Category: Reflection

Hostile Architecture – A solution? PART ONE

I was wondering , Why were these laws in the void deck implemented in the first place.  There’s always a rationale behind it!

And the reasons are disappointing.

Its because Singaporeans lack a sense of responsibility. How should we go about proving this is otherwise?

Here are some evidence.

The usual during Chinese New Year – Bring the mess from your home to outside your home! [ Come, I clap for you ]

Image result for void deck rubbish”

“Aww come on!  This is a shared space!”

Not sure if this is a Dada art piece for a community gallery or vandalism. 

It really seems that the Singaporean Attitude is also an issue we should tackle!

Yo yo, this just in.

http://www.todayonline.com/voices/ball-games-void-decks-danger-lives-property

The article states: 

I refer to the letter “Allow ball games at void decks to promote healthy lifestyle, bonding” (Sept 2). I agree with the point about infusing kampung spirit into the heartlands. However, I can understand the reasons the relevant authority has restricted ball games, especially football, from being played at void decks.

A couple of years ago, we lived at a block where we had to access the car park through a function hall. Teenagers played soccer illegally in this hall very frequently, ignoring the “No ball games” sign. On a few occasions, residents, including myself, were almost hit by a ball that was coming towards us at ferocious speed. I cannot imagine the extent of the injury sustained if one were to get hit. The residents had to make sure they had the attention of the players when accessing the car park to avoid any unnecessary mishaps.

Moreover, when players are immersed in the game, they are oblivious to danger to their own lives and may run after the ball across the road and kick it too hard or too high. This has, at times, resulted in damage to property and created negative sentiments among neighbours.

 

I suppose that makes sense. But also, this type of measures can be easily tackled.

[ Hostile Architecture ] An issue in Singapore?

 

 

The issue is direct , Singapore’s Kampong Spirit is dying. The social construct is conservative to the point, neighbours are no longer considered important to sustain each other. Unlike in the past [during the kampong days] , neighbours relied heavily on each other for daily providence [ borrowing food and money] to baby sitting and running errands.

In came the HDB and there is evidence that trust has been lost over the years. I myself do not know my neighbours yet alone trust them.

However the open concept of kampong houses has been replaced by closed metal gates. This is physiologically influencing neighbours to keep a distance from each other.

But one thing is certain , as a child, I had the privileged to run in voidecks , which had walls that were nails free. Playing in open spaces that allowed me and the children in my neighbourhood to run free and play traditional games like ‘ Water and ice’ , ‘ Police and Theif’ , ‘Twist!’ , ‘ Hop scotch’ just to name a few.

And often where there were children , there would be elderly. Sitting around for a chit chat  or playing chess at the facility provided.

These spaces were planned for a purpose. They were planned for interaction due to proximity. But also, they were a reflection of the culture of friendship.

But I was also in the generation that saw the changes implemented by the government with regard to these space.

Imagine, going down as a kid to play soccer and seeing the constructions lathering the walls with cement and placing the nails one by one.

BUT … Is it fair to blame the lack of kampong spirit on hostile architecture alone? 

lol,  I don’t think so. Its the same as blaming a smoker for the world’s air pollution. Outrageous.

There are so many other factors such as a change in interest , an increase of technologically savvy children. Such that no child would want to play at the void deck but rather play fifa on their xbox.

But hostile architecture still plays a heavy contributor to this issue. Given that Singapore has such little land and spatial constraints and an increasingly alarming culture of diverting confrontation, it does not make sense that they would barricade and lesson the function of a space that is necessary, not only for interaction but also so the physical support of the building itself. Legit. Period. 

I mean its already there right, why not use it to the fullest potential.

 

 

Research source:

https://www.facebook.com/theonlinecitizen/posts/10154038728096383

 

Science behind Time

I usually watch documentaries to understand the concepts of time. Below are a few that serves as bite sized information and summaries

On my own reflections , I came to a conclusion that if we question time , then we should question reality and also our rationality [conciousness] . This video summarizes the scientific explanation of our reality and perception of time and also gives insight of the human fallibility. Our understanding of  time is deemed to be easily manipulated and physically changed [ Brain undergoes actual physical change ]

 

 

Philosophy of Time : TIME IS ART

The idea of time and the divine realm. This articles and move brings in the idea of synchronizing and deja vu.  It questions if time is not just linear and aimless as it is perceived now but something that is rather complex and underlined with different patterns and space. It also questions the idea of reality.

Check out the article here : TIME IS ART

As a society we tend to downplay the meaning of an event as long as it is not immediately verifiable, so in the end we would say  ” that is just a coincidence”  when in fact synchronicity proves the effects of a universal conscientiousness.

In all disorder there is a secret order. – Carl Jung

 

 

TIME OF OTHERS [ SAM ] Reflection

Time of others [Singapore Arts Museum]

A Reflection

This trip to the museum was insightful because it shed light on vast multi- disciplinary and cross perspective approaches to tackling the idea, understanding and feeling of time.  I was very inspired by the artists in terms of how they express their journey and experiences of time being shaped and going beyond their unfathomable life spans and how they so vulnerably display the fragility of history and future. It was personal and intimate, which was what made the art so much more impactful. Some of the artworks suggest time is linear while others suggest that time is kept alive in memories, legacies and myths and thus, rather cyclical and often haunting. Other artworks displayed time as a concept of human persuasion and obsession, while some disregarded it importance and choose to focus on the being and now.  But I felt all the artworks though different in nature and direction, had one thing in common and that was the way time transcends humanity and shapes the future, whether we like it or not.

And from that came the idea of finding meaning through life and through death. Or if there was meaning at all since through time, everything we could possibly phantom had to come to an end.

Throughout the exhibition, I felt that there were four installations that struck me enough to stop and ponder about the human’s life journey and to question what I can understand outside of my own existence.

Below are my reflections on each artist.

For picture references , click here : Time of others _RACHEL _U1331050D

A] Shitamashi Gallery

A series of 5 large photos with one thing in common ; the Shinto shrine and its evident decay, be it through the cross culture proliferation in Japan or by forces of nature. The photos suggests the idea that time will transcend the legacy of things past, which is an infallible concept on its own. All these made me bring into question of how we as people can phantom time after our deaths or if we even could think of it in such a way. It also made me realise that our legacies and identity, are all subjected to who the future thinks we are to be.

 

B] Death under a Mango Tree by Punseh

A cyclical film that is solely from a second person’s narrative in storytelling. Some of the quote brought up were intriguing on their own.

“The world lies on nothing. Simply pushing itself into existence through an endless obscurantism.”

At first, the art piece took on a pessimistic approach about time and death.  Implying that there is nothing beyond death to look forward to and that life is at the edge of a wasteland. But as I watched more of the film, the narrative transformed into a conversation. Though no actual conversation took place, the narrator asked questions, he spoke on with love, Sadness and anger.

Perhaps for the Artist it was his intention to exemplify the redundancy of life and time. However to me, it inspired a new school of thought that we as people are haunted by ghosts of the past. Stories and legacies, cultural movements and morals, they all haunt humanity through ‘indoctrination’ from generations after generation. And this brought me to think about time as a tool for people to haunt the future.

C] Manmade by Basir Mahmood.

This art piece displays two videos of the same man side by side. On one side, he is wearing a suit for the first time and he seems unsure. One the other, he is seated with a nonchalant smirk, fully suited. This implies that time and context as seen through the eyes of men can be so easily manipulated. Which may explain why our perception of time is so inconsistent too. The way we perceive time is very dependent on our pre-existing context or prior knowledge. And so by displaying this, I was left to wonder about how time and context has shaped the worldview of many people around me.

D] Danh vo

This piece expresses not only a hope to preserve time but to preserve the emotions behind that time.  It expresses a deep emotion between father and son that transcends death. By copying the heartfelt letter and going through the motions in writing french, the artist gets to relive the emotions that were real and exchanged more than a 100 years ago.