We Were Farmers
What does it mean to witness change — through family, through time, through place?
We Were Farmers is a deeply personal, 12-year photographic project by Singaporean documentary photographer Ore Huiying. Spanning from the 1960s to 2020, it chronicles her family’s life as farmers, their resilience, and the profound shifts brought by urban development and evolving agricultural practices in Singapore.
Rather than observing from a distance, Huiying positions herself simultaneously as participant and documentarian. Her family becomes more than subjects; they are mediums through which she interrogates identity, relationships, and the delicate balance between objectivity and intimacy. Archival family photographs, contemporary images, and a timeline of relevant events converge to tell a story of generational continuity, labor, and aspiration.
The project extends beyond personal narrative. It reflects on the larger social and economic forces shaping family-run enterprises and multi-generational households in a rapidly modernizing society. With an afterword by visual sociologist Terence Heng, the photobook situates the intimate within the collective, linking individual memory to broader histories of community, tradition, and urbanization.
Ore Huiying, whose practice spans Southeast Asia, is recognized for her sensitive documentation of people and landscapes affected by development. Her work has been exhibited at Objectifs (Singapore), Icat Gallery (Laos), and Angkor Photo Festival (Cambodia), and she has received multiple accolades, including a National Geographic Grant and recognition by the World Press Photo 6×6 Global Talent Program.
We Were Farmers is a meditation on continuity, change, and belonging. It is essential for collectors, educators, and readers seeking documentary photography that engages both the personal and the social, revealing how history, place, and memory converge in the lives of those we call family.
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Language: English
Format: Hardcover | 120 pages
Dimensions: 197 x 230mm
Publication Year: 2021 | First Edition
Edition of 600
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