I've Cot You (Sayang, Sarong Baby) is a heritage cum photo documentary project tracing personal Singaporean stories and memories revolving around the cloth cradle, also known as ‘yao lan’. This was a practice that was commonly adopted by Singaporean families to coax their babies to sleep in the 80s and 90s, but have since became obsolete as lifestyle trends and consumption patterns evolve.
The inspiration for 'I've Cot You (Sayang, Sarong Baby)' came about as one day, I was staring up to the ceiling of my room, and wondering about the forgotten ‘yao lan’ ceiling-mounted hook at home, that stared back at me.
Being a ‘yao lan’ baby myself in the past, I recalled how I used to play with my younger cousins who slept in the same ‘yao lan’ along the years in my grandma’s room in the past. Then it occurred to me that in my capacity as an artist whose personal works revolve around the Singaporean identity and habits, I could work on photographing a documentary and conceptual series about this tradition.
Hence since 2015, I started researching on this personal project alongside my main photography vocation, and started speaking to the community, friends, family and strangers, about this traditional technique, as well as gather materials and ‘relics’ for those who had kept their ‘yao lan’ materials from the past. I put together their stories.
Please come and chat with me about your 'yao lan' stories and tips & tricks!