‘We Were Farmers’ is a photographic project about my family, who were farmers for generations in Singapore from the 1960s to 2020. The project spans 12 years and also serves as a commentary on changing agricultural practices and urban development in Singapore.

I started working on it in 2008, exploring my family’s journey of experience and resilience, and their final succumbence to an urbanised reality in June 2020.

While photographing my family, I began to question my sensibilities as a photographer and as a family member. My photos became a commentary on the relationship between me, the photographer, and the person/subject portrayed. How is my identity connected with my family and my environment? As a documentary photographer, I also started to reflect on my position as a participant-observer in the creative process and question the idea of objectivity in my work.

My family became more than just a subject. They are a medium through which I investigate the interplay of identity and relationship – theirs and also mine. I hope to challenge my viewers to read beyond what is visibly represented, taking into account the familial connection between the image-maker and subject.

My project also explores how families are shaped and altered by economic and political forces by charting the crossroads of personal and collective histories. It argues that family matters are influenced by a multitude of factors. Through my visual practice, I examine why family-run businesses and multi-generational families, once common, are failing in Singapore as our living space shrinks.

The project will include archival photos from my family albums. Ultimately, this series narrates the hopes, dreams and memories that tie my family and me together. It is a poignant reflection of where my community, tradition and sense of self come from.