Check out 1960s Singapore through the eyes of an American diplomat

George Porter never went anywhere without his camera. An American diplomat who served as the equivalent of a Public Affairs Officer at the American Embassy in Singapore from 1965 to 1970, he kept his camera with him as he went around Singapore, capturing images of daily life in the newly-independent country.

“Everywhere he went was a photo expedition,” said his daughter Elise Porter. “He liked to photograph people in their natural environment.”

Decades later, his photos are being shared with Singaporeans through an exhibition at LASALLE College of the Arts. Displayed alongside his street photography are the artwork of ten LASALLE students, responding to themes and elements of Porter’s work. Entitled An American in Singapore 1965 – 1970: LASALLE Students Respond to Photographs by George Porter, the show is a poignant conversation between today’s young Singaporeans and the late self-taught photographer on the changes the city-state has been through over the past five decades.

Many of Porter’s photos were taken within walking distance of Hill Street, where the American Embassy used to be. With some images in black-and-white and others in colour, his photos captured the bustling trade on the Singapore River, now long gone.

Porter’s children, who returned to Singapore for the exhibition, say the river is “almost unrecognisable” now. “There’s so little boat traffic now the river almost seems bigger,” said Aaron Porter. Previously boats had lined both sides of the river, leaving just a narrow channel for vessels to navigate through.

Streets that have since made way for other developments are also preserved in Porter’s pictures. One such example is Hock Lam Street, photographed during National Day celebrations in 1969. The street is busy, festooned with bunting and banners, the familiar Central Fire Station just recognisable in the background. Today, the street is no more; instead we have the salmon-pink Funan mall in its place.

Aaron and Elise have fond memories of their childhood in Singapore, having moved here after living in Manila and Penang. “We never thought that it was particularly exotic,” said Aaron of growing up in Southeast Asia.

“It was when we went back to America for holidays… to us, that was exotic,” finished Elise.

When asked about some of their favourite moments as children in Singapore, Aaron recalls climbing a rambutan tree near their home and eating as many of the fruit as he could get, while Elise remembers an old Cold Storage car park that would fill with street hawkers in the night. She can’t recall where this car park is any longer, but remembers that it was one of her family’s favourite places to eat.

In responding to the Porters’ old Singapore, LASALLE students used a variety of medium – from installation pieces to video and painting – to combine their impressions of the photographs with their own experiences of Singapore. Hanging ceramic lamps evoke memories of one artist’s childhood celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, while a video features voiceover of another artist’s own father’s relationship with the Singapore River as a child.

Each artistic piece is thoughtful and evocative, deriving inspiration from photos of a Singapore that none of the artists have ever seen. Although also positioned as a celebration of 50 years of bilateral ties between the US and Singapore, the exhibition is really much better appreciated as a celebration of the island that transcends nationality, age and time.

Porter’s photographs have been donated by his family to the National Archives of Singapore. They have also been published in a book entitled Singapore 60s: An Age of Discovery.