The Swamp and Its Spectre, 2025
oil and mixed media on canvas with accompanying AI voice via QR code
(H) 81 x (W) 121 cm

The swamp & its spectre audio

This naturalist illustration-styled painting interrogates the colonial narratives that continue to shape Singapore’s collective consciousness. Set against the murky backwaters of a “once-primitive Singapore,” a Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni)—now extinct in the country—faithfully carries the name Raffles in its mouth. The work addresses the erasure of pre-colonial histories and the presence of a constructed colonial legacy, highlighting how these narratives persist in shaping the national history and identity.