Perseverance

Abstract

“Perseverance” is a Documentary project begun from an interest in studying the

advancement and economic development of our society, where many of the early

traditional trades that were common in Singapore are fast disappearing. This project

question of the theory behind socialism and capitalism, which inevitably contributed

to the disappearing of early local settlements’ trades. By attempting to preserve

images of Singapore’s early cultures and rationalizing the need to preserve our history

among various government policies and social stigmatism, I have decided to

document by photographing and video-graphing the trades that are still established in

present day Singapore’s society. Each individual photographic image aims to portray

the vendor, the type of trade and its environment.

The project is inspired by childhood memories, patronizing (example: convenience

stall, barber or hair-dressing salons shops) that were conveniently located beneath

HDB-flats.

For the previous three years, I have been documenting aspects of the Singapore

culture. Through a close investigation of various modes of representation, I am

seeking to examine the use of Portraiture in Staged Photography, to aptly depict a

person through his/her environment, portraying the individual trade’s invaluable

contribution to nation building in Singapore over the decades and the need to preserve

images of them before the complete eradication of such significant past of

Singapore’s identity. Secondary to the objective of documenting the vanishing trades,

I impersonated, disguised as a son or daughter of various vendor. This impersonation will illustrate / implicate the second-generation citizen’s avoidance pursuing the

family’s business due to various factors. This is a growing social stigmatism among

the second-generation Singaporeans that grows from government’s ever-changing

advancement policies, which contribute to these undesired consequences.