LUMEN Issue 26 - December 2023 | Page 10

The final mural image that is due for printing and display featuring
OLPS Church ( above ) and Kembangan CC ( below ).

Making Gems in Kembangan

By Michael Ee
“ When we first approach a project , we always hold off on what our opinion is . So we ask questions . We watch a lot . We listen . I always say to my team , we ’ ve got two ears , two eyes , and one mouth , and we should use them in that proportion .” — Ilse Crawford , British interior designer featured on Abstract : The Art of Design , Season 1 ( 2017 ) on Netflix .
And listen they did . Liyu Jiong Yang ( FN403 ), Cohen Seah ( MN302 ) and Oliver Khoo ( ML301 ) embarked on a journey to kampung ( Malay term for ‘ village ’) Kembangan to discover more about its history and culture . Found within the intersection of Bedok , Siglap and Eunos , the peaceful estate has a large open field and well-used track on one side of its train station , and a long and wide stretch of road where hawkers , small business owners and residents can often be seen interacting , leading to a gentle upward slope that meets with Siglap Road .
At the beginning of 2023 , our artistic Josephians were blessed with an invitation to create a mural that celebrated the stories and character of Kembangan . Jiong Yang recalls , “ The thought of working on a project excited me as I had never created a mural before , much less for the public transport of the country which would be seen by many commuters daily . I was very interested in taking up this new challenge when the opportunity was offered to me and eager to use my artistic skills to contribute to
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