Heartland Living was the name of my first blog. The header image I chose was a photo of an HDB block painted with a rainbow. The blog became a space where I documented my musings through photos, writing, lyrics, film stills—anything that spoke to me as a 20-year-old film student from the Singapore heartlands, aching to see what lay beyond the rainbow.
The invitation to be the guest editor for Vogue Singapore’s ‘Home’ issue was certainly a cherished one. It offered me the chance to observe and document the editorial process up close, and watch a team of creatives pull together a cohesive narrative from many distinct voices. It was also an opportunity to collaborate with my friend, the photographer Khoo Guo Jie, as we embarked on a photographic journey across the island, asking ourselves the proverbial question: is Singapore a cinematic city?
What we do know is that there is depth and history in our cinematic landscape. You see it in the monochromatic romance and humour of pre-independence films by P Ramlee, like Ibu Mertua Ku, Antara Dua Darjat and the timeless Bujang Lapok series; or in Sandi Tan’s Shirkers, where a teenage road movie lost to time becomes a documentary about memory, ambition and authorship. You also see it in K Rajagopal’s exploration of the gritty underbelly of Little India in A Yellow Bird, which reveals the marginalised corners of our society. Anthony Chen’s ongoing heartland trilogy of Ilo Ilo, Wet Season and the upcoming We Are All Strangers traces the emotional undercurrents of family, duty and intimacy in contemporary Singapore.
This year marks the nation’s diamond jubilee—not just a time for celebration, but for reflection. When we think about home, it is always tied to memory, or the sights and sounds that trigger a certain introspection. Nostalgia becomes a permanent fixture in a city where life often feels fleeting. On a recent location scout, we returned to a strata mall that was still open just months ago, only to find it torn down. The shock was real, but so was the awkward sense of acceptance.
There is no denying the strange times we are living in. It can feel frivolous, even difficult, to remain creative while so much is shifting around us. But we try anyway by holding on to empathy, hope, wonder and the act of storytelling. Perhaps, in doing so, we create a little joy around us.
Happy birthday, Singapore. And thank you to the Vogue Singapore team for this unforgettable opportunity.
