Gathering Roots is a love letter to the Singapore Botanic Gardens and the countless lives it has touched across generations. As artists and individuals who have grown up alongside this cherished space, we find ourselves returning time and again to the quiet comfort of its landscapes, each visit creating new memories, each plant a living archive of emotion, time, and history.
Conceptualised by Clare Chong and Moira Loh, and created with the PLAY! collective (Leon Wan, Miranda Tan, Cheryl Fong, and Myles Ziebart), this work is rooted in a simple yet profound intention: to listen. Through digital and on-site community engagement, we gathered stories, reflections, and dreams from the public, across age, language, and culture, asking: What do the Gardens mean to you?
The result is a multi-sensory installation that reflects the voices of the people, weaving them into sculptural forms, moving images, and sound. Each element of the exhibition exists in symbiosis, just as plants, people, and memory do, and together they form a collective portrait of the Gardens as held in our hearts. As we mark the tenth anniversary of Singapore Botanic Gardens' UNESCO World Heritage status, Gathering Roots is both a celebration and a gentle archival act, honouring the everyday connections we make with nature, and inviting all who visit to reflect on their own roots.
Commissioned by the Singapore Botanic Gardens
Directed by Clare Chong
Cinematography by Aaron Andrew Ang