Oh! Joo Chiat

Singapore, like Malaysia, is a country of rich heritage, which is most obvious from its architecture. So between our trips to Saigon and Tokyo, we went on a walking tour to one of Singapore's most interesting neighbourhoods - Joo Chiat. Which unlike many HDB-heavy suburbs, is home to beautiful preservation buildings. 

The event, organised by OH! Open House, was touted as an art tour, rather than a historical one. Although one can't talk about Joo Chiat or be inspired by it without a description of how it came to be: Chew Joo Chiat, its namesake, was a wealthy Chinese merchant who owned a hectares of plantations in the area. He then sold and gifted parcels of his land to various people, whether rich or poor, which resulted in the area increasing in diversity in economy and architecture. These days, wealthy expats and locals live in those pretty Peranakan houses (mostly the former and most definitely in renovated dwellings), alongside less-economically-able migrant workers from India and Vietnam sleeping in cramped flats. 

Joo Chiat is something else, so be warned that the following post is photo-heavy. It is but a feeble attempt to show you how unique the area is.

Chelsea Galleries in Philo

Happy September! S and I spent Labor Day in New Orleans (which I have since realised is pronounced "AWHR-linz", not "awh-LEENZ". This month is a big one in the J-J household, not least because my parents and brother have just arrived from Kuala Lumpur. It's their first visit since we moved to the country and I am excited to show them my New York. 

Here's a post I set up just before they arrived, on our visit to art galleries in Chelsea not long ago. The best way to navigate the many galleries is via the Chelsea Gallery Map (also available as an app) - which provides detailed locations of each gallery in the area, a description of the exhibits being shown, as well as the functionality of being able to save your favourites. I tend to prioritise exhibitions that are wrapping up - which in our instance that weekend were Keith Haring and Tara Donovan below:

If you have time though, just ditch the map. That's how we stumbled upon Eugenio Merino's Always Shameless exhibit (press release here). Merino created life-like bodies of the world's most evil leaders and placed them in Coke vending machines. If you looked closely, you could tell that an incredible amount of detail went into the sculptures.  They looked so real that I hesitated from staring too long due to a silly, irrational fear of the statues' suddenly opening their eyes! I had never heard of Merino before this, and read that he initially became famous for his "Punching Franco" piece, where he sculpted the head of Franco and stuck it on a punching stand, which was also there for viewing.

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Other than that, I thought the tiny statues of Kim Jong Il and Mao Ze Dong below were particularly funny #Napoleancomplex

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Here's my gallery-hopping outfit, taken in front of Eduardo Kobra's giant mural on 25th and 10th (also seen here):

LPD New York t-shirt and Anthropologie Sloping Skirt

Mansur Gavriel bucket bag cammelo antica (back in stock), Nike Liquid Gold Dunk Sky High and Ray Ban wayfarers

Have a great weekend! 

Mara Hoffman to the Met

We have more visitors from Australia in town, so last week we ventured out to the Met Museum. First stop: the Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibit. This installation is not quite the crowd pleaser like past Costume Institute showings but still interesting nevertheless, and an obvious testament that everything, everywhere can inspire fashion fashion and style.

I mean, my choice of music is far from the likes of Sex Pistols or The Ramones but teenage me must have been influenced by the genre somehow - the tank top I DIY-ed with a ton of safety pins at 15 was an subconscious artistic interpretation of punk for sure?

NYC Social - May

Hello May (aka the month I celebrate my third anniversary of arriving in NYC)! While I wrote about Spring arriving last month, I didn't mean for it to hide for most of April. Let's cross fingers and toes, and hope May will bring permanently warm weather. Here are a few highlights in NYC this month (hint: SALES!): 

1. Five Boro Bike Ride - 5 May

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Get your bicycle out for this 40-mile bike ride that will see various streets in each of the five boroughs closed to automobiles. Starting at Battery Park, you can ride up through Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and all five bridges, before finishing up at Staten Island. Regardless of how much the spelling of "borough" in the official event title is killing me, it will be such a treat to cycle without worrying about navigating New York traffic (those cabs!). Get more information here.

2. NYCxDesign: May 10 - 21

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With support from the City Council and Mayor's Office, this inaugural design festival takes place in venues all around the city. Over the course of 12 days, there will be exhibitions, talks and open studio sessions representing all genres of design. Having a greater affinity for sartorial design (surprise surprise), I am looking forward to being present at a design talk with Iris Apfel and Deborah Needleman, as well as checking out the FIT Graduating Class exhibition. Head on to the NYCxDesign website for information on fashion and other events.

3. Shanghai Glamour at the MOCA - through September 29

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While part of NYCxDesign above, the Museum of Chinese in America will showcase Shanghai Glamour: New Woman 1910s-40s right through Fall. If you, like me, are a fan of Maggie Cheung's exquisite cheongsams in the movie In The Mood for Love, this exhibit will be right up your alley. 12 outfits are on loan from the China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou which will illustrate early 20th century Shanghai women and their love of glamour. Don't leave without seeing the other fashion exhibit at the MOCA - Front Row: Chinese American Designers. 

4. The Met Costume Institute Exhibit: May 9 - August 14

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"Punk" is the theme of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Costume Institute exhibit. Preceded by the glamourous Met Gala, the installation will illustrate the growth of punk in the 70s and map its influence in modern fashion. Included in the exhibit are nearly 100 pieces from original punk garments to recent designs inspired by the original movement. Though what is a punk exhibit without punk music - prepare to walk through the installation accompanied by the Ramones, The Clash and Sex Pistols amongst others. 

The Scream

Yesterday, S and I went to see "The Scream" by Edvard Munch at the Museum of Modern Art. There aren't many times you get to view a monumental piece of art - especially one currently holding the title of most expensive artwork ever sold. 

Munch made four versions of "The Scream" - with only this one on view outside of Norway. So thank you, Mr Leon Black for forking out $120 million and then sharing this crazy painting with the world.

When I first read about the sale, I also came across a cool article about a man's quest to locate the exact spot in Oslo of this painting, finding it only with the help of Google and Google Maps! I wonder where Bob would have landed had he used Apple Maps instead. Fun piece - go read!

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Besides the 1893 painting, on view were a few of his lithographs that Munch created around the same time. If you aren't familiar with the "Scream" series, the subject in the foreground is nearly identical in each painting/ lithograph but the people in the background are never the same. How cool would it be if all of them could be viewed in one space.

Anyhoo all that white space in the museum makes for nice backgrounds for outfit photos:

COS oversized knit (sim), AG Stevies, Uniqlo Heattech Tank top, J Crew Macalister Wedge Boots (40% off sale!) with laces switched out, Club Monaco necklace, Anthropologie Ghita headband, usual jewelry plus a new sparkler on my left hand ;)

It was a quickie visit (a corporate membership allows me to pop in for free whenever I like) but we revisited some of my favourite permanent objects at the museum on our way out:

The Starry Night

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Campbell's Soup Cans

Maybe I will try and catch the Matisse exhibit at the Met next weekend...

Christopher Boffoli

My friend, HW, who lives in Taipei, recently sent me a link to Christopher Boffoli's exhibit in New York - a display of photographs of tiny people posing with real food. 

Imploring me to visit on her behalf, I needed no convincing as soon as I clicked over to the very spiffy website - and took a cab over to the Chelsea gallery during lunch one day last week.  

  

Details depicting the Lilliputian society were so precise and tickled my inner foodie. Though I am quite certain the witty captions accompanying each photo were the stars of the show. Here are a few of my favourites taken from the website:

"Butter Business Bureau"

"Eric always had a healthy amount of anxiety before a deep tea dive"

"Gary always used too much mustard. But no one could say so. It was a union thing"

"Jerome finally got over his Peter Pan syndrome and popped the question"

If the exhibit comes to a gallery near you, please do not hesitate to make a visit!