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I have always been fascinated by photography. It opens my eyes to new perspectives. It also allows me to be transported to another time and space. Through the lens, I observe my world with a keener sense of sight – the interplay between light and shadow, a fleeting movement, forgotten corners – and I never feel much more alive than behind my camera.
我向来热衷于摄影。摄影不仅让我发现新视角，也能让我穿越时间和空间。
透过镜头，我以更加敏锐的眼光观察这个世界——光与影的互动、稍纵即逝的动作、被遗忘的角落——我在镜头背后体会到活着的感觉。

Going to the pasar malam (night market) in Chinatown had been an integral part of my Chinese New Year celebration in the eighties. Even after all these years, I can still vividly recall the sight, sound and smell of those outings. But above all, it was a place that I had an affinity with. Perhaps it was in the vernacular dialects spoken by the elderly ma-jie (female servants) and tradesmen, or maybe I was drawn to the gritty, chaotic yet earthy and authentic community.
八零年代时，到牛车水的夜市（pasar malam）逛街，已是我庆祝农历新年不可缺少的活动了。时隔多年，夜市的景象、声音、气息，至今在脑海里仍然清晰无比。更重要的是，我对牛车水总有着一份微妙的情感——也许是因为那些摊主或妈姐们口中操的乡音；又或许是那些吵杂而又自然朴实的人们深深吸引了我。

But I stopped visiting Chinatown when it became, in my eyes, nothing but a tourist attraction that pandered to those seeking instant, recognisable indicators of Chinese culture.
后来我却不再回去牛车水了。我认为那里已经渐渐变成一个旅游景点，专门迎合那些想要看到熟悉的“中华文化”的游客……

Paradoxically that was the main reason for my participation in this Picturing Chinatown project. We judge according to the images in our mind, instead of the actual reality on ground. By walking around Chinatown with my camera, I hoped to see and capture a side of it that is invisible to the cursory glance.
然而，吊诡的是，这也是我参加“光影纪实：牛车水旧事新说”的主要原因。我们常常根据脑海中的影像做判断，却不正视真实的情况。我拿着相机游走牛车水，希望能够看到或捕捉到那些容易被人们忽略的事物。

Chinatown is a microcosm of Singapore. The transformation story of Chinatown – from impoverished and overcrowded squalor to a gleaming and orderly neighbourhood – mirrors that of Singapore. Some say the success came with trade-offs, an overcrowded society with infrastructure bursting at the seams. One needs only stand at the ground level of the entrance to Chinatown MRT station to witness the endless wave of people, in constant motion, rushing in all directions at breakneck speed.
牛车水是新加坡的缩影。从一个贫困且拥挤肮脏的地方，到如今井然光鲜的社区，牛车水的变化直接反映了新加坡的发展。有些人认为蓬勃的发展必须付出相应的代价，我们的社会越来越拥挤，基础设施承载不了人口的增长。你只需站在牛车水地铁站的出入口，便可亲身体会那络绎不绝的人潮以极快的速度鱼贯穿梭。

Living in fast-paced Singapore, I sometimes yearn to be far away from the madding crowd, seeking solitude and invisibility. Is it possible to find a place where one can retreat to one’s own space? A solitude that allows thinking, breathing and silence? One just has to search.
新加坡的生活节奏紧张，我有时会渴望远离喧嚣，寻找幽静和隐蔽的空间，到一个能够和自己独处的地方，一个允许思考、呼吸、静谧的角落。有可能吗？我们必须寻找。

“I find the idea of always being in company rather oppressive; I see life more as an affair of solitude diversified by company than an affair of company diversified by solitude.”— Philip Larkin
“我觉得无时无刻必须有人陪伴的想法是很压抑的。我把生命看作一种孤独的存在，偶尔有人陪伴；而不是一种生活在人群中的存在，偶尔穿插着孤独。”—— 菲利普·拉金
The lady napping on a bicycle parked on a pavement near Chinatown OG Shopping Centre was oblivious to the crowd that passed her by. With her hand resting over her eyes, she shut out the world at large. In that corner, on top of a bicycle, she chose to be invisible in a public place.
在牛车水的奥奇百货公司附近的人行道中，这名妇女正睡在脚踏车上。此处熙来攘往，而她无视人群，手安放在眼睛上，把整个世界驱走。一隅之地，脚踏车上，她选择大隐于市。

When I was growing up, I secretly fantasised possessing, amongst other skills, the ability to become invisible at will. How fun it would be to be invisible to the people around me yet at the same time, privy to their most natural selves.
在我的成长过程中，我常悄悄地渴望自己有超能力，拥有可以随意隐形的能力。能够隐于人群，同时又能目睹他们最自然的一面，多有意思啊！

Did this empty coffee cup at Hong Lim Hawker Centre hold someone’s fears and hopes?
芳林熟食中心的空咖啡杯，是否蕴含着某人的担忧与希望？

What lies deep in the heart of the person behind the coffee cup?
咖啡杯后面某人的心灵深处究竟潜伏着什么？
Behind the shiny façade of Chinatown, there are still a number of poor and single elderly living in one-room rental flats dotted over the landscape. The exterior of these flats are clean and well-kept, with the usual amenities found in most neighbourhoods. While the physical living conditions for this vulnerable group have been improved, I wonder if we have done enough as a society to improve their emotional well-being, especially during the last leg of life’s journey. While not many of their deaths would leave a nation in profound sadness, nevertheless each life, however ordinary, deserves our respect. Are we ready to rage against the dying of their light?
在牛车水的光鲜外表背后，还是有不少贫困独身的老人们，居住在一房式的租赁组屋里头。
组屋的外观整齐、清洁，也具备应有的设施。尽管老人们的物质生活条件已经大大改善，我却质疑：我们的社会究竟有没有照顾到他们的心理状态，尤其在他们的迟暮之年？虽然他们的逝去不会让举国上下齐齐哀悼，然而每一个生命，无论尊卑，都应该值得我们去尊重。我们是否准备好和他们一起积极地面对生命，充实地度过每一天

“Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” —— Dylan Thomas.
“不要温和地走进那个良夜，白昼将尽，暮年仍应燃烧咆哮；怒斥吧，怒斥光的消逝。”——狄兰·托马斯
The half-naked man clutching two rolls of toilet paper and his big plastic bag of possessions, shuffled down the steps with the railings supporting his back, his head bent by the ravages of age. Even though he was in the heart of a busy Chinatown Complex Food Centre, he was invisible. Was it because he’s a stark reminder of the infirmity of old age? Or do we not want to be reminded that there could be financially struggling elderly people in our first world nation?
赤膊的男子手握两卷厕纸，一袋的身家财产，背靠扶手，一步步走下梯级。他垂着头，脖子似乎是被岁月无情地拗折。他虽然身处在繁忙的牛车水大厦熟食中心，却是隐形的。这是不是因为他让我们想起了老年的病弱？又或许我们不愿正视在这个发达国家里，其实也存在着生活贫困的老人这一事实？

What do I see? I see the future me in this old man. I fear that in my old age, I too would be cloaked in the same invisibility as him. Existence forgotten, identity obliterated. Just like Niu Che Shiu.
我看见了什么？我在老人身上看见了自己的未来。我害怕在垂垂老矣之时也会和他一样，被众人披上这件隐身袍。从此自身的存在被遗忘，身份被淹没—— 恰如gu chia chwee。

Can you imagine how life will be when you grow old? 你能否想像自己年老时，会过着什么样的生活呢？

译／梁海彬