Fort Canning Hill

Friday, September 02, 2005

Fort Canning Hill

Another set of photographs from Fort Canning Hill, centred around the field. (what should we call it? an ex-cemetary? a reformed graveyard?) I like the way the tree looms over the wall in this shot - the branches look like veins in a body - and you can see the sloping wall with the gravestones embedded in them.

Looking at the field now, you'd never think of it as a graveyard. The two gates leading into the field, done in the Gothic revival style, give the visitor a hint of what ground they're treading. It's strange to think of the various events that have been held in this field - WOMAD has been held here, as well as "Ballet Under the Stars", and various open-air movie screenings - over ground that used to hold corpses and coffins.

And let's not forget the many newlyweds (the Registry of Marriages is just next door) who get their photographs taken here. It is a beautiful location after all. I can't think of a better place to put a cemetary, actually: open and airy, sunny and warm in the afternoons, quiet and peaceful at sunset.