This week, SSYSTM x KAL introduced their project, Machine Phanertic Memomrium (check out down below). Utilising the publicly accessible Dairy Farm, Singapore and Hindhede quarries as their research sites, Machine Phaneritic Memomrium intends to “revisualise” Singapore’s landscape during the Triassic Period (200 Mya) by using exposed rock formations created by the development of quarries. The duo gave an overview of the granite formations in the Bukit Timah area, as well as a historical look on early quarrying activities in Singapore that started in the 1900s. they also wrote about the global dilemma between rapid urbanisation and nature conservation, as well as its impact on both lost and surviving ecological systems. Comment down below if you know any interesting factoids on the quarrying activities in Singapore during the 1900s!
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Artist in residencE: SSySTM x KAL
Machine Phanertic Memomrium is a collaboration between Thesupersystem & Kathy Anne Lim This project intends to “revisualise” Singapore’s landscape during the Triassic Period (200 Ma) by using exposed rock formations created by the development of quarries. Dairy Farm, Singapore and Hindhende quarries will be used as research sites as they are the most accessible to the public.
A study endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum describes the various rock formations found in Singapore.
Bukit Timah Granite Formation
The Bukit Timah Granite Formation is one of the oldest geological formations in Singapore and is found mostly in the central and northern parts of Singapore. It is an intrusive type of igneous rock formed more than 230 million years ago. The intrusion of the Bukit Timah Granite is believed to have taken place during the early Triassic period (230 million years ago). The rock in the formation varies from granite to granodiorite and various dykes are included in the formation. Top portions of the Bukit Timah Granite is generally weathered and decomposed into residual soils. As the water seeps through fractures of granite mass below the weathered soil, chemical processes take place and as a result, the subsurface of the rock is eroded, leaving numerous boulders in place. (C. Veeresh 2016)
We intend to use the Bukit Timah Granite Formation as key locations for our research as the exposed rock surfaces from quarrying would grant us access to deeper research on understanding the climate of Singapore's past.
Quarrying in Singapore
Early quarrying at Bukit Timah Hill ( Source : Ministry of Information and the Arts)
In the early 1900s granite quarries sprouted around Singapore, providing materials for many of the buildings in early Singapore. Quarrying activities reached a peak around the 70s before environmental and public concerns culminated in the phasing out of granite quarrying in Singapore. Some were filled in with earth, others with water. Some were turned into public parks, and others abandoned.
Post-Quarrying
The quarries were absorbed into Bukit Timah Nature Reserve after excavation work ended. The actual closed forest covers only 75 (ha) of this. Though small, it is recorded as having 1000 species of flowering plants, 10,000 species of beetles, and many other organisms and does retain an authentic ‘feel’ of a primeval rainforest in the interiors.
The forest is a mixture of lowland and coastal hill dipterocarp forest and some secondary forest, lying on the flanks of the highest (163.6m), mostly granitic hill in Singapore. It is only 12 kms away from the city centre and is surrounded by a fast-growing condominium belt of Singapore.
Tagged as the country’s flagship nature reserve, Bukit Timah represents the constant struggle and compromise between increasing pressures of urbanization and the commitment towards nature conservation currently faced by all countries.
Quarry mining resulted in the loss of animal habitat and surrounding ecology such as the monkey Presbytis melalophos (right); when the last of the species died, there was no route for recolonization of the reserve.
Dairy Farm, Hindhede & Singapore Quarry
Photogrammetry of Dairy Farm, Singapore and Hindhede quarries
Singapore’s geology is abundant in granite, and quarrying activities began as early as the beginning of the 1900s. In the 1960s to 1970s, there were an estimated 20-25 granite quarries supplying much-needed granite to feed the post-independence building and construction boom. To extract the granite, dynamite charges were embedded in the hills to blast off granite chips which are used in the making of concrete. People living in the vicinity of any granite quarry in those days would undoubtedly recall the loud periodic booms. Although clay and sand were also excavated from the quarries, granite was the most commercially viable.
Hindhede Quarry
The Hindhede Quarry, close to the primary forest of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve became a secret haunt for picnickers, nature lovers and adventure seekers. Thrill-seeking rock climbers would venture to climb the cliff walls above the lake which is said to be some 10 stories deep and extending 18m below sea level, while daredevils were not afraid to dive off the cliff and swim in the waters. The quarry was declared off-limits in 1997 however as its rapidly rising waters became a cause for safety concerns. It reopened as a proper nature park in 2001, although sadly the quarry cliff and lake can now only be appreciated from afar, from
the safety of a lookout platform.
A view of the quarry from Hindhede Nature Park viewpoint (npark.gov.sg)
Singapore Quarry
Singapore Quarry is one of two quarries in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve that was once an active quarrying site. The Commission of Enquiry into Granite Resources and Nature Reserves recommended the closure of the Quarry in 1960 due to concerns of the danger of falling rocks. However, it continues operation until the late 1980s and had been abandoned until recently redeveloped into a tourist site.
Remnants of the Singapore Quarry (https://www.singaporetravelhub.com)
Dairy Farm Quarry
Unlike the other quarry pits, Dairy Farm Quarry was filled in. Today there is a mountain biking trail running across the filled quarry, as well as rock climbing walls on one side of the quarry.
East Ridge of Bukit Timah Quarry ( Source : Kathy Anne Lim)
Introducing Heider Ismail (thesupersystem) & Kathy Anne Lim (SG) https://cargocollective.com/thesupersystem https://kathyannelim.com/
The Super System (SSYSTM) is a data driven multi-disciplinary outfit currently based in Singapore. Always on the forefront of pushing boundaries, SSYSTM emphasizes its creative intentions through experimental projects of art and design. Started off as a graffiti project, The Super System eventually evolved into an experimental platform. Projects came in the form of both tactile and digital, leading to an occasional fusion of both worlds. The Super System has taken part in both local and international events with the likes of London Science Festival (2014) and Singapore International Festival of Arts (2015). Kathy Anne Lim is a photographer based in Singapore. Her poetic documentary work focuses on themes of memory, technology and displacement - contents of which mix absolute certainty and misty ephemerality. She studied Visual Communication (Dip) at Temasek Polytechnic Singapore and Photography (BA Hons) at University of Arts London, upon graduation her work was featured in Aesthetica Magazine honed as one to watch. Her photographs have been exhibited and published in Singapore, North America, United Kingdom and Italy. Together, Heider and Kathy are experimenting with new research methodologies to explore the possibility of reimagining the Bukit Timah landscape and ecology through time travel to the Triassic Era and citizen science. Utilizing materials excavated from archival deep dives and community contributions, the duo will present a revisualisation of the quarry through photogrammetry and 3D rendering.
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