This project is an exploration into choreographing a mindful city experience for the walker, to and through non-places of the city. In a series of walks and workshops, it encourages people to notice abstracts through abstract places-curating a unique sense of place via photography.
This is facilitated by I SPY, a kit that unfolds as a system of objectives and conditions for the explorer/explorers.
Our explorers begin their journey from Maxwell Food Centre, looking for things that don’t make sense to them. Their journey took them through the many tiny streets in the vicinity to Craig Road, Duxton Plain, Bukit Purmei, VivoCity and eventually Plaza Singapura through Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station. The journey took about 3 hours to complete, with pit-stops here and there (bookstore, cafes, lunch and spotting chickens across the road).
The group goes through many spaces- and equally many places. Starting from Maxwell Food Centre - a well known tourist attraction - they make their way to Duxton Road, trying to find ways through buildings. Besides a bookstore, a few cafes and chickens, the group discovered an underpass link to Craig Road which they eagerly took. The area is clearly littered with cafes and restaurants which await visitation. The conversations were lively - the weather was good and the group seemed to enjoy being surrounded by greenery and white architecture that characterises the area.
Transition towards Vivocity was a lull in the journey - a break to meet the conditions set forward and enjoy the aircon of the bus. Vivocity was rightfully crowded (it was the weekend) which gave us the opportunity to take a longer break - lunch!
A significant amount of time was spent admiring the view from Vivocity, sitting by what we hypothesised to be a budget imitation of the Sentosa beaches. From there, the journey continues towards Dhoby Ghaut, where it comes to an end in Plaza Singapura.
The explorers begin their journey from Raffles Place MRT Station, looking for things that make them happy. Their journey started with a series of underground trips to fulfil their first set of conditions - From Raffles Place to Tanjong Pagar Station. The next part of the journey was a series of bus rides, from Tanjong Pagar back to Raffles Place, Fullerton and then to Bugis. At Bugis, the bus rides gave way to the MRT as the group had decided to end their journey at Katong for dinner. The on-foot journey from Paya Lebar to Katong was a slow stroll with a pit stop for kopi along the way at Eunos.
From the dwarfing, modern, congested surroundings of the Central Business District to relatively open spaces of Eunos, the commute was about reliving memories and finding parts of Singapore that make them happy. The group’s journey was characterised by moving spaces - bus, MRT and underground walkways. Taken a bit with the game mechanics, their primary goal became to meet the conditions - the first round was finished pretty quickly in the same area. Perhaps it was due to the conditions they got, the group was evidently able to cover a large area. The spirit of exploration didn’t fade even as the group decided on their end destination for dinner - their objective set the ball rolling for finding things around them.
Finding a place to rest and grab a drink (kopi and milo) was easy near Paya Lebar. The levels of enthusiasm didn’t dip - all explorers were ready to continue once dinner was decided. Walking towards Joo Chiat was an easy stroll. Happiness was found in greenery, scenery and the people around.
The pair set out to hunt for sounds - in an almost soundproof room on wheels. In order to complete the conditions, they boarded a bus from Newton Station Exit A. After two stops, the bus went on to the Pan-Island Expressway, which meant we were trapped in the moving box for a while. The bus ride was spent discussing what constitutes an unfamiliar sound - a language? Sounds from an unfamiliar person? An unfamiliar person speaking an unfamiliar language? Once this was decided, the next step became figuring out how to capture sounds in photographs, in a space that was relatively soundless. Both participants were unlikely to step out of sheltered, air-conditioned spaces - the sun was out to get them. Despite a semi-constant conversation, the group was able to keep an ear out for unfamiliarity in their surroundings.
The pair’s journey was hopping from one transitional space to another, starting from Newton Station Exit A in the second deck of bus 972M. The journey was largely uneventful, marked with greenery along the Pan-Island Expressway, which inevitably gave way to the concrete jungles of HDB structures somewhere near Dairy Farm MRT Station. We had unknowingly entered a mobile space that didn’t stop for a long while.
The bus journey came to an end near Bangkit LRT Station, where our explorers boarded the LRT. Riding the LRT was a new experience for all of us which is why we spent a good while just in it, travelling in a loop between the towering HDB structures. A new set of conditions was drawn once the fascination with the LRT dwindled. The conditions led our travellers to (and through) Bukit Panjang Plaza, subsequently ending at the entrance of Bukit Panjang MRT Station.
A set of publications capturing the unique sense of space curated through the walks and workshops conducted during the project ‘Invisible City’. The publications incorporate recollections (through text and drawing) of the journey from the participants, as well as the facilitator. Excerpts from the walk and a subsequent discussion are included in the form of photo-comics, keeping in mind the distinct experience of each journey.
