𝓌𝑒𝓁𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝓎 𝓈𝒶𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓈𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹

In the process of exploring the biography of ‘60s Singaporean socialite Christina Lee (1923-2009), I re-interpreted the romanticised land of “pleasure” and “beautiful people” that her tourist isle, Sarong Island was supposed to become.

Back in 1964, Lee wanted to turn her land into a paradisiacal resort akin to Shangri-La. Its original name of Pulau Chantek was later changed to ‘Sarong Island’ in 1967. At the time Lee’s second husband, American film star Jeffrey Stone, felt that “the word sarong is known throughout the world. And it is a word which is easy for Westerners to remember”.

At present, the place does not exist. After a few years of operation, the local government acquired Lee’s property in 1971 and merged the land with Sentosa to develop the site into the tourist spot it is now renowned for. [The move shocked Lee, who expressed her shock and disappointment towards the takeover in The Straits Times, dated 3 March 1971.]

With the intention of taking the play on words further, I took inspiration from the concept of Sarong Party Girls (a stereotype with colonist roots) and Botticelli’s ‘Venus and Mars’ to create an image that captured an alternative vision of beauty in Singapore today.

Links: Instagram

Credits

Photography: Danial Mirza / @papparile

Photographer’s Assistant: Ng Teng Han / @t.hanng

Producer and Creative Direction: Kelly Janine / @kellyjanine.xr 

Styling and Movement Direction: Josh Tirados / @slp.frzng

Hair and Make-up: Sarah Tan / @sarahtan

Models (Right to Left):

Jeev / @jeevstr

Macy / @beforeiko

Qilah Rose / @qilahrose

Textiles on Qilah and Macy courtesy of aNERDgallery (@anerdgallery). Samping on Jeev courtesy of Khairul Ameer (@_lameer)

Jewellery: State Property Fine Jewellery / @thisisstateproperty

Studio: NTU Art, Design and Media

Special thanks

Nate Ng / @ohgeezitsnate and Misc Management