Time and Tide by Foo Tee Jun – Garbage collector at back alley, c. 1960s

A garbage collector at the back alley of Chinatown, c. 1960s. 牛车水后巷的垃圾清理工.

This print is from Time and Tide, an exhibition presented by Objectifs that featured the work of Singaporean photographer Foo Tee Jun (b. 1935). One of the nation’s foremost image makers, Foo Tee Jun’s works have shaped the visual lexicon of modern photography in Singapore. This exhibition features his images from the 1960s and 1970s, a time when a newly independent Singapore was just coming into its own.

In Time and Tide, scenes of kampong life and traditional crafts sit alongside vistas of busy shipyards and skyscrapers. They speak of a rapidly industrialising country in the process of shedding the old for the new, when its people were mobilised towards the pursuit of modernity.

Throughout his professional and personal life, Foo has pursued his love for photography with a singular passion, honing a masterful eye that has captured the everyday with a sensitive and elegant vision. As documents, his images serve as reminders of a Singapore that has endured immense generational change; in their artistry, they form an essential part of the country’s cultural legacy.