Bukit Brown Memorial - July 2024

The press release finally came out on 8 July 2024 of an outdoor installation as a form of memorial for the 4,153 graves impacted by the construction of the Lornie Highway. Identified grave artifacts collected from the team that lead the Bukit Brown Cemetery Documentation Project were stored since the completion of the exhumation process finally saw light when some of these artifacts were used in the building of the Bukit Brown Outdoor Memorial installation titled - Sounds of the Earth. 

The installation of course is just a start of many other activities to remind all what we lost and what more we can potentially loose if we do not protect Bukit Brown. Many people - past and present played a part in the making of this. I also participated in the design workshops and also gave my inputs in the artifact selection process for this memorial. 

This project was made possible via the collaboration of multiple stakeholders which included Singapore Heritage Society, National Heritage Board and the community that make up All Things Bukit Brown. We must also not forget the hard work done by the Bukit Brown documentation team. 

Coinciding with this announcement, there is a concerted effort to also raise funds to Support VOICES OF BUKIT BROWN via fundraising site giving.sg. Do support our current and future efforts via : https://www.giving.sg/donate/campaign/bbvoices24

The current state of the Bukit Brown Memorial (photo courtesy of Meibao) 

The state of the Bukit Brown Memorial on 20 July 2024

Sneak peak into the memorial called "Voices of Bukit Brown" (20 July 2024)

References 

New outdoor display at Bukit Brown Cemetery to open by August. (8 July 2024). The Straits Times (available online). 

武吉布朗坟场逾80件文物 重归故地成纪念装置. (8 July 2024). Zaobao 

Heritage Singapore - Bukit Brown Cemetery (Facebook Group). 

Article text from Zaobao (translated):

Over 80 Artifacts from Bukit Brown Cemetery Return to Their Original Site to Become a Memorial Installation - By Zaobao correspondent Koh Hsiang Yu, 8 July 2024.

About 11 years ago, to make way for Lornie Highway, more than 4,000 graves in Bukit Brown Cemetery were gradually excavated and relocated. Among the unclaimed artifacts left behind, more than 80 items were preserved, including tombstones, stone carvings, and tile decorations from graves.

These artifacts have now been given a new mission, returning to Bukit Brown Cemetery to form a memorial installation together, allowing people to review Singapore's early history and reflect on the trade-offs between development and preservation in our country.

The installation, named "Sounds of the Earth", is an artwork commissioned by the Singapore Heritage Society (SHS) and the community group "All Things Bukit Brown" (atBB) from local artist Chen Sai Hua Kuan

The two civic groups began collaborating in 2011, dedicated to preserving and documenting the cultural heritage of Bukit Brown. The memorial installation is one of the projects jointly promoted by the two groups under the "Bukit Brown Voices" initiative. The project is supported by institutions such as the National Heritage Board.

This outdoor installation is located in a section of Bukit Brown Cemetery near Andrew Road, wedged between Lornie Highway and the cemetery. Construction began at the end of June and is expected to be completed by August at the latest. By then, more than 80 artifacts will be arranged in an oval layout about 14 meters long and 11.5 meters wide. Visitors walking into the array of artifacts will be able to hear the echoes of their own voices and surrounding sounds, experiencing an atmosphere as if conversing with the "echoes of history".

Lornie Highway, which traverses Bukit Brown Cemetery, opened in phases starting from 2018 and was fully operational in April the following year.

In 2011, the Land Transport Authority announced the construction of this new road to alleviate traffic congestion on Lornie Road and the Pan-Island Expressway during peak hours. It was originally planned to exhume 5,000 graves, accounting for 5% of the total number of graves in the cemetery.

The cemetery contains the graves of many pioneers of the Chinese community and is adjacent to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. After the announcement, many people were concerned that local cultural heritage and green ecology would be further lost. After surveying, the authorities announced in 2013 that the new road would include a section of vehicular viaduct to reduce damage to the ecology, and the number of graves to be relocated was also reduced to more than 4,000. Exhumation work began in December of the same year.

Allowing visitors to meditate on past and present at the memorial installation

As early as 2013, Singapore Heritage Society and All Things Bukit Brown had already begun thinking about how to commemorate the history and cultural heritage of Bukit Brown. An art installation was one of the ideas. The National Heritage Board collaborated with the two groups to organize three workshops to widely consult various parties, including descendants whose ancestors are still buried in Bukit Brown, former residents of the old Malay kampong in the area, cultural heritage experts, educators, leisure enthusiasts, and members of nature societies.

Dr. Natalie Pang, vice president of Singapore Heritage Society, said that various parties also raised their own views and concerns about using artifacts such as tombstones to create a memorial installation. "The main consideration was that these artifacts were unclaimed, but still very important to our country's history. They can still play a role for future generations of Singaporeans to understand local history. Attendees unanimously agreed that something should be created from these artifacts."

She hopes that the installation can create a space for people to silently meditate on the past and present. "We are letting these artifacts return to the place where they may have stood for over a hundred years. This is also the closest location to where the artifacts were originally located after Lornie Highway was completed. On one side is a busy road, and on the other side are the quiet hills of the cemetery and the sounds of natural ecology. We hope that visitors here can reflect on the development and changes behind the achievement of today's Singapore."

After the completion of the "Sounds of the Earth" memorial installation, more than 80 unclaimed artifacts such as tombstones will be arranged in an oval layout. Chen Sai Hua Kuan, the local artist who designed this installation, hopes that visitors will walk into the array of artifacts, listen to the echoes of the surrounding sounds and their own voices, and experience an atmosphere as if conversing with the "echoes of history". (Concept image provided by Chen Sai Hua Kuan)

At the time, the descendants of the grave owners or the authorities would arrange prayer ceremonies for the deceased when excavating the graves. The two groups previously consulted Taoist practitioners on the matter of returning the artifacts to Bukit Brown, and before the construction of the installation, invited a Taoist master to preside over a Taoist ceremony as a sign of respect.

All Things Bukit Brown volunteer guides have been conducting regular guided tours of Bukit Brown Cemetery for the public since 2012. Next, they intend to organize more Chinese language tours. Catherine Lim, a volunteer with All Things Bukit Brown, said that not far from the installation, several Chinese pioneers are still buried, including Tan Kim Ching (eldest son of Tan Tock Seng), Cheang Hong Lim, and Lim Chong Pang. "The guides will vividly introduce the life stories of these figures and the era they lived in... The installation will be the last stop of the tour, where the public can recall the contributions of the pioneers and realize the importance of remembering the source of our blessings."