Varanasi-Kolkata
December 2012
In my introspection of Singapore’s landscape, I decided to work on something pertaining to the en-bloc scheme for HDB flats. It appears to be that in the tussle between manufactured and natural landscape, authentic nature is not the only at the bottom of the totem pole, but also the powerless, amongst us citizens. This vicious phenomenon coerced the movement of not only physical departures but also of nostalgia and historical attachments.
The objective is to convey a sense of lost and displacement. I grew up at this particular site during my childhood. The flawed sketch comes from the recollection of a child’s perspective. It hinges on the idea of ephemerality in our landscape, one that sheds its skin too fast a pace, we can’t afford to hold onto.
Once inhabited by people, now inhabited by mere memories.
Graphic ink on negative.
Shanghai 100 / 4 x 5 Film
My ear drums can contain
But only the ringing of defeat,
muffled by the waves crashing on my two feet.
Distracted by the wails from the sirens of modernity,
the cries of vices, unfamiliar places
pounding on the empty shells of serenity.
The hails of the prayers kill the requiem of dawn
placidity now, a rare thorn
In haste of the chase, I forgot the Qibla of my heart
In the haze of the maze, I let the Mihrab crumble apart
Monumental stillness, Raging calmness
Empty , blasphemy.
Lost, heed the caution
losing my religion, food for the ocean
drowning in fire, freezing as they burn
Helter-skelter, prayer in order
I have to run for cover,
under shelter
between the surahs of my Quran
before the professions of your kalimah
within the inflections of our adhān
But the sirens invaded my head, creeping closer to the shores of my heart.
Ravenous, smearing stains all over my Shahada , pouring sand into this cut
Pingyao, China
2012
capri by Fraser,
Changi, Singapore
Sunset of 6 Ramadhan 1433H
“When you consider things like the stars, our affairs don’t seem to matter very much, do they?”― Virginia Woolf
Twilight of 1 Ramadhan 1433H
الشُّكرُ زِينَةُ الغِنى ، والصَّبرُ زِينَةُ البَلوى.
“Thankfulness is the adornment of wealth, whereas patience is the adornment of tribulation.”
A blessed Ramadhan to all my dear Muslim family and friends! May we get the most out of this month (:
“There are a total of eight blocks, numbered 86 to 92, at Zion Road. With the exception of block 86 and 87, the rest are located beside Great World City, separated by Singapore River.
Built at around 1973, 11-storey block 92 is the most prominent block with its unique curvature design, situated at the bend of Zion Road and Havelock Road. The curvature rivals that of Block 332 of Jurong East.”
-Remember Singapore
