Snapshots Of Yesteryear

WHAT DO THE former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and the old National Stadium have in common? They may be gone but they still bring back fond memories for Singaporeans who used to take the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) train into Malaysia, or cheered at concerts and football matches at the old stadium.

Take photographer Wee Teck Hian, 50, for whom these two locations hold a special place in his heart.

In the six weeks before the final KTM pulled out of Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, Mr Wee, with his Hasselblad XPan camera in hand, photographed the station's Art Deco and neoclassical architecture for posterity, along with light-hearted shots of railway employees bantering. His shots of the National Stadium capture the structure being torn down, and its iconic wooden benches.

''As a documentary photographer, my instinct is to document places and practices that are going to disappear,'' says Mr Wee, who since the early 2000s, has dedicated himself to capturing Singapore's transformation on film.

His photos are on show at Longing and Belonging A Solo Exhibition by Wee Teck Hian. Besides the old stadium and railway station, there are also images of nature spots in Singapore, ''including East Coast Park, which featured heavily in my childhood, and green areas in Singapore such as the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, because of my love for nature,'' he says.

His photos have that nostalgic feel not only because of the subject matter, but also that they are shot in black and white.

It wasn't totally deliberate. Mr Wee says, ''It was the cheapest option available to me back in the day. I could save money by developing the film myself, and buy the film the bulk to create my own reels of film.''

Shooting in monochrome also meant that he didn't have to worry about the quality of the light at different times of the day, so he could shoot any time he had a break from his former job as a newspaper photojournalist.

He hopes that his photographs will ''resonate with anyone who has pondered the loss of something familiar.'' He adds, ''In Singapore, the natural environment and iconic structures change before people are ready to bid them goodbye. We may feel pride at our progress as a nation, but also feel nostalgic for what was there before.''

Longing and Belonging A Solo Exhibition by Wee Teck Hian is on till Mar 1, at Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film, 155 Middle Road. Closed on Mondays and public holidays. Mr Wee is also conducting a photowalk on Feb 8, 10am to 12pm. Priced at S$20 per person, register at objectifs.com.sg/photowalk-waterloo-street-wee-teck-hian.