Nineteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The “Gibson-Hill Photographic Collection” is a collaborative project between the National Museum of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, funded by the Ministry of Education Singapore. The photo collection consists of over 7,500 black and white photographic images that were produced between 1942 and 1962 by the last expatriate director from the Raffles Museum in Singapore. A team led by the PI A/P Oh Soonhwa and Co-PI Assistant Prof Chu Kiuwai has been working on a historical photographic collection for its initial discovery, digitization, and re-creation by employing digital media including photo, film and animation, for audiences’ engagement and immersive experience. The paper demonstrates the various employment of digital media connecting the past with the present, interchangeably and simultaneously. The study informs the audience with the step-by-step research procedures, progresses, and findings of the project from photographical, environmental, sociological, and historical perspectives. The aims of the project include: 1) The creation of digital assets with Gibson-Hill’s negatives and photographs; 2) The Examination of the photographs both as historical aesthetic artefacts and as reflexive cultural tools addressing environmental issues in specific cultural and temporal contexts; 3) The re-imagination and re-invention of the methodological approaches to re-photography by replicating the site and the content, while unraveling the initial intentions and grammar of the first photographer; and 4) the exploration of various technology assisted visual strategies to engage the exhibition visitors.