Boon Keng Market, Singapore
Wendy Gan
When I happened to find myself in Boon Keng, an older public housing estate in Singapore, I was drawn to the local market there.
It was mostly closed by the afternoon, but this was a chance to observe the market in its quiet after-hours.
Some vendors are busy cleaning up.
Others take a well-deserved nap.
Chairs, boxes, containers all find their natural place.
There is a pleasing order to things that comes from everyday patterns of long use. Such rhythms matter. They mark a utilitarian space with traces of the human, grounding it in time and creating ties of habitual affection. The market has a history; it has a personality; it is alive.
