The History ISSUE: July to September 2015

THE HISTORY A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF

Nº.6 / JULY – SEPTEMBER 2015

INSIGHT

By Debbie Ding HOME FOR THE ARTS Several years ago, one evening I was sitting in The Substation office when a wild-eyed man burst in and declared that he was looking for “an artist” to make him a drawing. There was a stunned silence in the office for a moment, and then I meekly raised my hand.

He ran a ship that was docked at Jurong Shipyard and wanted someone to paint for him a picture of a beautiful lady telling his workers to remember that safety comes first. So I went back and painted a picture of Mazu, the benevolent sea goddess. He loved it and was going to print it on top of a sticker so he could stick it all over the ship.

He told me that he had a house in Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and had been working on various cargo ships for decades. He was away from his home for months at a time, and he recounted to me a time when he sailed to Singapore and there weren’t things like mobile phones yet - so if he wanted to make a phone call back to his home to the States, he had to go all the way to Telephone Exchange in Somerset, which was the only place in Singapore where you could be connected by a telephone line to the rest of the world at that time.

He described to me a world that was very different from mine, and his home seemed very far away, so I asked him, how on earth he had come to The Substation in the first place? He said

that he had opened the newspapers that day and seen a listing for The Substation and it said: “Home for the Arts”. He said to me, “Where else would one find artists, if not in a ‘home for the arts’?”

WHAT IS IN A “HOME”?

What is in a “home”? What is a “home for the arts”? Is it a space in which artists may enjoy domestic comforts —a chair to relax in; a familiar space; a host of friendly faces to interact with?

The Substation became a “home” by becoming a part of our lived experience, providing a safe space in which artists like myself have found the support to explore their artistic interests, and a space where one can develop new works and collaborations.

Two months after its opening, Kuo Pao Kun wrote about the curious diversity of The Substation: “Cantonese opera fans from Kreta Ayer mingling with Western Theatre History students after class, diplomats mixing with rock music fans in the Garden, ethnic musician and singers concerting together till 1.15am; Mandarin theatre-goers wandering into a contemporary art exhibition en masse whilst parents and their three to four year olds share an arts workshop together”.

The physical space of this “Home for the arts” has been crucial in producing unexpected juxtapositions. To me, these unexpected meetings have been one of the best things about having a physical space to call “home”. I’ve met some of my best friends there, and have relished the encounters and conversations with casual passersby whilst sitting around in the Random Room.

We can enjoy artistic freedom and diversity when we are in a secure atmosphere of tolerance and a safe place to experiment, where there are no strings attached to anything and where there is freedom of speech.

NO WAY BACK HOME Can one single place really be a home for everyone?

Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish the difference between “feeling at home” and “staking a claim” on a space’s definition or direction.

Whilst we see a kind of ‘unity through diversity’, it also generates tension and there are divisive differences of expectations of what this ‘home for the arts” should be like.

When speaking and interviewing people who had been involved with The Substation in the past, I often sensed a desire to return to the “values” that The Substation started off with – sometimes also personified as “the spirit of Kuo Pao Kun” – through his public invitation to all to come and make The Substation their “home”.

Yet the link between those days and now is tenuous; not only has The Substation changed, but Singapore and its artists

“We can enjoy artistic freedom and diversity when we are in a secure atmosphere of tolerance and a safe place to experiment, where there are no strings attached to anything and where there is freedom of speech.” have also changed. For where is a “home” in a world forever altered by the constant flow of the Internet and global context - where today’s artists are not necessarily based in one place, or in the place of their origin?

The Substation’s separation from its garden has prompted much argument on the identity of the art space itself. The danger is that this debate on the constituitive role of The Substation consumes energy that could otherwise be spent on devising creative responses to its space limitations and other challenges.

Perhaps there is no way to go back to that same old “home”.

But let us not use it a premise for nostalgia or lamentation. A “home” can be thought of as a place that we leave at some point but imagine ourselves returning to visit again after we’ve been “away” gaining other experiences of the world. In that sense, the “home” becomes the mythic place of our desires – our desire to belong somewhere; it comes to represents the symbolic boundary between our comfort zone and that which has yet to be experienced.

Even as one notion of a one singular, monolithic “home” ceases to exist, we still continue to dream of the possibilities and to question what it means to create of a sense of place, and to make space for independent voices in Singapore.

COMICS

TOP 5 LIST

Top 5 Historical Sites IN SINGAPORE YOU PROBABLY NEVER KNEW ABOUT

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built in a ce was no t In de pe nd en ka Brid ge r ow n M erde da y, but ou as de finite ly w ) ge id ce Br (In de pe nd en ap ore’s to m ar k Sing built in 1955 itish.

Br e th m ce fro in de pe nd en ns w hich lio li’s m ajestic Ru do lfo N ol s lo ng ha ge id br this ac co m pa nied were last ey eir ha bita t (th sin ce le ft th IN DEF), M of re ca r th e pl ac ed un de ub le d th an ge is m ore tro an d th e brid . It is now er at w d le tro ub bein g over hide out an d fo r bein g a m ore kn ow n possib le lio ns but fo r de n, no t fo r tte rs. ua ities an d sq ill eg al ac tiv

Plaque of Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham, Hermann Hesse: they are all ruddy good writers but guess who has a plaque installed near Fullerton Building for his literary contributions to making Singapore known to the rest of the world? Why, by (Lord) Jiminy, it’s Mr Heart of Darkness himself, Mr Conrad! Yes, all ye lit students, now you can bring along your copy of Victory and read it lovingly under his copper-coloured contenance (or throw it in his face for causing all your A-level literature nightmares).

Unit ed Chinese Library is the Just a few doors down from The Substa tion which , Library e Chines United the of original site Chines e played host to bibliop hiles, Sinophiles, and had ters charac of mix motley This s. revolutionarie r for a shared love for Chines e culture and a hunge Sen was Yat Sun Dr r founde which ideas, revolutionary the club has happy to satisfy. Since its founding in 1912, es its moved to Cantonment Road, but the site continu premis es of bookish traditio n. Most recent ly, it was the sadly closed indepe ndent bookst ore Select Books, which at 51 in 2014. We can only hope that the next tenant loving. book as be will Armenian Street

Busts of Ho Chi Minh, Deng Xiaoping and Jawarhalal Nehru Ho Chi Minh, Deng Xiaopin g and Jawarhalal Nehru are “busty friends” - the busts of these historical figures are placed outside of the Asian Civilisations Museum.

As part of the National Heritag e Board’s Friends to our Shores series, these busts are commem orative markers, installed to pay tribute to eminent personalities from various countrie s that share close relationships with Singapo re. Perhaps we should have a series for other figures like One Directio n (for making every selfie-crazed girl/boy/girl-boy find out directio ns to National Stadium), and home-grown charact ers like Phua Chu Kang and Mr. Kiasu (cos we like celebra ting iffy charact er types and behavio ural traits.)

Ee H o e H e an Club

O ne of Si ng ap ore’s first millio also th e si naires club te of so m e s was ba d as s an ac tio n in th ti-Ja pa ne se e ye ars le adin g up Fo un de d by to Wor ld high ro lle r War II. big w igs Li G an En g m N ee So Se ng an d on, Li m Bo on K so cial ac tiv en g, th e cl ities quic kl ub’s y tu rn prolific bu ed po litic al sine ssm an w he n an d phila Kah Kee be nt hropist Ta ca m e ch ai n rm an . Th e club anti-Ja pa ne su pp or te d se ac tivities right up to of Sing ap th e Fall ore in 1942 , w ith m em m on ey fo r be rs raisin th e Chine se g war ef fo rt Sino-J ap an during th e es e war. To th is a ga th erin da y, th e cl g pl ac e fo ub re m ains r promin en busine ssm t Chine se en, an d m em be rship only, an d is by invita is exclusiv tio n e to m en. th e la dies Isn’t it high were in clud tim e ed to o?

PERSPECTIVES

The Evolving Narrative

by Loh Pei Ying

Singapore will celebrate its 50th birthday this year, and it seems only fitting that a grand celebration be held to commemorate this important milestone. Just a few months into 2015, the celebration is already in full swing with the iconic SG50 logo plastered on walls, columns, buses, and posters across the nation. Yet, Singapore is no stranger to such a grandiose affair; while SG50 appears to be the biggest and most ostentatious, celebrations of this scale have been held several times in our short history.

Anniversaries serve to extract a certain event or memory from the past to suit the needs of the present. In many instances, they act as a reminder and teach us a valuable lesson.

Commemoration “lifts from an ordinary historical sequence those extraordinary events which embody our deepest and most fundamental values.” 1 Unfortunately, anniversaries and the extraction of memories are, by necessity, political as remembering also involves forgetting.

What is said and remembered about an event – celebratory or traumatic – will inevitably silence the views and memories of what is unsaid and unrecalled. On the surface, commemoration appears to be a consensual act when it is “in fact the product… of intense contest [and] struggle”. 2 In Singapore, state commemoration has always been linked with nation-building and identity formation. This is especially so for the commemoration of National Day, which shares

an intimate relationship with the Singaporean identity. It is common knowledge that the government uses the opportunity of National Day to build political legitimacy by establishing an official historical narrative and therefore, national identity.

However, it is lesser known that, throughout Singapore’s 50 years of independence, this narrative has constantly evolved to suit the changing needs of the nation-state.

One example of this evolving narrative can be seen in Singapore’s 1984 celebrations of “25 Years of Nation Building”, which commemorated Singapore’s attainment of selfgovernance from the British on 3 June 1959, not independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. A National Celebration Steering Committee was established, along with an official logo and slogan. The famous song “Stand up for Singapore” was commissioned especially for the occasion. 3 Events and festivities were scheduled for half the year, running from June to December. The extravagant celebrations culminated in a massive $18-million National Exhibition, which was held at the World Trade Centre from 16 November until the end of that year and was seen by close to two million visitors. 4 1 Barry Schwartz, “The Social Context of Commemoration: A Study in Collective Memory,” Social Forces 61, no.2 (December 1982), p. 377.

2 John R Gillis, Commemorations: The Politics of National Identity (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994), p. 5.

3 25 Years of Nation-Building, 1959-1984: Information Kit (Singapore: National Celebration Steering Committee, 1984).

4

“After all is said and seen,” Straits Times, December 29, 1984.

In the years before 1984, the People’s Action Party (PAP) government faced several challenges to its rule and policies. In 1981, the Workers’ Party won the Anson by-election, ending the PAP’s absolute monopoly in Parliament held since 1965. 5 A few years later, in 1983, there was strong protest against the PAP government’s seemingly elitist education policy, dubbed the “Great Marriage Debate”. 6 The effects of these challenges revealed themselves in the narrative of the “25 Years of Nation Building” celebrations.

By commemorating the attainment of self-governance in 1959 through the Rendel Constitution instead of Singapore’s independence in 1965, the “struggles” for nation building could be broadened to include narratives of political strife in the pre-independence years from 1961 to 1965, especially with regards to communal strife and opposition parties. 7 The celebrations were meant as a reminder of “the difficult years of the Indonesian Confrontation, the terrors of Communist-inspired strikes and riots, the economic blow of the British withdrawal [and] the rigours of global recessions”. 8 Singapore’s turbulent past was emphasised alongside its material and financial successes. This was seen in the National Exhibition that chronicled Singapore’s struggles and achievements during the previous 25 years and aimed to “convey the message that Singapore’s prosperity cannot and should not be taken for granted.” 9 It was also emphasised by Ong Teng Cheong, who cautioned that, “The more important message the exhibition conveys to our people is … the essence of growth … that will prevent people and nations from decline and obliteration.” 10 This narrative highlighting the importance of remembering was evidently aimed at reasserting the PAP’s role in attaining self-governance, as well as its importance in maintaining a stable and successful Singapore. The emphasis on remembering inevitably drew attention away from pre-PAP politics and achievements, such as David Marshall’s tenure as Singapore’s first Chief Minister in 1955. 11 The story behind the “25 Years of Nation Building” celebrations is uncannily similar to the events foreshadowing Singapore’s golden jubilee. In the 2011 General Elections, the PAP lost its first Group Representation Constituency (GRC) to the Workers’ Party. 12 In the next two years, they lost yet again to the Workers’ Party in two by-elections in Hougang and Punggol-East. 13 The PAP-led government also faced heavy criticism for several of its policies, the worst likely being the Population White Paper, which was met with large protest at Speakers’ Corner. 14 However, the narrative underscoring the SG50 celebrations thus far is remarkably different. The narrative no longer focuses solely on the big players or overcoming a tumultuous past, but has broadened to acknowledge the successes of lesser known individuals and communities. It talks of the “pioneering spirit” that embodies Singapore and the early settlers who contributed to Singapore’s progress. Nostalgia, which was once thought to hinder progress, is now generously evoked through popular

“Yet, amongst all these new changes, we need to ask ourselves an important question: whose memories have been forgotten or pushed away in this new historical narrative?” culture including childhood games, local food and traditional practices, encouraging Singaporeans to reminisce about the past. More importantly, commemoration is no longer strictly state-directed, as individuals, groups and communities can apply for financial support through the SG50 Celebration Fund to organize their own commemorative initiatives, or simply download the logo and celebrate in their own unique way. 15 This tells us that everyone and anyone is free to make their own interpretation of the Singaporean identity. Yet, amongst all these new changes, we need to ask ourselves an important question: whose memories have been forgotten or pushed away in this new historical narrative?

The year 1984 ended with General Elections, where votes for the PAP declined by more than ten per cent; the PAP also failed to regain the Anson constituency and lost another seat to the Singapore Democratic Party. 16 It is difficult to ascertain if the 1984 celebrations affected the results of the General Elections. Similarly, the next General Elections loom ahead for us in the present day. Perhaps the inclusiveness of the new narrative is meant to counter assertions that the PAP government is disconnected from the people. However, the reasons motivating this change still remain largely unclear.

What bearing it might have on the upcoming General Elections is anyone’s guess, and the unknown outcome is daunting and exciting.

C. M. Turnbull, A History of Modern Singapore, 1819-2005 (Singapore: NUS Press, 2009), p. 335.

5

6

“Year of the Marriage Debate,” Straits Times, March 29, 1984, p. 16.

7

“PM Recalls the Past,” Straits Times, November 16, 1984, p. 12.

8

25 Years of Nation-Building, 1959-1984: Information Kit.

9

“How to get to the exhibition,” Straits Times, November 11, 1984, p. 11.

10

“PM Recalls the Past.”

11

Turnbull, Modern Singapore, pp. 260-261

“PAP wins General Election, loses Aljunied GRC,” Asiaone, May 7, 2011, http://news. asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20110508-277662.html

12

Simran Panaech, “Hougang by-election updates,” Asiaone, May 26, 2012, http://news. asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120526-348595.html; Jeremy Au Yong, “Workers’ Party wins Punggol East by-election with 54.52% of valid votes,” Straits Times, January 26, 2013, http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/punggol-east-election/ story/punggol-election-workers-party-wins-punggol-east-2013012-0

13

Goh Chin Lian and Maryam Mokhtar, “Large turnout at Speakers’ Corner for protest against Population White Paper,” Straits Times, February 16, 2013, http://www.straitstimes. com/breaking-news/singapore/story/large-turnout-speakers-corner-protest-againstpopulation-white-paper-2

14

15

See https://www.singapore50.sg/ for more details.

16

Turnbull, Modern Singapore, p. 335.

AUNT AGGIE

Q: Dear Aunt Aggie, To paraphrase the late, great Henry Ford, “History is bunk”. I believe for our nation to move forward, we should always look forward. Our economy, our political systems, our cultural values – they all need to be always dynamic and never static. Old library with stuffy books of knowledge? Tear it down and replace with a gaping tunnel to suck vehicles into town faster. Just gave birth to your first familial contribution to the economy ala first son no. 1? Plan for progeny 2 and 3, and start crowdfunding university funds pronto. Step on poo?

Just move on, you foo. We should start planning for SG51 yester-now, and start celebrating the new and spanking with a bonfire to reduce everything –colonial laws, clan associations, everyone eligible to withdraw their CPF savings –to a glimmering ash! Viva la futurama! If Italy had their Futurists, Singapore should have their Futuri-lehs! How do I go about starting this movement?

V for Vendetta De La Futurista nee Xin Xin Dong Xi Dear V for Vitagen (it’s good for your digestion!)*, You are such a mover & shaker aren’t you? A heart-on-sleeve, pro-activist, future-shistic Snapchat user? You have a crystal ball for a head that you rub everyday don’t you? And isn’t it odd for a forward-looking person such as yourself to quote a late, great, dead one? While tearing down the past to pave the way for the future is a wonderful concept, we must be mindful: The Past is a monkey you cannot shake off your back. Wreck it, press delete, chug down a keg of beer; whatever you do, you have this very human thing called “memory” (and its accompanying friends, regret, guilt, and crazy ex-es – never forgotten). But if you really want a good start to this “Futuri-lehs” movement, I suggest you remove your temporal lobe. A bit of a problem if you have a crystal ball for a noggin though. * retro-jingle if anyone cares to remember.

Aunt Aggie

ASK

Q: Dear Aunt Aggie, I recently completed a 600 page tell-all biography about my life as a singersongwriter-play wright-designer that took my assistant me five years to write (excluding pictures of course). I’ve made sure to include every single detail about my road to success, from my shoe size to my preferred toilet paper brand, so that everyone can have a glimpse of my glamorous lifestyle journey to achieving cultural icon status! Having poured my heart and soul in this sure fire hit, I now need some advice on how the public can get their paws on my life’s story. Tell me, how can I get a copy of my book into the hands of the common people?

Fashionista-diva-Lee Dear Fashionista, I have no doubts that your book is the stuff that John Grisham bestsellers are made of, but 600 page tell-alls are in short supply nowadays. As they say, digital is the way to go, and us plebians much prefer getting our goss through the Dally Mail and Pretzel Hilton rather than thumb through a doorstop I mean thoughtful musings of a life well lived.

A professional editor might beg to differ though so I suggest getting the opinion of one of those instead, because when you start running out of loo roll due to the nightmarish cost of self-publishing, that hard copy manuscript is going to start looking mighty tempting.

Aunt Aggie

Q: Dear Aunt Aggie, I love vintage fashion, antique furniture, beehive hairstyles, retro music… I can’t get enough of the past! My house looks like a time capsule from the fifties, I’ve been mistaken for an extra from a period drama more than once, and I absolutely adore all of it. The problem is my insistence on having friends and family adhere to strict dress codes at my historically themed parties doesn’t seem to be going down well, so I’m wondering if you have any advice on how to spread my love for history?

Miss Madly Men Downtrodden Abby Dear Mad (wo)Man Nostalgia is a powerful emotion that marketers and parents love to milk, and the more the world around us speeds up, the more we want to slow down. It sounds like you’ve got it pretty bad though, so let me remind you of a few comforts that the 21st century has brought us, such as high speed Internet, massage chairs, and robot vacuum cleaners. However, if you would like to persist in living in corsets, you’ll probably need to wait a little longer for the invention of a time machine, or else start inventing an imaginary social life.

Aunt Aggie

EVENTS

PRESENTED BY

FIRST TAKE

BY THE SUBSTATION MOVING IMAGES One of The Substation Moving Images’ most distinctive programs, First Take is a showcase of the newest and most promising short films by upcoming film directors based in Singapore. Filmmakers whose works are selected will have a platform to showcase their works and participate in a Q&A following the screening. This is where you will discover the directors to watch out for.

SEPTFEST 2015: 25 YEARS OF THE SUBSTATION Septfest is The Substation’s annual anniversary celebration, and this year, we turn 25! For this important milestone, The Substation has put together a special festival of events that showcases our history, our multidisciplinary nature, and our community relationships. From performances to films, from sound art installations to conferences, we hope to bring together old and new friends in a festival that aims to look back at key milestones, and what the future will bring.

Friday 28 August to Sunday 27 September 2015 Check out our special guide or visit www.substation.org/septfest for details

NIGHTFEST@ THE SUBSTATION

Monday 3 August 2015 The Substation Theatre Admission: Free, donations are welcome

SILKSCREEN PRINTING WORKSHOP

BY MONSTER GALLERY This workshop will introduce participants to learn how to design, create and print their own tote bags using direct block-out method of silkscreen printing. All materials are provided and participants will take home their own printed totes!

Saturday 11 July 2015, 1pm – 3pm Saturday 25 July 2015, 1pm – 3pm Saturday 15 August 2015, 1pm – 3pm Saturday 12 September 2015, 1pm – 3pm The Substation Classroom 1

The Substation brings its special indie flavour to the Singapore Night Festival once again! We’ve got something for everyone with performances, exhibitions, film screenings, and live music featuring Singapore artists. Look out for a punk rock musical, a taxi installation along Armenian Street, new work from Sam Lo and Robert Zhao, and much more.

Course Fee: $83.35 (Including materials), register via Peatix or email jay@substation.org for more information

Friday 21 to Saturday 22 August 2015, 8pm – 1am Friday 28 to Saturday 29 August 2015, 8pm – 1am The Substation Admission: Free

This workshop will introduce participants to the basic skills required to create convincing representational drawings, as well as examples in which these skills have been applied. At the end of the course, participants will acquire a familiarity and confidence with materials such as charcoal and drawing pencils.

THE RIGHT WAY TO DRAW

BY TANIA DE ROZARIO

Every Saturday starting from 26 September 2015, 1pm – 3pm (5 sessions) The Substation Classroom 2 Course Fee: $155.50 (Excluding $75 material fee), register via Peatix or email jay@substation.org for more information

SUPPORTED BY

THE LIMPEH SHOW

BY SAMANTHA LO / SKL0

EAT U UP

BY JENNIFER MEHIGAN

The LIMPEH series is a series of reflections that look deep into Singapore’s socio-political climate as well as the sentiments expressed by its citizens. Intrigued by the mixed emotions expressed by Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans alike upon mention of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew in this series, Sam Lo decided to undertake further study into the factors that evoke these reactions from the public. Each piece was created in response to specific points of his leadership and her learning process on Mr Lee, which serves as documentation on the people’s perception and intrigue of the myth of the man.

The online and onscreen environment is a mash-up of material that moves at a momentum regardless of lived experience. This reality typically exists as a shrapnel of data and debris for us to exist and devour. EAT U UP parodies visual tropes and charts a progression of Jennifer Mehigan’s series, ‘Eat U Up’ alongside new works. The installation is a parody and an amalgamation of material and sound that is immediately palpable with ones not clearly felt or heard. Curated by Genevieve Chua

Thursday 6 to Saturday 22 August 2015, 12pm to 8pm The Substation Gallery Admission: Free

Saturday 18 to Friday 31 July 2015, 12pm - 8pm The Substation Gallery Admission: Free

About the Contributors Debbie Ding, Artist and Writer

Ang Ying Xian, Illustrator

Debbie Ding is a Singaporean visual artist and writer based in London. She facilitates the Singapore Psychogeographical Society, which explores alternative archives of urban experience through public exchanges, thought experiments, and documentation of ludic adventures. She is working on MAKING SPACE, an upcoming exhibition about The Substation and its archives.

Debbie writes at http://openurbanism. blogspot.sg/.

YingXian. A (b. 1993) is a Singapore born artist currently pursuing her Bachelors in Fine Arts from LASALLE. Inspired by simple everyday scenes and objects, she lights her artwork up with echoes of her personal thoughts and experiences. Often reflecting on aspects of the natural and the artificial, she explores scenes of our fast-paced society and its changes from before.

Loh Pei Ying, Writer Peiying is a fresh graduate from the Department of History at the National University of Singapore. Her interest areas are in politics, Singapore’s heritage and art history. In her free time, she loves to read books, bake, cook, café hop and cuddle with her two fat cats.

Ng Xiao Yan, Illustrator Xiao Yan graduated from The School of Art, Design, and Media, Nanyang Technological University. She enjoys drawing and painting absurdist misadventures, some of which can be found at thirdtentacle.net. She is currently co-working on a self-initiated comic series.

Lim Morrison, Writer Lim Morrison used to write for Big O. He still dreams of the lizard king.

A chat with illustrator YingXian about the centrefold illustration, Capsule.

Q: What was your inspiration for the piece?

The basic idea that inspired this artwork was the notion of preservation. The first modern time capsule was only made in the 1900s, which was probably a rather new way of preserving history back then. The years chosen are before the Industrial Revolution began, which to me was when everyday life started to speed up. I thought that it would be nice to imagine what a time capsule made before the Industrial Revolution would be like perhaps it would show us the state of the world before it became industralised.

Q: Would you change anything about history if you could, and if so, what?

Nothing in particular. I see history as a series of events leading up to where we stand today.

Would you like to contribute to ISSUE?

Check out more of YingXian’s work at: Instagram: @yingxian_ Web: www.ayx.me | w ww.be.net/yingxian

ISSUE is a publication by The Substation that features a different theme every quarter. If you like what you see, and would like to contribute as a writer, illustrator or help distribute ISSUE, please get in touch with Chelsea at chelsea@substation.org.

About The Substation The Substation was founded in 1990, and is Singapore’s first independent contemporary arts centre. We promote research, experimentation, and innovation in the arts, and have worked with some of Singapore’s finest artists, writers, and intellectuals.

The Substation is a non-profit organisation. It is 100% reliant on financial and in-kind support from the general public, commercial organisations, and foundations. The Substation is a registered charity. For 2015, donors to The Substation will receive a 300% tax exemption on any amount donated.

Contact Us 45 Armenian Street, Singapore 179936 www.substation.org The Substation Gallery Open daily, 12pm – 8pm, closed on public holidays

For courses, ticket sales, and enquires about our events, please contact The Substation Box Office

For all other enquires, including those pertaining to venue rental, please contact The Substation Office

Open Monday to Friday 12pm – 8pm

Open Monday to Friday, 9am – 6pm, closed on public holidays

One hour before start of show on weekends

T: 6337 7535 E: admin@substation.org

T: 6337 7800 E: boxoffice@substation.org

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