Been looking at some old newspapers for a research project and this issue of The Straits Times Classifieds section in 1989 caught my attention! The colours are like that because I took photos straight off the microfilm reader.
And here is a house-ad for the Classifieds
After the catchy headline, it actually goes on to read
“We lost count of the number of Classified ads that have been ripped out of our newspaper but who’s complaining.”
The element of introspection seems to be a common thread amongst Singaporean photographers here. Specific examples fail to come off my head now, but a lot of the work I have seen from emerging photographers in the past year always circle around their personal memories or subjects. A chair at home, a family portrait… it seems like most Singaporean photographers when allowed to pursue their own body of work prefer “self-expression” as compared to something like documenting the society around them.
How often is this element found in Singapore photography, and could such an element in our visual language say something about the country?
I think it may reflect the kind of environment the photographers are in. When trying to take photographs in the public, they get unfriendly stares, hands-covered faces or stern-looking security guards questioning their right to take photographs. Why go through so much hassle to take photos? Why not just turn the lens at yourself?
A society of “mind-your-own-business” further discourages photographers from being pesky and getting themselves out of their comfort zones. So they turn to what is easily available and comment on themselves.
It may also be due to the need to express themselves because of how small one feels in Singapore. Unable to express themselves freely in the presence of larger voices like the state, documenting personal artifacts and lives becomes a way of contesting the domination and assuring their existence as individuals.
These also lead to photography that is often conceptual and abstract. So what they cannot say or document, they hide behind photography that allows them to say something but not say it, all at the same time.
Formula for the language of Singapore Photography:
Introspection + Abstract = A form of self-censorship
What do you think?
People who create always want to feel like their work matters and one way is to seek comments from others. While friends and family are probably the easier to turn to, I find that I learn most when I receive frank comments from the perfect stranger.
The problem I usually face with feedback from friends and close ones is also highlighted by NYTimes.com’s Design Director Khoi Vinh: eliciting honest and critical comments. After all, the point when sharing a work is not to receive a ego massage, but pointers to improve on the work.
But as I have written elsewhere, it is so easy to criticise but so darn hard to be critical, so maybe that is why people don’t want to fall into the trap of saying things they can’t really explain and end up hurting friendships.