In the picture above, you will see a combination of both nature and man-made structures/objects. The concrete pathway shows how man has destroyed part of nature to create convenience for himself and the clean un-littered grounds shows how man has cleaned up the fallen leaves and changed nature to suit his taste.
On top of those, there is a vehicle in the background. This vehicle is a symbol of the advancing technology in the world today. Man has always made use of technology to change nature, exerting more power over nature in order to get his way.
You would also notice that the trees shown in this picture are also confined to a limited boundary, grown at strategic positions and spread out nicely to ensure that each tree would receive enough sunlight and water for survival. On most occasions, man also artificially adds fertilisers to ensure that the trees grow well. This shows that man has control over nature and artificially changes nature to suit his environment.
However, in the middle of the picture, you will see a black bird perching on the edge of a concrete boundary that surrounds the bottom of a tree. The bird was cawing at the time of the shot if you are able to observe its open beak. This bird is a symbol of nature complaining to man. If only man could understand nature(bird’s) tongue, it would be highly possible that the bird is telling man not to destroy nature, its home. The bird standing on the concrete structure also shows that nature is all around us and that we should be more aware of nature as it is integrated into our urban landscape.
This picture also tells us that in today’s society, trees and plants are no longer allowed to grow freely but are “tamed” and “maintained” by man to be used as display items. The bird in the picture also symbolizes alienation as man do not understand nature and treat nature as only a form of visual entertainment.
On top of those, there is a vehicle in the background. This vehicle is a symbol of the advancing technology in the world today. Man has always made use of technology to change nature, exerting more power over nature in order to get his way.
You would also notice that the trees shown in this picture are also confined to a limited boundary, grown at strategic positions and spread out nicely to ensure that each tree would receive enough sunlight and water for survival. On most occasions, man also artificially adds fertilisers to ensure that the trees grow well. This shows that man has control over nature and artificially changes nature to suit his environment.
However, in the middle of the picture, you will see a black bird perching on the edge of a concrete boundary that surrounds the bottom of a tree. The bird was cawing at the time of the shot if you are able to observe its open beak. This bird is a symbol of nature complaining to man. If only man could understand nature(bird’s) tongue, it would be highly possible that the bird is telling man not to destroy nature, its home. The bird standing on the concrete structure also shows that nature is all around us and that we should be more aware of nature as it is integrated into our urban landscape.
This picture also tells us that in today’s society, trees and plants are no longer allowed to grow freely but are “tamed” and “maintained” by man to be used as display items. The bird in the picture also symbolizes alienation as man do not understand nature and treat nature as only a form of visual entertainment.
This picture is taken under a shade that was created by man. As you would observe, there are 3 wooden benches seen. From the cozy feeling of this airy shade, you would be able to guess that this is a place specially designated for man to rest and relax while enjoying the company of nature. As green is known as a soothing colour, the greenery of nature should be what attracted man to designate this spot for rest.
In the picture, you would be able to observe that the supports and roof of the shade created by man has been “invaded” and wrapped up by climbing plants. As the shade acts as a kind of support for the plants, it shows that nature is reliant on man for support and repays man by shading out the sun to create a nice shady rest area for man to rejuvenate his soul. This way, both man and nature has benefited from each other and does not inflict any harm on the other party.
In this picture, nature plays the role of a source of recreation and a form of relaxation in the lives of man. Messy as the branches of climbing plants are, they seem to have a comforting effect on man. Perhaps this is the natural soothing effect nature has on man.
This picture shows two parallel lines of trees lined up alongside the main entrance of the vehicle bay. By observing closely, you can easily tell that these trees are grown and maintained by man as they are of almost the same height and are well trimmed with branches decorated nicely with ferns. These trees are also limited to a cemented boundary constructed by man to ensure that the tree do not grow out of it’s specified area. The cemented boundaries also act as a place for man to rest and admire the beauty of nature in urban landscape.
As can be seen, the picture is almost symmetrical with the symmetry of the building and the same amount of trees on each side. This brings out the idea of urban planning. The orderly arrangement of the trees is symbolic of how man is influenced by the idea of the way his well planned urban landscape of almost similar height HDB flats built neatly side by side each other.
The cleanliness of the area also shows that man has took a lot of effort to integrate nature into this area. Yet, man does not allow nature to take its course(of allowing fallen leaves to decompose to become fertilisers). Instead, man used artificial fertilisers on nature. This shows that nature is under the control of man and man is manipulating nature as he likes while overlooking the natural side of nature.
Thus, the role of nature depicted in his picture is just to provide aesthetics and beautifying purposes, just like a puppet flung around by its puppeteer. This is very widely seen all over Singapore and it tells us that the place and status of nature in modern Singapore is considerably small.
Fiona Tan 2B’06
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