Photographs to remember old buildings and locations

This article is more than 12 months old

Aug 23, 2018 06:00 am

Do you often reminisce about childhood memories?

Memories of the good old days always stir hearts and often result in excited reminiscing among families and friends.

And it is why architectural photographer Darren Soh has come up with Before It All Goes: Architecture From Singapore's Early Independence Years, a solo exhibition that is a tribute to the modernist post-war architecture here that is slated for demolition.

The exhibition starts today and ends on Sept 29. It includes 50 photographs of eight iconic sites such as Pearl Bank Apartments, People's Park Complex, Golden Mile Complex, Queenstown Cinema and Tanglin Halt Estate.

Besides ensuring such sites at least stay alive in photos, Soh, 42, hopes Singaporeans will cherish their own memorable spaces, because they could disappear at any time in today's age of rapid development.

He told The New Paper: "It is disturbing because I am in my 40s and I am unable to take my friends to places from my childhood memories."

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He holds dear photographs of his first home at Block 82 Commonwealth Close.

While the blocks there are still standing, it is an old estate.

Trained as a sociologist, Soh feels that people give buildings and locations soul and it is why he developed an interest in photographing vernacular buildings 12 years ago.

He initially shared his photographs on social media, where he received positive responses. It motivated him to launch an exhibition of his work.

"It is important for people to collectively share their experiences of these spaces and how Singapore used to look like with the younger generation. Human memories might be unreliable and selective, but photographs serve as good reminders of the past," he said.