swiss made. sturdy and in tip-top condition. dark and handsome. i'm an antique clock sitting on an antique table top in a dilapidated antique shop owned by mr. babuuna banana.
For my second SSD2213 (Singapore Urban History and Architecture)
individual assignment written last year..
.
Destruction, Birth and
the Persistence of Memory..
Saint Andrew’s Cathedral (1955) versus After the Fire (1960)
Saint Andrew’s Cathedral (1955) versus After the Fire (1960)
.
.jpg)
Cheong Soo Pieng
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
1955
Oil on board
68.5 x 58.5 cm
S2001-0001-001-0
.JPG)
Wee Kong Chye
After the Fire
1960
Oil on Board
158 x 45.7 cm
S1980-0809-001-0
1. Introduction
Coined by the Singapore Art Museum for the 10 years spanning 1955 to 1965, ‘A Heroic Decade’ [1] aptly describes a critical phase in Singapore’s history marked by conflicting optimism and anxiety. This was also the most intense period of practice for many important local artists such as Cheong Soo Pieng and Wee Kong Chye. Faced with the changing social conditions of that time, these artists responded by drawing from a diversity of experiences which in turn produced a wealth of powerful works that heralded the closing of an old era and the arrival of a new one.
The two works chosen for this paper comes from this ‘heroic decade’ and centre on 3 basic themes namely; destruction, birth and the persistence of memory. These works may be seen as social commentaries on the transition of an era, but besides serving as purely social commentaries, they allow us to look into the years that follow and assess how Singapore has fared in preserving heritage and forging national identity and rootedness in its citizenry.
2. St. Andrew’s Cathedral
The work of Cheong Soo Pieng St. Andrew’s Cathedral is very interesting in the sense that despite the church being cited in the work’s title, it is in fact the empty space in the foreground where Cheong tries to call our attention to. Here, we question why the discrepancy between the title and subject and subsequently try to understand the relationship of the church with respect to the empty space.
2.1. Title and Subject: The Artist’s Intentions
St. Andrew’s Cathedral stands as a silent witness to change in the civic district. From this perspective of it assuming the role as a silent witness, the focus therefore, as Cheong has intended, is not on itself, but rather on the changes occurring around it.
Perhaps, the work helps to highlight how the colonial church has always been viewed as more important then its surroundings. Physically, the spacious lawns of the church standing in direct contrast to the narrow streets of its surroundings highlight the situation.
Now, the artist tries to turn the situation around by presenting to the viewer; the colonial church relegated to the back of the work and the empty space - a very much overlooked space – brought to the foreground. It should be noted that in the empty space once stood an old shophouse; a vernacular building.
It is possible from here, then, to form an opinion as to what the artist might have further intended.
In 1955 when the work was completed, the Legislative Assembly General Elections was held. It was a landmark election in the colonial history of Singapore, whereby it was the first time a majority of the seats were to be contested as mandated by the newly-enacted Rendel Constitution, rather than be appointed by the colonial administration [2]. This event was instrumental in helping to sow the seeds for Singapore’s eventual independence.
Therefore, the church being relegated to the back of the work could come to represent the ‘retreating’ colonial administration and the empty space in the foreground could come to represent the local populace now in focus and in-charge of building Singapore’s future - from scratch.
3. After the Fire
The title of Wee Kong Chye’s work After the Fire does not indicate to us where this catastrophe might have taken place. Rather, the date of the work’s completion clues us that the setting might be the aftermath of the Kampong Potong Pasir Fire of July 1960 [3] or the unlucky Kampong Tiong Bahru Fire on Friday, 13th February 1959 [4]. The artist could have worked from a photograph if the work was of the latter.
3.1. The Artist’s Intentions
Perhaps it was not of the artist’s intention to create a work that is site specific. Instead, the artist allows the work to speak for the prevailing social conditions of a time marked by major fires and where the urban periphery were dotted with settlements of wooden housing called kampongs (labeled as slums by the authorities who consider them hazardous and an impediment to progress and development) [5].
In this work, the presence of the burnt out mounds aided by the absence of buildings and foliage, allow us to better study the spatial configuration of the kampong. Contrary to the Singapore Improvement Trust’s declaration in 1948 of its intention to “abolish the fearful slums of the town with their terrible overcrowding and their attendant evils of crime and disease” [6], the kampong in this work seem rather well spaced and organized. Here, one can discern house boundaries, roads, pathways and open spaces, pointing to a clearly demarcated configuration of the kampong.
It should be noted that the colonial authorities were of the view that the growing belt of wooden housing on the urban periphery represented a dangerously enlarging margin of the weakest official control [7]. They, in seeking to counter this problem, subscribed to what James Scott termed a ‘high modernist’ philosophy based on a ‘self-confidence about scientific and technical progress’ [8]. The solution, it was argued, was to replace the haphazard wooden housing with planned, modern accommodation.
Interestingly, Rev A. Anthony, a social worker in those years recounted how there was a sense of deepening mistrust between kampong residents and the authorities [9]. This was fueled mainly by rumors that the authorities had hired arsonists to raze kampongs, leading to a conspiracy theory. It was believed that with a kampong razed and its residents displaced, the authorities then had the legitimate right to acquire and redevelop the land. This is because the authorities had a duty, in the name of public safety and interest, to remove any remaining hazards and provide non-hazardous replacement accommodation for the kampong residents.
In fact, in the case of the Kampong Potong Pasir fire in July 1960, it was rumored that 15 minutes before any fire was to be spotted in the kampong, some men dressed in shirts (not the usual dressing for people there) were going around shouting “Fire!” causing people to run out of their houses. When one asked around where the fire was, nobody could answer. Only about 15 minutes later did people start to see the kampong burning. The fire brigade on the other hand took 25 minutes to arrive. This despite the fact that the nearest fire station was situated less than a kilometer away.
4. Destruction and Birth
In both works, the paradoxical nature of construction in which it also involves destruction is highlighted.
Firstly, both the works of Cheong and Wee show the aftermaths of destruction; namely that of demolition and fire. In both works, a sense of desolation is somehow presented to the viewer through the lack of life and activity portrayed. In St. Andrew’s Cathedral, the workers have most probably ended their shifts for the day and in After the Fire, residents have most probably left from salvaging their belongings earlier. A sense of melancholy and loss is evident and could probably be a reflection of the closing of an old era or perhaps the romantic reminiscing on the part of the artists.
More importantly, we should realize that destruction - whether intentional or unintentional, lamentable or praiseworthy - makes way for the new. Both artists might have given a thought about this when they worked on their canvases. In both works, newness is associated with the future through the use of spatial depth. The empty space in Cheong’s work and the burnt out kampong in Wee’s work allow the viewer an unobstructed view of what is in the distance. Together, their works show us, in a symbolic way; ‘the distance’ taking on the meaning of ‘the future’; the birth of a new era.
4.1. Building Typology
By comparing both works and studying the building typology of the area, one may form a better understanding of the relationship between the urban centre and the urban periphery. In Cheong’s work, we can see the underlying brickwork of the irregularly shaped wall and in Wee’s work, we can see the burnt out mounds of the wood and attap houses.
Here, the use of different building materials in the two works could serve as a good indication of a building’s usage and reveal a lot about the social conditions of the day. For example, commercial buildings would have been built out of brick and that wood and attap might have been a popular choice for the construction of houses for people in the urban periphery. Also, a rich man might consider brick for constructing his house, but on the other hand, a poorer man might opt for wood and attap instead.
5. Persistence of Memory
Collective memory [10], a termed coined by Maurice Halbwachs, has the ability to root people, form identity and build a nation. It is therefore important to understand how Singapore has fared thus far in preserving the nation’s collective memory.
Interestingly, when compared against each other, Cheong’s and Wee’s works speak differently to the viewer, although they could be seen as social commentaries on the transition of an era, frozen at that particular time. Wee’s After the Fire for example speaks to the viewer as if it comes from a distant past. On the other hand, Cheong’s St Andrew’s Cathedral, although completed much earlier, does not seem too distant. The reason for this could primarily be due to the fact that while the church is still standing today, the kampong in Wee’s work has long since disappeared. Today, most public housing takes the place of what used to be kampongs. The church on the other hand has been preserved and gazetted a national monument, thus ensuring its posterity.
5.1. What Makes a National Monument
St Andrew’s Cathedral was gazetted a national monument on 6th July 1973.
A mid-1990s survey [11] of public attitudes towards national monuments threw up some interesting findings.
In the survey, national monuments were easily recognizable among Singaporeans. Respondents shown a series of photographs had little difficulty in differentiating gazetted monuments from other buildings such as the Mariott Hotel which possess monumental qualities such as clear form and a high degree of imageability. Most were able to identify St Andrew’s Cathedral as a national monument but only a minority was able to correctly name the building or was aware of the history behind it. In the 1970s, religious buildings constituted the bulk of the first wave of buildings gazetted as national monuments. In the survey, these buildings were perceived to be of parochial rather than national interest. The bulk of respondents felt that buildings such as the Supreme Court, despite colonial origins, featured more appropriately as Singapore’s national monuments compared to religious buildings which were perceived to belong to specific communities only. In their opinion ‘historical value’ and ‘national symbolic significance’ should be the two main criteria for gazetting a building as a national monument.
Looking at Wee’s work, one wonders about the ‘historical value’ and ‘national symbolic significance’ of the kampongs which certainly are an integral part of Singapore’s history. Although they weren’t as architecturally significant as the church in Cheong’s work, they certainly had a place in the hearts of many [12]. Despite that, none were gazetted as national monuments or at least put under conservation status.
In sum, in a multi-cultural society such as Singapore, buildings deemed national monuments should clearly emphasize national significance and not just their functional or symbolic values from the perspectives of specific groups. Only then will national monuments begin to represent Singaporeans’ interlocking and collective histories, as testimonies to the forging of a nation.
5.2. Visual Markers
Judging from the orientation of the church’s façade and the configuration of the shophouses as depicted in Cheong’s work, it seems that the empty space is that area currently occupied by the Telephone House Complex [13]. Today, besides the 14-storey Telephone House Complex, many tall buildings dot the vicinity of church, where in the past; it would have been difficult to imagine that the church could be dwarfed by other buildings [14]. In fact, the church was the tallest building in the vicinity as portrayed in the work in 1955.
With the still existing church, it is not difficult to make out the location of the setting in Cheong’s work. On the other hand, it was more of a challenge to make out the location of the setting in Wee’s work due to the absence of visual markers. Many people like even Karen Lim [15] have mistaken the location to be that of Bukit Ho Swee due to the famous fire that occurred in 1961 [16].
Reflective of the urban periphery where there is a lack of visual markers and that most of its characteristics have been lost due to redevelopment like through hill leveling, swamp filling and intense urbanization, it is not surprising that we could make identification mistakes. Today, it is difficult to have a good idea of how these places used to look like. Gone are the pig farms of Hougang and Ponggol, the hills of Bedok, the swamps of Jurong and the cemeteries of Bishan.
5.3. Visual Historical Narrative
Old buildings can help to form a visual historical narrative of a location.
In the civic district, due to the high cost of land and space constraints, intense redevelopment has taken place and the few old buildings left can barely give us an adequate narrative of the past. This is worsen by the fact that past trades and activities have since evolved or disappeared, and the authorities adopt a pragmatic approach in determining what is important to preserve and what is not. The visual historical narrative thus formed is at most very general and someone who might be interested in knowing how the old fabric of the civic district was like would have to gather information from books, photographs and interviews.
For example, many people would not have known that High Street used to be the main shopping street in Singapore before Orchard Road overtook it [17], or that the civic district used to be populated with school children in the day as there were more than 10 schools [18] in the vicinity. And the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s decision that the old National Library building “was not of great architectural merit and should not be conserved” [19] was a good example of pragmatism over sensitivity [20].
In the urban periphery on the other hand, the situation is direr because of its mainly residential and agricultural character. The urban periphery in general, is seen as not as important as the civic district, thus what is left from the past has either been neglected or destroyed.
For example, it is hard to imagine that Tiong Bahru was once a kampong that coexisted beside a cemetery. The highrise apartments and shopping centre in the vicinity is a far cry from the past where today, the only two vestiges of the cemetery is the cemetery temple, Wei Shan Miao and the word ‘Tiong’ which means ‘cemetery’ in Hokkien.
On a brighter note, having realized that much of the visual historical narrative of not only the civic district but especially of the urban periphery have been lost, the authorities have of late started to take special interest in locations like Tiong Bahru by making conservation plans. Other locations include East Coast and Alexandra Road [21]. Conservation plans for individual buildings have also been made. An example would be the Church of the Nativity BVM in the urban periphery of Hougang that was gazetted a national monument in 2005 [22].
Back to the works of the two artists, in retrospect, the empty space in Cheong’s work could be seen to foreshadow the impending fate of the shophouses near it and in general the civic district. On the other hand, the burnt out kampong in Wee’s work could be seen to foreshadow the fate of many other kampongs. Today, the sole surviving kampong on the Singapore mainland [23] is Kampong Lorong Buangkok, the other kampongs having been subjected to destructive fires or the wrecker’s ball throughout the years.
6. Conclusion: Continuity and Identity
The 1950s and 1960s, were Singapore’s formative years marked by conflicting optimism and anxiety. Conservation was obviously not on the minds of many. Despite that, the feelings of nationalism, idealism and anti-colonialism started to take root and that offered local architects considerable space to contribute to and express their aspirations for Singapore [24].
According to Chan Heng Chee, it was during the dawn of this new era, during this “dramatic somber period that survival was adopted as a one-word political slogan as well as a main theme underlying all analysis of problems and statements of policies and intent.” [25]
So as the authorities embarked on a rapid and large-scale destruction program in an effort to modernize the new but impoverished country, local architects on the other hand started to build in a vernacular architectural language that marked an important period in Singapore’s history.
Sadly today, these buildings from the post-independent period are being threatened with demolition or insensitive additions and alterations (A&A) as buildings from the colonial period were being threatened then. The National Theater, for example, was demolished in 1986 and the Singapore Conference Hall has been subjected to insensitive A&A recently.
To end off, we must understand a location’s history stretching across a longue durée rather than as simply colonial or national accounts. National rather then parochial interests should take precedence with the whole island viewed as a collective whole in the conservation process so that no locality is neglected. Only then will we be able to appreciate our identity as Singaporeans and give us a sense of belonging and rootedness.
Coined by the Singapore Art Museum for the 10 years spanning 1955 to 1965, ‘A Heroic Decade’ [1] aptly describes a critical phase in Singapore’s history marked by conflicting optimism and anxiety. This was also the most intense period of practice for many important local artists such as Cheong Soo Pieng and Wee Kong Chye. Faced with the changing social conditions of that time, these artists responded by drawing from a diversity of experiences which in turn produced a wealth of powerful works that heralded the closing of an old era and the arrival of a new one.
The two works chosen for this paper comes from this ‘heroic decade’ and centre on 3 basic themes namely; destruction, birth and the persistence of memory. These works may be seen as social commentaries on the transition of an era, but besides serving as purely social commentaries, they allow us to look into the years that follow and assess how Singapore has fared in preserving heritage and forging national identity and rootedness in its citizenry.
2. St. Andrew’s Cathedral
The work of Cheong Soo Pieng St. Andrew’s Cathedral is very interesting in the sense that despite the church being cited in the work’s title, it is in fact the empty space in the foreground where Cheong tries to call our attention to. Here, we question why the discrepancy between the title and subject and subsequently try to understand the relationship of the church with respect to the empty space.
2.1. Title and Subject: The Artist’s Intentions
St. Andrew’s Cathedral stands as a silent witness to change in the civic district. From this perspective of it assuming the role as a silent witness, the focus therefore, as Cheong has intended, is not on itself, but rather on the changes occurring around it.
Perhaps, the work helps to highlight how the colonial church has always been viewed as more important then its surroundings. Physically, the spacious lawns of the church standing in direct contrast to the narrow streets of its surroundings highlight the situation.
Now, the artist tries to turn the situation around by presenting to the viewer; the colonial church relegated to the back of the work and the empty space - a very much overlooked space – brought to the foreground. It should be noted that in the empty space once stood an old shophouse; a vernacular building.
It is possible from here, then, to form an opinion as to what the artist might have further intended.
In 1955 when the work was completed, the Legislative Assembly General Elections was held. It was a landmark election in the colonial history of Singapore, whereby it was the first time a majority of the seats were to be contested as mandated by the newly-enacted Rendel Constitution, rather than be appointed by the colonial administration [2]. This event was instrumental in helping to sow the seeds for Singapore’s eventual independence.
Therefore, the church being relegated to the back of the work could come to represent the ‘retreating’ colonial administration and the empty space in the foreground could come to represent the local populace now in focus and in-charge of building Singapore’s future - from scratch.
3. After the Fire
The title of Wee Kong Chye’s work After the Fire does not indicate to us where this catastrophe might have taken place. Rather, the date of the work’s completion clues us that the setting might be the aftermath of the Kampong Potong Pasir Fire of July 1960 [3] or the unlucky Kampong Tiong Bahru Fire on Friday, 13th February 1959 [4]. The artist could have worked from a photograph if the work was of the latter.
3.1. The Artist’s Intentions
Perhaps it was not of the artist’s intention to create a work that is site specific. Instead, the artist allows the work to speak for the prevailing social conditions of a time marked by major fires and where the urban periphery were dotted with settlements of wooden housing called kampongs (labeled as slums by the authorities who consider them hazardous and an impediment to progress and development) [5].
In this work, the presence of the burnt out mounds aided by the absence of buildings and foliage, allow us to better study the spatial configuration of the kampong. Contrary to the Singapore Improvement Trust’s declaration in 1948 of its intention to “abolish the fearful slums of the town with their terrible overcrowding and their attendant evils of crime and disease” [6], the kampong in this work seem rather well spaced and organized. Here, one can discern house boundaries, roads, pathways and open spaces, pointing to a clearly demarcated configuration of the kampong.
It should be noted that the colonial authorities were of the view that the growing belt of wooden housing on the urban periphery represented a dangerously enlarging margin of the weakest official control [7]. They, in seeking to counter this problem, subscribed to what James Scott termed a ‘high modernist’ philosophy based on a ‘self-confidence about scientific and technical progress’ [8]. The solution, it was argued, was to replace the haphazard wooden housing with planned, modern accommodation.
Interestingly, Rev A. Anthony, a social worker in those years recounted how there was a sense of deepening mistrust between kampong residents and the authorities [9]. This was fueled mainly by rumors that the authorities had hired arsonists to raze kampongs, leading to a conspiracy theory. It was believed that with a kampong razed and its residents displaced, the authorities then had the legitimate right to acquire and redevelop the land. This is because the authorities had a duty, in the name of public safety and interest, to remove any remaining hazards and provide non-hazardous replacement accommodation for the kampong residents.
In fact, in the case of the Kampong Potong Pasir fire in July 1960, it was rumored that 15 minutes before any fire was to be spotted in the kampong, some men dressed in shirts (not the usual dressing for people there) were going around shouting “Fire!” causing people to run out of their houses. When one asked around where the fire was, nobody could answer. Only about 15 minutes later did people start to see the kampong burning. The fire brigade on the other hand took 25 minutes to arrive. This despite the fact that the nearest fire station was situated less than a kilometer away.
4. Destruction and Birth
In both works, the paradoxical nature of construction in which it also involves destruction is highlighted.
Firstly, both the works of Cheong and Wee show the aftermaths of destruction; namely that of demolition and fire. In both works, a sense of desolation is somehow presented to the viewer through the lack of life and activity portrayed. In St. Andrew’s Cathedral, the workers have most probably ended their shifts for the day and in After the Fire, residents have most probably left from salvaging their belongings earlier. A sense of melancholy and loss is evident and could probably be a reflection of the closing of an old era or perhaps the romantic reminiscing on the part of the artists.
More importantly, we should realize that destruction - whether intentional or unintentional, lamentable or praiseworthy - makes way for the new. Both artists might have given a thought about this when they worked on their canvases. In both works, newness is associated with the future through the use of spatial depth. The empty space in Cheong’s work and the burnt out kampong in Wee’s work allow the viewer an unobstructed view of what is in the distance. Together, their works show us, in a symbolic way; ‘the distance’ taking on the meaning of ‘the future’; the birth of a new era.
4.1. Building Typology
By comparing both works and studying the building typology of the area, one may form a better understanding of the relationship between the urban centre and the urban periphery. In Cheong’s work, we can see the underlying brickwork of the irregularly shaped wall and in Wee’s work, we can see the burnt out mounds of the wood and attap houses.
Here, the use of different building materials in the two works could serve as a good indication of a building’s usage and reveal a lot about the social conditions of the day. For example, commercial buildings would have been built out of brick and that wood and attap might have been a popular choice for the construction of houses for people in the urban periphery. Also, a rich man might consider brick for constructing his house, but on the other hand, a poorer man might opt for wood and attap instead.
5. Persistence of Memory
Collective memory [10], a termed coined by Maurice Halbwachs, has the ability to root people, form identity and build a nation. It is therefore important to understand how Singapore has fared thus far in preserving the nation’s collective memory.
Interestingly, when compared against each other, Cheong’s and Wee’s works speak differently to the viewer, although they could be seen as social commentaries on the transition of an era, frozen at that particular time. Wee’s After the Fire for example speaks to the viewer as if it comes from a distant past. On the other hand, Cheong’s St Andrew’s Cathedral, although completed much earlier, does not seem too distant. The reason for this could primarily be due to the fact that while the church is still standing today, the kampong in Wee’s work has long since disappeared. Today, most public housing takes the place of what used to be kampongs. The church on the other hand has been preserved and gazetted a national monument, thus ensuring its posterity.
5.1. What Makes a National Monument
St Andrew’s Cathedral was gazetted a national monument on 6th July 1973.
A mid-1990s survey [11] of public attitudes towards national monuments threw up some interesting findings.
In the survey, national monuments were easily recognizable among Singaporeans. Respondents shown a series of photographs had little difficulty in differentiating gazetted monuments from other buildings such as the Mariott Hotel which possess monumental qualities such as clear form and a high degree of imageability. Most were able to identify St Andrew’s Cathedral as a national monument but only a minority was able to correctly name the building or was aware of the history behind it. In the 1970s, religious buildings constituted the bulk of the first wave of buildings gazetted as national monuments. In the survey, these buildings were perceived to be of parochial rather than national interest. The bulk of respondents felt that buildings such as the Supreme Court, despite colonial origins, featured more appropriately as Singapore’s national monuments compared to religious buildings which were perceived to belong to specific communities only. In their opinion ‘historical value’ and ‘national symbolic significance’ should be the two main criteria for gazetting a building as a national monument.
Looking at Wee’s work, one wonders about the ‘historical value’ and ‘national symbolic significance’ of the kampongs which certainly are an integral part of Singapore’s history. Although they weren’t as architecturally significant as the church in Cheong’s work, they certainly had a place in the hearts of many [12]. Despite that, none were gazetted as national monuments or at least put under conservation status.
In sum, in a multi-cultural society such as Singapore, buildings deemed national monuments should clearly emphasize national significance and not just their functional or symbolic values from the perspectives of specific groups. Only then will national monuments begin to represent Singaporeans’ interlocking and collective histories, as testimonies to the forging of a nation.
5.2. Visual Markers
Judging from the orientation of the church’s façade and the configuration of the shophouses as depicted in Cheong’s work, it seems that the empty space is that area currently occupied by the Telephone House Complex [13]. Today, besides the 14-storey Telephone House Complex, many tall buildings dot the vicinity of church, where in the past; it would have been difficult to imagine that the church could be dwarfed by other buildings [14]. In fact, the church was the tallest building in the vicinity as portrayed in the work in 1955.
With the still existing church, it is not difficult to make out the location of the setting in Cheong’s work. On the other hand, it was more of a challenge to make out the location of the setting in Wee’s work due to the absence of visual markers. Many people like even Karen Lim [15] have mistaken the location to be that of Bukit Ho Swee due to the famous fire that occurred in 1961 [16].
Reflective of the urban periphery where there is a lack of visual markers and that most of its characteristics have been lost due to redevelopment like through hill leveling, swamp filling and intense urbanization, it is not surprising that we could make identification mistakes. Today, it is difficult to have a good idea of how these places used to look like. Gone are the pig farms of Hougang and Ponggol, the hills of Bedok, the swamps of Jurong and the cemeteries of Bishan.
5.3. Visual Historical Narrative
Old buildings can help to form a visual historical narrative of a location.
In the civic district, due to the high cost of land and space constraints, intense redevelopment has taken place and the few old buildings left can barely give us an adequate narrative of the past. This is worsen by the fact that past trades and activities have since evolved or disappeared, and the authorities adopt a pragmatic approach in determining what is important to preserve and what is not. The visual historical narrative thus formed is at most very general and someone who might be interested in knowing how the old fabric of the civic district was like would have to gather information from books, photographs and interviews.
For example, many people would not have known that High Street used to be the main shopping street in Singapore before Orchard Road overtook it [17], or that the civic district used to be populated with school children in the day as there were more than 10 schools [18] in the vicinity. And the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s decision that the old National Library building “was not of great architectural merit and should not be conserved” [19] was a good example of pragmatism over sensitivity [20].
In the urban periphery on the other hand, the situation is direr because of its mainly residential and agricultural character. The urban periphery in general, is seen as not as important as the civic district, thus what is left from the past has either been neglected or destroyed.
For example, it is hard to imagine that Tiong Bahru was once a kampong that coexisted beside a cemetery. The highrise apartments and shopping centre in the vicinity is a far cry from the past where today, the only two vestiges of the cemetery is the cemetery temple, Wei Shan Miao and the word ‘Tiong’ which means ‘cemetery’ in Hokkien.
On a brighter note, having realized that much of the visual historical narrative of not only the civic district but especially of the urban periphery have been lost, the authorities have of late started to take special interest in locations like Tiong Bahru by making conservation plans. Other locations include East Coast and Alexandra Road [21]. Conservation plans for individual buildings have also been made. An example would be the Church of the Nativity BVM in the urban periphery of Hougang that was gazetted a national monument in 2005 [22].
Back to the works of the two artists, in retrospect, the empty space in Cheong’s work could be seen to foreshadow the impending fate of the shophouses near it and in general the civic district. On the other hand, the burnt out kampong in Wee’s work could be seen to foreshadow the fate of many other kampongs. Today, the sole surviving kampong on the Singapore mainland [23] is Kampong Lorong Buangkok, the other kampongs having been subjected to destructive fires or the wrecker’s ball throughout the years.
6. Conclusion: Continuity and Identity
The 1950s and 1960s, were Singapore’s formative years marked by conflicting optimism and anxiety. Conservation was obviously not on the minds of many. Despite that, the feelings of nationalism, idealism and anti-colonialism started to take root and that offered local architects considerable space to contribute to and express their aspirations for Singapore [24].
According to Chan Heng Chee, it was during the dawn of this new era, during this “dramatic somber period that survival was adopted as a one-word political slogan as well as a main theme underlying all analysis of problems and statements of policies and intent.” [25]
So as the authorities embarked on a rapid and large-scale destruction program in an effort to modernize the new but impoverished country, local architects on the other hand started to build in a vernacular architectural language that marked an important period in Singapore’s history.
Sadly today, these buildings from the post-independent period are being threatened with demolition or insensitive additions and alterations (A&A) as buildings from the colonial period were being threatened then. The National Theater, for example, was demolished in 1986 and the Singapore Conference Hall has been subjected to insensitive A&A recently.
To end off, we must understand a location’s history stretching across a longue durée rather than as simply colonial or national accounts. National rather then parochial interests should take precedence with the whole island viewed as a collective whole in the conservation process so that no locality is neglected. Only then will we be able to appreciate our identity as Singaporeans and give us a sense of belonging and rootedness.
[1] The exhibition ‘A Heroic Decade: Singapore Art 1955-1965’ was held at the Singapore Art Museum from July to September 2005
[2] Singapore Elections, Legislative Assembly General Elections 1955, http://www.singapore-elections.com/ge1955/ (14/04/2009)
[3] National Archives of Singapore (28/07/1960), PICAS, Fire in a Kampong at Potong Pasir – Three Victim in Tears
[4] Hansard 1803–2005, HC Deb 17 March 1959 Vol. 602 c21W, Kampong Tiong Bahru (Fire), http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1959/mar/17/singapore (14/04/2009)
[5] Loh Kah Seng (2008), Fires and the Social Politics of Nation-Building in Singapore: 6, Asia Research Centre
[6] Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), Forewod, The Work of the Singapore Improvement Trust 1927-1947
[7] Douglas, Mary (2002), Purity and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and
Taboo, London: Routledge Classics
[8] Scott, James C (1998) Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition have Failed, New Haven: Yale University Press
[9] Rev A. Anthony, Personal Interview (01/04/2009)
[10] Halbwachs, Maurice (1980), The Collective Memory, New York, Harper & Row Colophon Books
[11] Yeoh, B.S.A. and Ho, L.Y. (1997), ‘Popular Cognition of National Monuments in Singapore’, Environment Monintoring and Assessment 44: 21-31
[12] Rev A. Anthony, Personal Interview (01/04/2009)
[13] Behind the irregularly shaped wall should lie Coleman Lane.
[14] Churches have traditionally been built taller than other structures in town, its spire a representation of one’s aspirations towards heaven.
[15] Karen Lim (2009), Constructed Landscapes: Singapore in Southeast Asia, Constructed Landscapes, NUS Museum
[16] Wee’s work was completed in 1960
[17] Dhoraisingam S.Samuel, streetdirectory.com, High Street Singapore – Singapore First Street to be Constructed, http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/singapore/local_guide/49/high_street.php (02/04/2009)
[18] Schools included Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls School, CHIJ (Town), St. Nicholas Girls’ School, St. Joseph’s Institution, Catholic High School, St. Anthony’s Convent, St. Anthony’s Boys School, Tao Nan School and Anglo-Chinese Primary School
[19] M. Nirmala (14/03/1999), The Straits Times, National Library to Go
[20] Ho Weng Hin et el (16/03/1999), The Straits Times, Heed the People's Call, Conserve ‘Built’ Heritage
[21] Urban Redevelopment Authority, Conservation Matters, Listing of Conservation Areas & Maps, http://www.ura.gov.sg/conservation/mod2.htm (01/04/2009)
[22] Wikipedia, National Monuments of Singapore, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Monuments_of_Singapore (01/04/2009)
[23] Singapore Travelogue, Kampong Lorong Buangkok, http://www.singapore-travelogue.com/singapore_living_kampong_buangkok.php (01/04/2009)
[24] Lim, William (2005), Asian Ethical Urbanism: A Radical Postmodern Perspective, Singapore:World Scientific Publishing
[25] Chan Heng Chee, Singapore: The Politics of Survival 1965-67 (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1971), 48
