The Land of My Heart, 2015. Photo: Courtesy of John Clang
John Clang, The Land of my Heart, Singapore
Singaporean photographer John Clang recently gave an interview to Vice about his latest collection of work titled, The Land of My Heart. Clang is renowned in the artistic and photographic circles internationally but this book's subject brings him to a subject closer to home—Singapore. It takes the theme of celebrating familiar, nostalgic places in Singapore, such as the dragon playground in Toa Payoh, and well-known symbols, such as Singapore Airlines's Singapore Girl (in full kebaya regalia, no less). Here, we glean the most important nuggets from his interesting interview.
On his thought process behind the series: "When I was invited to do the series, I was thinking about doing something that is not a documentary of where we are now. Singapore is a country that is always evolving and moving forward. Presenting where we are now is not an accurate representation of what Singapore is because Singapore will be completely different in three years. I'm more interested to show what the real Singapore is. What is the image of Singapore? The image of Singapore is not the MBS [Marina Bay Sands] building, the Merlion, or the chewing gum."
On the 'real Singapore': "The heartland. That's why I say "The Land of My Heart." It's basically where most Singaporeans live... What I find fascinating are the different heartlands, where people grow up, wake up, go to work, and when they come home at night. That's what's beautiful. That is the true Singapore—not where we spend our weekend or where the tourists go."
Related article: Singapore's Best Export—Photographer John Clang
On Singapore's success as a nation: "I'm not concerned with the success of Singapore. As a nation you have your ups and downs, but the question is how you sustain the "up"? How do you sustain the hope? I think that's the next phase. The government has to let go of our hand and let us grow on our own and we will have to face our own failure somehow and decide where to go from there. That's the exciting part."
John Clang, One Minute Slience, 2015
John Clang, One Minute Slience, 2015, BAZAAR Art
On Lee Kuan Yew: "What Lee Kuan Yew has done is create a very strong foundation for the company. I keep saying the word "company," it's an accidental word that I use because what I want to say is that Singapore is run like a company. It's a very well oiled machine."
Related article: Art In Tribute: One Minute Silence By John Clang
On Singapore's future: "Singapore is a country where I care about its past, I look forward to its future, but I never [think of its] present... If you live for the present, then there will never be a future. Singaporeans care less about the present. They think more about the past and they worry about the future. That's what Singapore is."
Read his full interview on Vice.
Text by Pakkee