Yishun

When I was first assigned to Yishun, the very first thing that came to my mind was cat murderers. Immediately I thought of doing a zine about the cats but I thought that I should look around the area first to see whether I will be able to find other inspirations.

First trip down to Yishun

During my first trip down to Yishun, I wanted to familiar myself with the surroundings and explore for ideas. Other than to look out for interesting subjects, I did not really had an absolute plan as to what to focus on. Sadly, it was raining that day and I was restricted to sheltered areas, but I tried my best to take pictures of everything and anything.

A friend of mine that stays in Yishun brought me around the place and let me try a well known chicken rice there.

He also told me about a website where I could look out for news that happened in Yishun, which was: https://yishun.town/

Website

The website was created by a guy named Lhu Wen Kai.

As you can see he placed quite an amount of effort to design the page.

Here are all of the news that happened in Yishun, ranging from accidents, murders, robbery, suicides, etc.

2nd Trip down to Yishun

With the mindset of revisiting certain crime scenes I took pictures that matched (or at least attempted to) the angle of the original photograph. The 2nd comparison photo are the original photographs taken from the article, while the one above it was taken by me.

http://www.zaobao.com.sg/znews/singapore/story20161117-691470

http://www2.tnp.sg/content/yishun-1-junction-2-accidents-15-minutes

http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?96926-Another-couple-slashed-in-Yishun-on-Thursday-SG-is-now-Parang-Hub

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/dead-cat-found-at-foot-of/2463898.html

https://yishun.town/cursed/busfire

I did not manage to take the scenes for the photographs below but I thought I could just take the location from outside.

http://www.stomp.com.sg/singapore-seen/caught-act/man-rages-yishun-cheers-cashier-after-they-ran-out-spoons-challenges-him

https://yishun.town/crime/bankrobbery

Change of Idea

Even after taking the photographs, I did not feel much emotions from what I discovered. Hence I started thinking and brainstorming again. Then it occurred to me why don’t I highlight the positive stories that happened in Yishun instead of the usual hate on Yishun.

Although there were so much more accidents and murders, people remember the bad news more clearly as compared to good ones. Which was why I wanted to paint Yishun in a positive light instead, to remind people that there are good stories from Yishun as well.

Articles:

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/12-year-old-boy-rushes-to-aid-of-car-accident-victims-in-yishun

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/off-duty-cop-out-on-a-date-catches-rioting-suspects-with-help-from-scdf

http://mothership.sg/2015/11/foreign-worker-uses-indiana-jones-move-to-rescue-drowning-cat-from-monsoon-drain/

http://www.tnp.sg/news/mystery-man-rescues-trapped-bus-driver

Research Slides

Originally I thought that the reason why Yishun has so many accidents was because of it’s huge population within the area. However, Yishun isn’t the only place with a huge population density.

Yishun: 9,442.2 inh./km²

Tampines: 12,578.2 inh./km²

Woodlands: 18,366.2 inh./km²

Jurong West: 18,391.2 inh./km²

https://www.citypopulation.de/Singapore-Regions.html

Looking at some news articles as to why Yishun is so infamous I found that it was simply because bad news sells.

People prefer to read gossips, negative news and here are 2 quotes from the guardian as to why,

“peoples’ interest in news is much more intense when there is a perceived threat to their way of life. They care much less about what happens around them when they enjoy relative peace and/or relative prosperity.”

” Fear and poverty stimulate greater interest in news.”

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/why-do-some-people-make-fun-of-yishunhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2007/sep/04/thegoodnewsaboutbadnewsi