This blog post is part of the Random Sampling Singapore project. The Project aims to sample 100 places on the island of Singapore over a one year period in order to gain an unbiased and holistic view of the city state.

This coordinate I was not only visiting once. Almost every week I passed by when I was hiking in Bukit Thima Nature Reserve, from Dairy Farm Nature Park to the Singapore Quarry. It’s a ever changing forest with rubber trees, wild pepper, fig trees, pandan and so on. You could find all your spice ingredients for your Nasi Goreng on the way.

The species diversity is so overwhelming that I took a panaroma picture and pixelated it to find out the color code.

In the last step I matched the colors of miyuki glass beads to the pixelated picture.

Samples

I took samples as well, soil and some “civilization residues”.

Cleaned and flattened the civilization residues turned out to be a piece of a green tea can.

The soil sample I looked under microscope, where I could find a microscopic small mushroom glowing under UV light.

More or less as act of revenge I took a third sample. A mosquito was biting me, which I slapped on my body “inflagrante”. Under the microscope it appeared like this:

Artwork

The hand of the mosquito under the microscope inspired me to this photo montage.

Another artwork was created using this coordinate, and I’d like to share the story behind the golden leaf that inspired it. My husband Sven and I pass by this coordinate on our favorite hiking trail from our “treehouse” home along the “Wallace trail” to the “Dairy Farm Quarry” at least once a week. Since the beginning of the project, we have witnessed changes in the landscape and nature, from blooming flowers to lush greens, ever-changing before our eyes.

At the spot of coordinate 100, a breadfruit tree had grown through the jungle with large leaves. Coincidentally, I had recently read an article about the tree, but that’s beside the point. What’s important is that I observed one particular leaf growing bigger and bigger, transforming from a juicy green to a golden yellow to a rich brown. I wondered how many thunderstorms and monkey riots it had survived, with almost no scratches or tears when it finally fell to the ground.

I picked up the leaf and carried it home, at first only to provide shade on the way. But I admired the leaf so much that I couldn’t resist taking it with me. Its small imperfections made it even more attractive, and it continued to exude the wonderful forest scent long after the hike was over. I cleaned the leaf and patched up its tears and scars with some conservation materials and techniques.

At this time, my husband and I decided to leave Singapore and go back to Austria. While we were leaving, the gold leaf served as a reminder to me that wherever I go, I carry everything I have achieved with me – my conservation and art practice, my family, and the positive connections I have made.