Life leaves an impression as you move through it—a quiet residue carried in how you inhabit a space, the ease of your instincts, and the unexamined rhythms that stay with you long after a moment has passed.
Tarnish
Charlene Lim (Admin Executive)
Inspired by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows, life’s residue does not dim someone but adds depth and warmth to individuals. In his discussion of Japanese aesthetics and wabi-sabi, Tanizaki contrasts Western and Japanese attitudes toward tableware. Westerners, he suggests, might use silver, steel, or nickel and polish it constantly to maintain a fine, dazzling brilliance. The Japanese, by contrast, might leave lacquered surfaces unpolished, allowing them to grow dim with use. Rather than erasing the marks of time, they appreciate the tarnish, scratches, and traces of touch that record the object’s history.
To me, wabi-sabi is the feeling evoked by an experience and what lingers after it has passed. This is what it means to sit with time: to allow the people and experiences that pass through your life to leave their imprints, subtly shaping who you become. Like a silver cup darkened by years of use, a person can become warmer and deeper, quietly carrying the traces of everything that has touched them.
Tanizaki, J. (1933). In Praise of Shadows [Book Cover – 2026 Kindle Edition].
On Repeat
Audrey Desmond (Marketing Lead)
When I develop a strong liking for a song, I put it on loop for as long as I can.
It stays in my head even when it isn’t playing. The mood hangs around, keeping me floating in that same feeling long after the music stops.
Without realising it, I carry that trace of sound with me everywhere I go.
Currently playing: 《海屿你》 – 马也_Crabbit & Cole先生
Residue of a Moment
Ricky Sim (Artistic Director)
A conversation, a journey, a difficult moment — each may pass, yet something remains.
Dance of the machine
Matthew Goh (Company Dancer)
Artificial Intelligence can generate quirky and weird content that sometimes disrupts conventional norms and stereotypes. But how far can the unconventional be pushed before we perceive it as strange or awful? As we watch this ‘ballet,’ could we ponder whether this is still the classical form we know, or maybe it is the avant-garde counterpart—contemporary dance—or if it is even dance?
Faint Lines, Lingering Light
Esther Ong (Company Manager)
What remains is not the path itself, but the feeling of it. A subtle shift in how space might be entered, how attention might be held. Long after it is gone, the impression persists, soft, unresolved and difficult to name.
This is how Hideo Kobayashi’s photographic works linger in my memory. The light in his work does not follow a predictable path. It bends and drifts around what it meets. Watching it, the world feels slightly altered, as if the space itself remembers the line that once passed through. It leaves no fixed route, yet it edges quietly into perception, shaping how we move, notice and hold a moment in mind.
I notice my own traces in the spaces I pass through: the glow that lingers on pavement after a streetlight flickers off in my neighbourhood, the brief reflection along a windowpane, the way sunlight shifts quietly across a clearing. These fleeting marks may never form a road, yet they linger in subtle ways, shaping the landscapes around me and the moments I touch without knowing.
“Interrupted Place/trace” Emon Photo Gallery, Tokyo Filming “Streetlight”
Transforming Disruption
Ricky Sim (Artistic Director)
A major disagreement, a change in priorities, or even a life event can throw a relationship off balance. It’s never easy. But I’ve come to see that disruption, as painful as it is, often leads to growth. These moments force us to face what we’ve been avoiding—our insecurities, needs, or unresolved issues. I’ve found that disruption can spark deeper conversations and bring about real change. In the end, it often makes the connection more honest and meaningful.