Bidadari by Deanna Ng

Issue 103

I document fragments of memory in a rapidly changing urban landscape that I call home, Singapore.  Growing up in Singapore, our country has always been known as the “Garden City”.

This is a story about Bidadari, a park near my home.  It was previously a cemetery. From 2001 to 2004, the graves were exhumed to make way for a new housing development. The construction of the new Bidadari housing estate was deferred until 2011. In the meantime, the park with beautiful and majestic old trees quickly became my favourite place for an evening stroll and a place to get away from the city.  

The park was gradually closed to the public. First the fences came up. Next the bulldozers came in. Trees were uprooted to new locations. Once a space for the dead, Bidadari will become a space with new memories for the living. 

A sense of loss has kicked in as everything is changing at lighting speed. My memory of Singapore, my home, is fragmented and disjointed. It’s a feeling that is becoming too familiar. 

Deanna Ng lives and works in Singapore.
To view more of Deanna's work, please visit her website.