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Singapore’s cultural landscape is layered, and red moves through it like a pulse.
Opening doors to many cultures.
It passes between Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian communities—
carrying vitality, protection, celebration, and life force. 
Red here is not singular.
It adapts.
It weaves itself into many ways of living.
In Chinese tradition, red holds fire and sun,
the color of power, good fortune, and joy.
But red in Singapore also lives in labor.
The Samsui women, marked by their bright headscarves,
carried stone, soil, and steel through heat and rain.
They paved roads.
They raised buildings.
They lived simply, sending their wages home,
often remaining unmarried, their lives shaped by duty and endurance.
Their red was not ornamental.
It was practical.
Visible.
Unyielding.
They became a symbol of strength and grit—
women who helped build the foundations of the city itself.
There is a movement in red here.
A rhythm that connects ceremony and work,
joy and survival,
tradition and becoming.
Red in Singapore is not only seen.
It is carried through each culture.
World Heart Day- Singapore
It passes between Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian communities—
carrying vitality, protection, celebration, and life force.
Red here is not singular.
It adapts.
It weaves itself into many ways of living.
In Chinese tradition, red holds fire and sun,
the color of power, good fortune, and joy.
In Indian culture, vermilion marks purity and auspicious beginnings—
a sign of fertility, devotion, and passage.
a sign of fertility, devotion, and passage.
In Malay tradition, red speaks of courage and celebration,
worn for moments meant to be remembered.
worn for moments meant to be remembered.
Among Eurasian communities, red appears at ceremonies—
especially weddings—shared as a color of happiness and prosperity.
especially weddings—shared as a color of happiness and prosperity.
But red in Singapore also lives in labor.
The Samsui women, marked by their bright headscarves,
carried stone, soil, and steel through heat and rain.
They paved roads.
They raised buildings.
They lived simply, sending their wages home,
often remaining unmarried, their lives shaped by duty and endurance.
Their red was not ornamental.
It was practical.
Visible.
Unyielding.
They became a symbol of strength and grit—
women who helped build the foundations of the city itself.
There is a movement in red here.
A rhythm that connects ceremony and work,
joy and survival,
tradition and becoming.
Red in Singapore is not only seen.
It is carried through each culture.
This pulse of red continues in my gallery work, where color, labor, and cultural memory meet. At this time, I am finishing a collector piece entitled: Shinzō no kodō, or Heartbeat. I will be posting the images in two weeks' time...
Please visit my website!
xoxo
Leslie
