This photograph shows the construction compound of an Institute of Technical Education along Balestier Road. In the background, blocks of high-rise Housing and Development Board flats surround the construction site. The co-existence of both elements shows the Singapore landscape in a state of constant flux. This is also the preferred subject matter for Belgian photographer Lucas Jodogne, who considered Singapore as the best example of an urban landscape in transition. This photograph is part of a collection titled ‘Singapore Views on the Urban Landscape’, where the city-state of Singapore is described as a ‘bodiless dragon’. This is due to the rapid development of its economy and urban landscape, as well as the flux of people, capital and products from the international economy, despite its small size and the lack of a hinterland. Jodogne aimed to capture the scale and impact of this development, which he described as ‘rapid, organised and massive’.
