We’re in Hong Kong for a few days, and although it’s just as hot (if not hotter) than Singapore, it’s been a blast so far! We’re pigging out on Dim Sum and other HK goodies, looking for interesting books/objects for the office and meeting new people.

Stay tuned…

Sarah Cheng-De Winne & Alecia Neo

One of our dearest friends in photography Alecia Neo, has collaborated with Clarence Chung (sound artist) to present Villa Alicia, an installation of photographs – both real family photos and re-creations – as well as sound effects that create phenomenological nostalgia. We got first peek at the private opening tonight….

A photo that captured my attention - loved it!

Villa Alicia is an attempt to preserve the memory, personality and spirit of an old 1970s home that is about to be vacated by its tenants, Tan Ying Hsien, a winebar owner and his mother Dr Nalla Tan, 88, a prominent physician and feminist suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.

It is the intersection of the personal and public, the historical and the present, and Alecia’s ability to capture and recreate specific moments in original family photos (by using other real-life families as sitters for her photos) is a brilliant suggestion of how much we have in common with the Tan family – we live, grow, forget… and then try to remember.

The house is slated to be demolished a few days after the exhibition closes – this is a MUST SEE during the National Holiday period. We strongly recommend that you go during the day time to take advantage of natural light, which fills the house wonderfully.

Villa Alicia takes place from on 6 to 11 August 2011, from 9 am to 9 pm at 43 Binjai Park, Singapore 589843. Admission is free. For enquiries, please email villaaliciashow@gmail.com or visit www.villaalicia.info.

Congratulations once again Alecia and Clarence!

An interesting fact: “Villa Alicia” is the name of a novella written by Dr. Nalla Tan. Relay Room acquired a copy – it’s a lovely book as well with beautiful illustrations.

From left: Sean Lee, Alecia Neo & Clarence Chung (artists of Villa Alicia), Sarah Cheng-De Winne

Relay Room congratulates our friend, Sean Lee, for winning the ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu 2011 award! We’ve we had sneak peaks of his photos and were amazed at how his process was realized in the final photo series of “Homework”. His commercial portfolio can be found here: seanthephotographer.com

To view his award-winning body of work that beat the likes of John Clang and Zhao Renhui (and of course view the extremely aesthetic work of these two photographers as well…), head down to the ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu 2011 Photography Exhibition between 2 and 25 July 2011 at the Helutrans Artspace Gallery 3 in Tanjong Pagar Distripark. Open Monday to Friday, 11:00am to 7:00pm, and on Saturdays from 11:00am to 5:00pm.