FYP Publication

COMPLEX JOURNAL DIARY CHINATOWN ISSUE 01

INTROD 牛 UCTION 车 水 I’m sure we all know that Chinatown holds a lot of culture and history of Singapore, but how much do we really know about Chinatown both today and in the past. With that being said, this mini zine is to bring light on the horrors of Chinatown in a more avangarde way. But also some blank notes for you to dot down how you feel too!

牛 DORTNI 车 NOITCU 水 I’m sure we all know that Chinatown holds a lot of culture and history of Singapore, but how much do we really know about Chinatown both today and in the past. With that being said, this mini zine is to bring light on the horrors of Chinatown in a more avangarde way. But also some blank notes for you to dot down how you feel too!

LDGOL UT GOL

“Living in Jalan Kukoh for the past six years has made me realise how well poverty in Singapore is hidden.”

BSOLUT

“Older folks make up a part of the neighbourhood’s population.”

Having arrived in Singapore, the women made their way to the Chinatown neighbourhood located between South Bridge Road and New Bridge Road, where many of their fellow samsui migrants stayed. They lived in rooms above shophouses that lined streets such as Upper Chin Chew, Upper Nankin and Eu Tong Sen. A room was further subdivided into cubicles, with at least four women sharing one single room. Most samsui women worked for as long as they could – usually well into their 70s. They continued to send money back to China and saved what little they could for their retirement. Some of them visited China after retirement and settled down there, but others stayed on in Singapore because they had grown accustomed to their living environment.

SAMSUI WOMEN

FAMILY 牛 车 水 FAMILY

牛 FADING STORIES 车 水 On that note, this was inspired by the “loneliness” aspect of family, specifically with seniors that you hold dear. For me it would be my grandparents whom I miss dearly. Due to implications, most of my childhood was spent with my grandparents in Malaysia so I could say that my grandparents had a big part in raising me. We used to see each other fairly often, weekly if we could. It’s just a pain that it takes at least an hour to get to them or for them to come over. But because of their aches, it’s hard for them to drive for an hour in a traffic jam. And as i am writing this, we are experiencing the fall of covid-19. Making visiting even more difficult than it already is. Especially since I could not travel to Malaysia to visit them. With this project, visiting residents of seniors in chinatown, i thought it would be fitting to have aspects of writing letters to your loved ones like they used to in the past FADING STORIES

INSTRUCTIONS “age is just a number” after meeting some of the seniors residing in chinatown, i realised that there are a lot of them had energy to rival mine! with karoke session in their own home. With that being said, how do you feel about seniors being 10x more active than you? What do YOU think?





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ENTRI- ICATIO







The trio were inspired by the Brutalist-architectural movement. The style usually features monumental structures made of off-form concrete without being plastered over, for an appearance of “strength and solidity”.



PEA BAN

ARL NK

INSTRUCTIONS Gentrification is an iffy topic im sure. Some say that a building should be preserved for its historical background and its iconicism. but those who actually stay or rent in said buildings would love the change in infradtructure What do YOU think?





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OOMMEELLEESS

OMELES



With homelessness in singapore, a number of them are commonly found in larger and older housing estates, together with estates with more rental flats. Most of the homeless are chinese men aged above 65.

IDYOUKNODid you know that being homeless in singapore is illegal One night a few volunteers distributed blankets ???and other necessities including biscuits to more than 10 homeless seniors at chinatown. One noted that there were most likely more homeless individuals around the area that just hides too well (I wonder why)

“He was laying on some flattened cardboard boxes, with a thin bedsheet as a barrier against the cold. Perhaps because of this, he was shivering during the chilly and damp weather that day.”

denettalf emos no gniyal saw eH“ teehsdeb niht a htiw ,sexob draobdrac spahreP .dloc eht tsniaga reirrab a sa gnirud gnirevihs saw eh ,siht fo esuaceb ”.yad taht rehtaew pmad dna yllihc eht

“Older folks make up a part of the neighbourhood’s population, and from what I know, loneliness may have even caused a few to commit suicide.”

INSTRUCTIONS Homelessness. one of the profound issues in singapore. a lot of seniors as mentioned would be homeless due to many reasons, with many having their own stories and background. One i read from an article was a wealthy man, moving to singapore and gave up all his wealth for his only daughter’s education overseas. So, heavy topic, any thoughts? What do YOU think?





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SPSEPSCEPICASEI

ASEILPACSELIPACELICAILALtoLionBefriendersforthe insightful and informative tour, getting us inspired to start creating this campaign. To further emphathise and understand seniors, bringing light to unspoken and hidden issues laying in the depths of our society. TTHHTAHATNANHTKNKAHSKNSAS

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