Singapore Art Book Fair Curation

The theme “Forgotten Heritage” presents a strong statement of an otherwise significant heritage that was once a part of the everyday lives of Chinese migrants and their descendants. This book provides a snapshot of artefacts from various forms of Chinese puppet theatre, namely the ones in existence: Hainanese rod puppetry, Henghua string puppetry, Hokkien glove puppetry, Hokkien string puppetry, Teochew iron-stick puppetry, and the now defunct Hakka (Waijiang) string puppetry.

This book design aims to capture our original fondness for traditional Chinese puppets – the puppets, the fabrics, the embroidery, the song scripts, the props and the backstage. Layers of old looking fabric with embroidery and decades-old song script are designed as cover to present a tradition that has been here for a century. Through the use of intricate illustrations and vivid photographs, this book takes readers through a century-long history and the gathering of various puppet forms on our small island-state.

　　The trade of traditional crafts once enlivened the social and economic fields of old Singapore. When our ancestors came to Singapore from the south-eastern coast of China in the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, and Hainan, the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi, and the Indian subcontinent, Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, and Puducherry during the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, they brought along their values as well as their livelihoods. These livelihoods include various forms of traditional crafts, including songkok, Indian jewellery, and paper dragon boats, which have largely enriched Singapore’s rich cultural heritage.

　　This book documents 28 traditional craft trades of Singapore. Many of these invaluable trades have vanished or will vanish in the next 20 years. Nevertheless, some of these traditional trades such as rattan weaving, textile dyeing, and candle making have laid the foundation for the rise of modern craftsmen. Several traditional tradespeople have adapted and upgraded their crafts and businesses with the help of new technologies, such as laser engraving techniques for wood carving and blade-sharpening machines for improving the quality of grinding. In this modern Singapore, traditional crafts and trades have slowly dwindled due to the radically shifting cultural scene. But with the craftspersons’ continued ingenuity and perseverance, the crafts trade will continue to evolve and survive regardless of the changing landscape.

　　The book is fully embossed to signify the vanishing of Singapore’s traditional trades and crafts. Only we humans can help conserve, support, and bring attention to the significance of this intangible cultural heritage of Singapore. The attached pastel chalk is for you to shade the pages and discover the lost arts of our ancestors.

Author's Bio 

　　Dr Jesvin Yeo is an enthusiast committed to preserving cultural heritage and traditional crafts related to Singapore. She studies 100-year-old buildings, cultural artefacts and interacts with traditional artisans to explore design innovations and sustainable social initiatives. She shared her knowledge of Singapore’s traditional crafts and art forms globally and locally through international seminars and exhibitions in London, Berlin, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Venice and Cheongju. Jesvin is currently Associate Professor of Design Art at Nanyang Technological University and author of Forgotten Heritage: Uncovering Singapore’s Traditional Chinese Puppets, Vanishing crafts, and Architectural decoration: Negotiating symbols across time and place. Visit her website at www.designingculturesstudio.com

“We obsess about who they look like - the papa, the mama, a cousin, one or other of grandparents.

Mostly, they look like each other. Or like bugs. Or burritos.”

What does it truly mean to be a grandparent — to care for and nurture young life as you look back on your own, and experience the world afresh through their eyes?

The Art of Being a Grandmother: An Incomplete Diary of Becoming is an honest and heartfelt exploration of self — as a mother, grandmother, visual artist and writer. Following her acclaimed autobiographical play, Still Life (2019) with Checkpoint Theatre, Dana Lam invites you into her world as she chronicles the process of becoming a grandparent through her art and writings. The careful interweaving of candid, meditative journal entries with stunning watercolour and ink renderings of scenes of her daily life deftly captures the unique pleasures and challenges of grandparenthood. Poignant, tender, and funny all at once, this volume will delight readers of all ages with its warmth and wonder.

“Being a mother is, arguably, a choice for some.

Being a grandmother is a decision made for you by someone else.”

A 200-page visual journal by Dana Lam; edited by Huzir Sulaiman, with curation, design and layout by Marc Gabriel Loh.

Author's Bio 

Dana Lam is a visual artist and writer, and an Associate Artist with Checkpoint Theatre. In 2019, she performed her play Still Life, which she developed with Huzir Sulaiman and Claire Wong of Checkpoint Theatre over three years. It included a year of exploration and painting in her studio.

She most recently wrote and performed the erotic monologue Why Not Sex in Not Grey: Intimacy, Ageing and Being as part of the Festival of Women: N.O.W. 2021, directed by Noorlinah Mohamed for T:>Works.

Dana has performed in Jerome Bel’s Gala (TheatreWorks, 2016), Joavien Ng’s Incarnation of the Beast (TheatreWorks, 2015) and Dream Country – A Lost Monologue (Singapore Arts Festival, 2012). Her writing credits include the book Days of Being Wild: GE2006 Walking the Line with the Opposition (Ethos Books, 2006). Her visual art has been shown in the Singapore Art Museum and the Substation Gallery. Her 500-piece installation work When Bellies Speak: You Are Your Own Work of Art was held at Hong Lim Park on 8 March 2015.

Outside of performance, Dana has worked as a newspaper reporter and volunteered with AWARE (Association of Women for Action and Research), serving as its President from 2000-2002 and again, from 2009-2011.

Evocative and detailed, poetic and reflective, "Shaolin and You" takes a plunge into the pugilistic and epic world of Shaolin, bringing readers on a colourful journey to discover an ancient craft rooted in history and tradition.  A tribute and celebration of Shaolin Kung Fu, "Shaolin and You" delves into its history, origins, little complexities and lessons through a delightful feast for the senses - where chapters are stuffed with snippets of art, photographs, poems, anecdotes and illustrations of all things Shaolin.

Author's Bio 

Poon Yew Fai started practising pencil drawing as a serious hobby only after entering the workforce, despite having a love for it while growing up in Singapore. He also enjoys Hong Kong action, Kungfu and Wuxia films, especially those from the mid-1980s to 1990s - widely considered to be the golden age of Hong Kong action films. Yew Fai considers his blending of graphite drawing with digital effects an ongoing personal experiment, and is never quite sure how his next Kungfu artwork could turn out. Shaolin Musings is his first self-published collection of Kungfu artworks.