Living among the old walls
时间的记忆

“Endurance of spirit, etched in history and legacy.
岁月流转，精神长存。”

oil on canvas
51x 61cm

She was a relic of the past, no doubt. She had lived through decades – but still, each morning, the world found a way to surprise her. 

Once, she watched the proud Peranakan families of the Straits, with the air fresh with the scent of fragrantly spiced nyonya dishes. Children, crisply dressed, spilled out from the newly erected schools along the road. The tinkle of laughter was a common sound to her, but also the shadows - the days of secret societies, whispered deals, and police raids that left the streets uneasy.  

As the years passed, she watched with growing curiosity and wonder as the world around her became modernized. Renovated, polished and preserved. The rowdy symphony of the old world softened into a quaint, cultured charm.

She thought she had seen it all. Yet the world kept growing, from bicycles to cars, from the gravelly streets to tree-lined sidewalks.

Now when people saw her, they would marvel at her elegant façade, capturing her tiles glazed with Peranakan details and European style archways on their digital cameras. 

She glowed with pride, and not without a little nostalgia.

The world had changed, but she remained – watching, remembering. A witness to history, a vessel of stories.

History and life often share the same rhythm – both are marked by change, but yet are rooted in heritage and memory. This is both a tribute to Singapore’s heritage and the human spirit – the strength to adapt, to remember, and to remain across the test of time.