possibilities. There exists a point of entry for the viewer into the landscape. It functions as a stage, mirroring personal and social desires. The multitude of details also heightens the viewer’s self-awareness of the very act of viewing and framing.
July 2008