Philippa Lim
Shophouse
Prompt: The assignment was to explore a community that I felt I resonated with and to produce a 3D piece inspired by it.
To be able to enter a new chapter of life in New York City and create projects based on my home was so refreshing and heartwarming. I wanted to integrate a little reminder of my home (Singapore) into my work for this project. I chose to explore the Singaporean community and to build a miniature shophouse from scratch as shophouses are an integral part of the community. Food was also a huge part of my life, hence the addition of a miniature dining table with handmade clay plates of food on top. My choice of clay as a medium was due to my longtime love for making miniature figures as a child, and revisiting that as an 18-year old in college was a nostalgic process for me, augmenting the reminiscence of home. My favorite element of the piece is the working door, which has hand-painted Peranakan tiles on it along with a mangosteen door handle-a fruit that I grew up eating with my grandmother. Overall, this was such an enjoyable experience from me, and I hope this piece is able to resonate with others who live far from home.