Assignment 2

My final layout of the photo series.

In the end I went with photos with a clean white background to give off the clean look. Then I framed them up with white frames to enhance the ‘white’ look. It was arranged in an order where the cleaners frame up the iPad which showcases images of Singapore that are always portrayed as clean. In a way goes to show that without the help of these people, Singapore would not be as clean.

Here are the visuals for the exhibition.

Photos displayed

Photos on screen Travel sites featuring Singapore as a clean and sleek country Blog post by a traveller on how clean Singapore is as well as Singapore being ranked one of the cleanest cities in the world Found images of Singapore Newspaper clippings of Singapore Taken images by me of the dirty sights of Singapore Taken images by meLast photo is a found image

The images flow from what Singapore for (cleanliness), to evidences of testimonies by foreigners and world rankings, to how Singapore portrays itself, to the dirty sights of Singapore and lastly cleaners cleaning up the rubbish that is brought to its final destination.

For this assignment I took a huge risk of hanging an ipad on the wall, to be honest I was scared that it might fall off. I got the inspiration from The Sovereign Forest where Amar Kanwar utilised interactive platforms to engage with the viewers. I wish I had more time and that could better portray what I want to. I also wish that I had presented my piece better instead of going blank all of a sudden.

For this current assignment, I’ve decided to focus on the people maintaining the cleanliness of Singapore as Singapore is widely known for its cleanliness. Without them, Singapore would not be as what it is today and I think people should really give them more credit.

At first I found a lot of images of the clean side of Singapore, dirty and some cleaners.

Found Images

I wanted to show the contrast of the clean and dirty side of Singapore and the importance of cleaners who help to maintain the clean image of Singapore. However Robert suggested that it would make more sense if I took pictures of the cleaners and yes it made sense so I went ahead to do just that.

Taken Images

So I went around taking photos of cleaners. The funny thing is, when you’re not on a lookout for them, you see them everywhere but when you want to find them its so hard. I tried taking photos and different timings and at different locations but its so hard to find them. I realised that they start their work early in the morning, so I had to wake up at 6.30am to catch them in action.

I tried not to take photos from afar so I just went for it and eventually got scolded by an uncle. I guess I wasn’t exactly on stealth mode.

After editing the photos, I realised that the colours didn’t have a concise ‘look’. Although I liked the pictures, I eventually sieved out 7.

Deciding on a matte or glossy finish and whether or not to include a border

Decided to make my own border

Initially I wanted this photo series to be on a book, but I realised that its quite hard to compile them together without it being confusing. Then I gave up on making it in to a book and thought of exhibiting them as a timeline format since I have photos of cleaners from morning to night but still it was hard to incorporate the found images that I have.

I decided to use my 7 chosen pictures to frame up an interactive screen that will showcase the found images.

I also decided to make my own white frames to give it a clean look. As well as to save money and not buy frames. And my doggies watching me work.

For my found images I also added in screenshots of websites and newspaper cut outs showing how Singapore is always portrayed as a clean city.

4D: The Other Side of a Clean City

4D: The Other Side of a Clean City Process