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Project 02

Katong/ Joo Chiat: Colours of Continuity and Change

Katong-Joo Chiat . 2026. 18 photographs

Katong/ Joo Chiat: Colours of Continuity and Change

Katong–Joo Chiat wears its contradictions openly. The colourful historic shophouses draw tourists, while locals and expats come for the constantly evolving cafe and restaurant scene and the trendy boutiques. The area was Singapore’s first designated heritage town, and is known for its Peranakan heritage. In 2025, Joo Chiat Road was named one of the world’s “coolest” streets. The tension between preservation and change is clearly visible as the remnants of a former Singapore give way to gentrification.

I moved here in 2022, feeling depleted and lacking clear direction. What I found was not just a home but a neighbourhood that was full of interesting details, colour and personality. As I went about my daily routine, there was always something to look at, notice, and enjoy. Picking up my camera to capture all that caught my eye became a way of paying attention again.

This project began as a three-month assignment for the Royal Photographic Society’s Creating Personal Projects course. The photographs were taken during morning walks, during the first 60–90 minutes of daylight. The images document both the spirit of this constantly changing neighbourhood and my experience of creative renewal within it.

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Corner shophouse building from 1928 with an ornate white facade, green dragon sculptures at the roofline, and warm golden light at dawn. A Common Man Coffee Roasters sign hangs beneath the covered walkway.
Common Man Coffee Roasters opens at 7:30am, quickly filling up with locals and visitors. The building, built in 1928, was previously a Chinese restaurant. The distinctive dragons suggest an original owner who didn’t see himself as a common man.
A row of Peranakan shophouses in muted greens and creams, partially obscured by a large flowering tree with white blossoms. Ornate plasterwork columns and shuttered upper windows are visible.
This stretch of colourful shophouses (and the even more colourful row opposite) is always full of tourists and selfie-takers. But they are all privately owned homes. Although architecturally similar, each owner expresses themselves through choice of details and colours.
A close-up of a bright red Chinese New Year ornament with a gold 福 (fú) character catching the morning sun, hanging against a mint green wall with geometric encaustic tiles.
Chinese New Year decorations outside a home. Red is the colour of celebration and has very positive connotations in Chinese culture. The gold character, which here had caught the morning sun, reads 福 (fú) and means good fortune or blessings.