Finbarr Fallon (the guy with the most awesome thesis project ever) has produced an incredible series of infrared photos, accentuating the urban greenery on Singapore’s buildings in a unique and vibrant way.
The jarring crimson photographs present a striking alternative viewpoint of Singapore’s exuberant urban greenery. Surprising chromatic distortions highlight the city-state’s unique juxtoposition of buildings and nature in an unexpected and thought provoking manner.
Finbarr describes the series:
“Flora Phantasmagoria invites viewers into a world unseen, presenting an alternative vision of the “City in a Garden”: as a surreal dreamscape in scarlet. Photographic tropes and iconic images of Singapore are recast as ghostly buildings rising amidst and above shifting masses of red, punctuated by vivid pockets of pink.
The series uses infrared photography as a medium to resensitise the urban dweller to how deeply embedded greenery is in the everyday experience of Singapore: forcing the viewer to see the ubiquity of greenery not just as a matter of fact, but one of fantasy. Invisible wavelengths outside the visible spectrum emitted by the flora are captured through multiple infrared exposures and are blended to produce the vivid hues.
The fantastical representation of red vegetation straining against its monochromatic scaffolding also highlights the tensions inherent in vertical skyrise greenery as the lifeblood of the liveable and land-scarce city. While the buildings and greenery can be made to coexist, the implications of their interdependence remain an important question.”
See more of Finbarr’s work or purchase a print from this series on his website. Flora Phantasmagoria was supposed to be on display now at the URA Centre, however the exhibition has unfortunately delayed due to the ongoing global pandemic. Make sure to check it out when safely possible!
Images by Finbarr Fallon
