This year, many iconic buildings like the colorful Rochor Center, the long-standing Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and many others are being torn down to make way for other developments. This has triggered yet another bout of nostalgia among Singaporeans. We’ve seen an influx of photos of these places on our social media feeds, but Jon Tan, an account manager at a international advertising firm, takes it to another level. Here, he tells us about his new #SingaporePantone project.
When and how did your interest in art begin?
I’ve always been interested in videography, which is where I started handling and playing with cameras. From there, my interest shifted to photography, and that’s where all my ideas come from. But while I’ve an interest in photography, I don’t call myself a photographer. I only know the basics; enough for me to shoot casually on my iPhone 6 or a DSLR.
We love your new #SingaporePantone project on Instagram. Tell us more about it.
It’s a pretty simple idea, where I reimagine different places in Singapore as Pantone colors; basically pegging colors to landmarks. I didn’t expect it to be so well-received on Facebook, and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of shares the album got.
Where did the inspiration come from?
I was walking along East Coast Park, and randomly snapped a photo of the sea. I usually wouldn’t post such photos on Instagram, and was just intending to share it with my wife who’s currently overseas working in Brussels. However, in the months prior to that, I did see some other Pantone-inspired projects as well. So I had a random thought: what if I could turn that photo into a Pantone color label? I experimented on it at home, liked the result, and decided to turn it into a series. I’ve always liked working on stuff with a Singapore spin; makes it more relatable to me, and I guess to other Singaporeans as well.
You’ve also dabbled a little in videography. Are there any other forms of art you’re thinking of exploring?
I’ve always been interested in cinemagraphy as an art form. I’ve done some a while back, but I’m thinking about working on cinemagraphs as one of my next few projects.
Can you briefly run through your creative process with us?
I don’t exactly have a creative process. What I do is to take effort to look around at the different sights that Singapore has to offer. From there, sometimes I might get brainwaves on how I can present it in a different manner. I always let ideas come to me naturally, instead of having of having purposely brainstorm about them. Since all these projects are done as a hobby, there’s no external pressure as well.
Is there a bigger message you’re trying to relay with your photographs?
I guess it would be to say that Singapore is home to many interesting sights. I think just because we, as Singaporeans, live here for many years, many of these sights are often gone unnoticed by many people. A good example would be my “Your House Downstairs” series. I have never taken notice of these shapes in the void decks, until I’ve actually decided to embark on the project.
In less than 10 words, describe your style of art.
Bringing to light the sights that go unnoticed around us.
Follow Jon on Instagram here.
