Each photograph in Forest (portfolio) 1996 shows different plants, sometimes roots, in Singaporean and Malaysian locations that are generally abandoned. These are not formal garden settings where plants and trees have been selected and carefully tended but diverse locations, such as an abandoned Chinese towkay bungalow; the beach side in Port Dickson, Malaysia; a disused army reserve; roadside locations; and an army housing estate in Singapore.

Placed among the foliage are fragments of texts taken from an eclectic selection of books, including a Chinese cookbook, the Ramayana, Lord Jim, Robinson Crusoe, On the Origin of Species, Frankenstein and a fragment from a book about Japan’s involvement in World War Two. Displayed within a tropical landscape, these culturally inflected texts are destined to decompose: as such, Forest (portfolio) can be read as metaphor for the societal changes that come with the passing of time.