A few days shy of Hari Raya 2022 in Singapore, Hafiz Spencer visits the iconic mall during the month of Ramadan to capture the stark difference in activity from 2021.
On 16th May 2021, Singapore entered Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), just as the local Muslim community looked set to celebrate Hari Raya. Only two unique visitors were allowed per household per day, and festive spirits were dampened for the second year in a row following 2020’s Circuit Breaker.
The tightened restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 were reflected in the empty aisles and concourse of Joo Chiat Complex. The iconic mall in Geylang is usually bursting at the seams with shoppers in the days and weeks leading up to Hari Raya.
But with the Ministry of Health (MOH) easing its Safety Management Measures in 2022, Joo Chiat Complex has returned to its lively, bustling glory. This year, crowds in dizzying numbers can be seen making their way down to the mall to do their Hari Raya shopping.
Adding further joy to the festive season, MOH also removed group size limits and lifted the cap on household visitors on 26th April 2022. This means that full family units can now visit the homes of loved ones this Hari Raya without worrying about restrictions.
Ecstatic, photographer Hafiz Spencer visits Joo Chiat Complex to capture the electric pre-Hari Raya atmosphere. And we’ve placed his images next to photos that were taken last year by photographer Hisham Zainal to illustrate just what a difference a year makes.
Copy by Arman Shah
Photos by Hafiz Spencer & Hisham Zainal
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![“Growing up in Singapore, we’ve been taught from a very young age that we are a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. Yet, the portrayal of this diversity in our media wasn’t reflecting well. It often fell short, reducing minority races to mere caricatures.
Determined to change this narrative, I made it my mission as an actor to bring authentic representation to my work. And there are many ways to do that. For me, I chose to be mindful of the roles I play and portray.
I meticulously selected roles, even telling my agents to send me for castings which were not intended for my race. I strongly believe that race is a social construct that can be overridden by the actual acting work. True talent transcends racial boundaries.
My persistence paid off when my agency rolled the dice on me, submitting my name for auditions beyond traditional ethnic roles. I knew I was making strides because I was getting callbacks to the later rounds.
Soon enough, the ‘gamble’ paid off. The breakthrough came when I was called in to audition for the St Patrick's Day campaign by Guinness. I successfully booked it, and went on to be the only Indian in the regional commercial that aired across Southeast Asia.
That job gave me the confirmation that I should continue striving for equal representation. Shortly after, another opportunity came when Air New Zealand (@airnz) did a casting for a couple to star in their new commercial. It was to promote travel between Singapore and New Zealand.
Getting that job was monumental for me, because not only did we get to portray an interracial Singaporean couple, we did it for an international audience. It was the first commercial between the two countries when borders reopened post-COVID.
Bringing the same energy when I moved to New York City (NYC), I kept auditioning for roles that weren’t specifically for people of my ethnicity. However, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t auditioning for roles that were for South Asians too.
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