In these times of rising activism on climate change and other environmental issues, a new band of campaigners has joined the fight: street artists. Street art has typically focused on megacities and urban festivals. But I noticed that a generation of digitally ultra-connected artists has been encouraged to spread their brushes and spray cans elsewhere – to forests and seas – and to creatively question our relationships to the natural world. Leveraging their ability to reach one of the largest and most diverse audiences – anyone passing by – street artists are increasingly using their public works to address current issues, not the least of which is climate change.
Recently, I found an example of climate activist street art in Singapore, which shows that artists can actually bring an alternative and responsible message to the public through their work. Titled “The Birds in Our Backyard”, the series of wall art relates to human-wildlife conflict and how to live in harmony with feathered neighbors. They are all painted over ten columns located at Block 218B and 218C Boon Lay Avenue in Jurong West HDB estate. The lead artist is Ms Dorcas Tang, a climate activist and artist based in Singapore. Ms Tang has garnered much attention in recent months for her advocacy on Instagram, (@earthtodorcas), which raises awareness of important climate issues ranging from extreme rainfall events and food waste to climate justice and conscious shopping. I find that her art is wonderful and non-confrontational, so it is perfect for spreading words about environmentalism and climate change to a broader audience. Such climate-conscious works enable us to think more critically about the impact humans are having on the environment and how we need to act in a socially responsible manner in order to conserve and protect our planet.
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我的《脚踏车骑向咖啡馆》摄影文章登在七月十日联合早报的小城大事版 zbNOW/早报现在。 感谢、感恩!
每当周末到来,就是 Cafe Hopping 的好日子。约上闺蜜一起探索隐藏在城市里的个性咖啡馆,度过一个悠闲的周末,卸下日常生活压力。咖啡文化日趋流行,新加坡有越来越多以脚踏车为主题而设计的咖啡馆,成了许多人相聚的热门地点。这些咖啡馆从装修风格到经营理念,都离不开脚踏车这一元素,将咖啡和脚踏车完美结合。一直觉得脚踏车和咖啡总有着一种近乎天然的契合度,因为爱骑脚踏车的人几乎都喜欢喝咖啡,所以当脚踏车邂逅咖啡,一动一静,就会产生精彩交集。无论是脚踏车迷还是咖啡痴,这些咖啡馆都可以让人远离喧嚣停下来休息喝咖啡,进一步了解脚踏车文化,或是与朋友小聚的闲暇时光,或者是买一辆喜欢脚踏车模型带回家。 Happy Sunday! My photo essay on bicycle-themed cafes in Singapore is published full coverage in zbNOW/早报现在 today. Thank you so much to zbNOW/早报现在 ! Coffee and cycling have always gone hand in hand, perhaps because one fuels the other, and that goes both ways. These bicycle themed cafes are based on different concepts and they are not only meant for people who love bicycles. They are places where everyone is welcome and even if the customers aren’t bicycle lovers when they walk in, hopefully they will be by the time they walk out. They are cafes which are passionate about cycling, but are also places where people with all interests can feel at home. The key interest at these cafes is to enhance and grow the culture of enjoyment around coffee and cycling :) There is nothing I like more than being able to "kill two birds with one stone", or in this case, seeing two cities in one trip. When I went to visit Copenhagen, Denmark in February 2022, I decided to take the train from Copenhagen Central Station to Malmö (blog post here) and Lund which turned out to be my best time in Sweden. Lund is very close to Copenhagen as well as Malmö, so you can easily reach Lund for a nice day trip around the town. There are multiple departures every hour and the train journey takes only 45 minutes.
Lund is one of Sweden’s oldest cities and many of the buildings in Lund are historicist creations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries thrives alongside modern buildings. It is said that you can spend your whole life here without seeing all the quiet little corners, all the beautiful buildings and details. Interestingly enough, founding dates all the way back to Year 990 when Lund was then a part of Denmark (there have been so many wars fought between these Scandinavian neighbors that at one point Denmark ruled everything, and then Sweden did, and then repeat). 许多北欧的城市其实不算大,老城区便是北欧国家的旅游热门打卡地,瑞典也一样。瑞典有很多老城区,是旅客喜欢游览的地方,隆德(Lund)便是其中一个。历史悠长的隆德是瑞典最古老的城市之一,建于公元990年前后,当时还是丹麦管辖,但后来瑞典战胜丹麦,它就成了瑞典的一部分。 我从丹麦哥本哈根Copehagen坐火车到达隆德,整个车程才45分钟,非常方便。隆德具有很多古老的建筑,大部分建造于12和13世纪之间。相比瑞典的其他城市,隆德建筑保存得非常完好,甚至颁布了一个本地的法律来限制考古研究,这使得这些历史遗留的古建筑成为这座城市的瑰宝,璀璨的遗产。在旅途中,我很喜欢探索古老建筑,然后尽量地了解那个国家的历史,甚至还会幻想自已在这里生活,或如果穿梭在这样的老建筑之中,那会是怎么样的画面等等。 |
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