Chinese mythology depicts the dragon as a long, serpent-like creature with powerful talons. Often linked with auspicious power, it is the natural choice for the symbol of fortune.
23 February 2012
The temple called me up to photograph a triennial event, the light-up of the fire dragon. The life and death of the dragon happened on that very night of February, as it danced its greatest first and last — its only dance.
The crew was invited to cover the inaugural Lomography Singapore outing, a casual and spontaneous event to celebrate the opening of Lomography’s Gallery Store in Singapore.
As a kid, reading Russell Lee’s True Singapore Ghost Stories gave me the chills. Particularly stories about the Hungry Ghost Festival. Who could put down a book with a pair of eerie almond-shaped eyes on the cover? I was clearly courting trouble, when reading such stories rendered me too frightened to make the short walk to answer nature’s call in the middle of the night, a majestic distance of no more than 14 metres separated my bedroom from the toilet. I still read (past tense) them anyway. A decade and a half later, I find myself exploring one of the ‘rituals’ so closely associated with the seventh month — the getai.
Taking place once a month on Friday evenings in Red Dot Design Museum, the Market of Artist And Designers (known as MAAD in short) is a congregation of the Singaporean creative, art and design scene. Not to be mistaken for your run-of-the-mill flea market, MAAD showcases a wide spectrum of works by local talents, such as poets, painters, visual artists, jewelry crafters, product designers and many more. Started since July 2006 as a campaign to “save, support and sustain Singapore’s creative souls”, MAAD has expanded rapidly through the years in scale and now even boasts exhibition opportunities.
The crew had the privilege of visiting the MINT Museum of Toys a couple of weeks ago. We’ve been interested in the place for a while, so when we heard that the museum had collaborated with local illustrator MessyMsxi on an exhibition, we thought it would be a good time to check out the place. (We’re giving away passes to the museum as well, scroll to the bottom to find out more!)
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