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LUMEN | KINDLING THE KAMPONG SPIRIT !
Kindling t he Kampong Spiri t !
By Eugene Ong
( Picture credits for paintings in poster image : Lim Cheng Ho , Ebb Tide at Changi Beach , 1972 ; Marvin Chew , Morning Stroll , 2019 ; Ng Woon Lam , Kampong Lorong Buangkok , 2011 )
From 12 to 30 September , the Beurel Library , in collaboration with FPAM Geography and IBAM English , organised ‘ Space and Lived Experience ’, an exhibition informed by the beliefs and practices of two disciplines ( Geography and English ). This exhibition sought to question , re-identify and re-present space with a focus on the Kampong as both noun and verb . ‘ Space and Lived Experience ’ also provided visitors with the opportunity to understand how space is not static but an evolving construct bridging the lived experiences of people with a post Covid-19 Singapore .
Presented as a multimodal narrative , the exhibition celebrated SJI students ’ ( re ) situating of the Kampong in urban Singapore . Through games , posters and other forms of interactive artefacts , ‘ Space and Lived Experience ’ was successful in provoking visitors to question if memories of Kampong life can be realised in urban space ; prompting one to distinguish the home from the house in 21st-century Singapore .
Even the IBDP students enjoyed playing games that were adapted from Malaysian cartoonist Lat ’ s iconic memoir , Kampong Boy .