Yishun may be a lot of things (crazy and bonkers, mostly), but the infamous heartland district in the north sure makes a great setting for a photoshoot. An odd one too, because this is Yishun we’re talking about.
In a personal project carried out by professional commercial photographer Jayden Tan, MAKE YISHUN PEARL AGAIN features winsome models in various environments around the neighborhood, including a convenience store, the kitchen of an HDB unit, a void deck, and more. To amp up the surreality even further, the female models are wearing red-and-white outfits with pearls dangling from MAGA-style caps.
Tan is no stranger to strange concepts, of course. Two years ago, the photographer produced a tongue-in-cheek series inspired by Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, but styled with everyday items such as raffia string, soy sauce packets, and Good Morning towels.
To help break down what’s going on in his latest concept shoot, we spoke to Tan about MAKE YISHUN PEARL AGAIN. According to the 30-year-old, the project came about after he got his orders of the Make Yishun Great Again hats from Temasek Clothings — the caps made half-jest in reaction to the neighborhood’s siao lang town reputation.
Inspired by trucker caps adorned with pearl beads, Tan painstakingly sewed over 3,500 pearl beads onto his own hats.
“The main one with the curtain look took me a week to sew on every evening after work,” he explained, adding that he would have fashioned all the caps in a similar manner if he had more time.
It just so happened that Ivy Tex — the makeup artist he worked with — is a Yishun resident. After scouting out locations with her, they managed to hold a photo shoot at a convenience store, whose owner was more than happy to let them use the shop. One of the scenes was even shot in Ivy’s home kitchen.
“At first I was afraid the Caucasian models would think that I’m pro-Trump, but luckily they got the joke when we explained to them about the ‘history’ of Yishun,” said Tan, adding that it was a breeze working with the talents from Basic Models Management.
“It was quite fun because we were all joking about how bad things will happen during the shoot.”
Looking back, Tan would have made the shoot relevant to the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if he knew it was confirmed — but since the shoot was done in March, he had no way of knowing for sure.
“Interestingly the male model’s look has this subtle resemblance to Kim,” Tan laughed.
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