Inspired by the idea of an alternative shop space in the neighbourhood, Alecia invited residents to the void deck to create personal posters that either expressed a wish or explored issues they care about. These posters evolved into many different participatory artworks.

At the same time, Alecia provided point-and-shoot cameras for the residents to take images of their surroundings and lives. Some of these images were also used in their artworks. All these not only sought to make visible the diverse assets in the community but also demonstrated the abilities of the residents.

Watch this video on the creation process, together with other artworks in the public art installation.

The work introduced art as a form of cathartic release and self-healing, an empowering experience which attends to the mundaneness of everyday life that takes on visual and auditory shapes. It was conceptualised from the artist’s experience of working in sound, sculpture and performance art. Experiencing art in sound-making and movements can be entertaining and liberating.

anGie believes that it is essential to pay attention to the aural qualities of the mundane and the familiar where participants can rediscover their environment through listening and re-invent the meaning of the everyday for themselves. Applying intuitiveness and interaction in creating art, enables one to rethink and question life through art-making.

Watch this video on the creation process, together with other artworks in the public art installation.

Time was spent in the neighbourhood, hanging out in the void deck with residents, building on conversations, and getting to know each other. With some familiarity and trust, the team were able to touch on more delicate topics, on the rhythms of life in their block, where they are in their lives right now, and their thoughts on the last chapter of their lives.

The team were also mindful that there were residents who were not ready to have conversations on end-of-life issues, not with their family members, but perhaps they could start by talking to someone neutral such as themselves.

It was decided to use the form of portrait-taking to allow them to embed these conversations. There were moments where residents shared some sobering sentiments, about their anxieties about loved ones leaving them, or the ones where they will one day leave. Other anxieties were shared by some of the residents who are by themselves, without any support of family networks.

The actual portrait photos were processed and enlarged to various sizes, put into photo frames and presented to the residents. It was a lovely moment to share these with the residents and to take in their reactions looking upon themselves, pondering on what was captured, what is expressed within the frame – some were surprised, a handful very pleased.

These portrait photos are for the residents to share with whoever they choose or to even keep personal, confidential for themselves, for now.

The team deliberately did not show the actual portrait photos in the final video artwork for the public, and instead focused on the moments before and after the shutter clicks – as to maintain that privacy. Visitors could also wonder which expression the portrait-sitters might have chosen and what they/you (the visitor) might choose for their portrait.

Watch this video on the creation process, together with other artworks in the public art installation.

Food becomes more of a sensory memory than a culinary adventure. If a person lives alone, cooking often discontinues. Yet, the emotions around food and its associations with people involved in our lives remain vivid.

This cooking series looks at food as a remembrance of a person’s life and asks people to select recipes they would like to be remembered by. Not only have they selected their favoured recipes, they also show how to cook the dish. The personal stories and emotions around cooking centre around questions like: why do we cook, who do we cook for, and who cooked for us?

When we are young and able to cook, we don’t seem to have the time to cook but when we are old, we are less physically able and even often less motivated to cook especially for those who live alone, or live with a dependent. The work was shaped and developed through meeting the residents mostly living at Blk 7.

These were the encounters:

• Meeting the makciks (Malay aunties) who remember their kampong life growing vegetables and herbs for their home cooking.
• Discovering from the makciks how recipes are shared by women who have the primary responsibility to cook for the family.
• Meeting the guerrilla gardener Mr Tan, who was a professional cook.
• Meeting many senior citizens who no longer cook but eat outside food, when they used to cook the family meal regularly or to earn a living.

Watch this video on the creation process, together with other artworks in the public art installation.