28 Blocks of Colonial Singapore

The Hidden Meaning Behind the Names of the Wessex Estate Blocks
A photo documentary book by Ana Menchen
Edited by Johanna Airth

I met Ana about two years ago at an intimate gathering for photography enthusiasts. It was one of those sweet seemingly spontaneous meetings, that was meticulously organized in its goal to bring like-spirited people together. It is no wonder; one of the organizers, Kai Sotto, (co-author of “Get Together” published by Stripe) brings people together for a living.
At our own ‘get-together’, we shared our photography, and with it our insecurities. In return, we received support.

Ana brought along her own project: little postcard sized printouts of white buildings, identical, except for the building block names. Her models popped in their mustard yellow garb, against the white washed façade. Their faces, striking.

The photographs are of the Wessex Estate in Singapore’s Queenstown neighborhood. After visiting the black-and white colonial structures, Ana was intrigued and started to research its history. The estate was built between 1930-1940’s, for British military officials, who at the time were the occupying government of Singapore. Each building name is a location significant to the British military – be it victories, strategic strongholds, or sieges lost. Some names are easily recognizable, such as ‘Waterloo’ or ‘Gaza.’ But there are many others. The locations span the vast European continent, through the Middle East, circumventing Africa to India; through centuries, from the time of the Ottoman Empire to post WWI; until it finally etches its history upon an unassuming entryway of a building block, in the far away mangrove island of Singapore.

At the time of our meeting Ana had completed photographing the majority of the buildings. She and her small ‘crew’ started at 6am for that soft dawn light. (Being so close to the equator, the sun rises fast and by 9am the shadows cast a harsh contrast but provides a wonderful respite against the tropical rays.)

“Maybe it will be a book, one day” , she mused at our small gathering. We all nodded.

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Just last summer, I was once again put in touch with Ana – again by Kai. The photos were done and what started off as a hobby project tackled over weekends, was now laid out to be a book. She needed just only a few words to set the narrative.

Working together with Ana was a pleasure. Within each frame lies a story that Ana could not help but share. As I slowly turned the pages, taking in the bursts of yellows and greens, she would tell me how the crew laughed at an inside joke, how one of the models was moving away to the very location of the building name they were shooting in front of, how one morning they arrived to find construction tape around the building they were there to shoot. How they all came together to create something special. Every one of those stories, I had an urge to set to words. But I had to practice restraint.

This is, and always was, from the very beginning, a photography book. The visuals speak – of an Empire’s vast history, told by the tiny island, and its wonderous inhabitants.

For the curious…check out Ana’s site: https://photosbyanamenchen.com