Granite has served as foundational blocks for nation-building — excavated locally and becoming a crucial resource for public housing alongside protecting our coastlines from erosion. Land scarcity, usage and raw materials remains as key concerns in our state policies and agendas.

Granite is also imbued with history. Granite is studied by geologists and paleo-climatologists to understand our ecological history. Granite is also a recurring metaphor within Malay folklore — for a fable foretelling punishment in being unfilial to a mystical element to display strength and power.

The work weaves multiple disparate narratives — visual investigations at former granite quarries, breakwaters at East Coast Park, a Malay folklore titled Si Tanggang and poetic pantuns alluding to the Nusantara (Malay World). Now Is When? manifests as a visual survey into local folklore, histories, state narratives and state ideologies; how they are created, controlled and perpetuated to build a nation.

Saatnya ku berkata
Mungkin yang terakhir kalinya
Sudahlah lepaskan semua
Kuyakin inilah waktunya.

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Syahrul Anaur’s Now Is When? is presented at the 10th Singapore International Photography Festival as part of Shifting Images: Photography from Singapore 2000–2025, under In Circles.