FRENCH BY BLOOD, SINGAPOREAN BY HEART

FROM BANKING TO ANTIQUES: Mr JB has been the owner of Aphorism for the past 3 years after quitting his job as a banker. (Photo by: Zoey Chow)

Quitting his job as a bank teller to become an antique shop owner was a big step for Mr JB. Originally from France, he moved to Singapore in hopes of pursuing his career in banking. Intrigued by historical values of artefacts, his love for antiques started.

Mr JB (Pronounced Jay Bee), whose shop, ‘Aphorism’, is set up in Tiong Bahru, has witnessed how Tiong Bahru evolved to become such a mixture of the old and the new. He had chosen to locate his shop there as he was interested in the history and culture that the place offered. He felt that his business would complement the vibrant heritage Tiong Bahru has.

He said that Tiong Bahru was more edgy as life was more adventurous in the past.

But now, it is slowly shifting to become more mainstream and that saddens him. Old time favourites like kopitiams have been torn down. Now, hipster cafes have replaced the vacant spaces, increasing the human traffic. He also mentioned that the food is overcharged, and not worth the amount of money you pay for. The reason for this however, is because of the high rental rates that the shopkeepers have to pay monthly, which results in shopkeepers pricing their food “5 times the normal price” in order to pay the rent, and to keep their business afloat. This in turn makes the shopkeepers feel obliged to sell food on more of the expensive side, and not sell local favourites like egg and toast, mee siam, and others.

He feels that there’s more to Tiong Bahru that meets the eye.

He also shared with us an experience he had with an old man. He explained that the old man’s daughter had decided to leave Tiong Bahru along with her daughter to move to a more modern place.

However, the old man had refused to leave Tiong Bahru as he had spent a great deal of his life there. This separation had greatly upset the old man. We can see from this how important Tiong Bahru is to some people.

He also mentioned how the old windows around the block had been replaced by modernized windows. “To go around, the buildings are very nice, and suddenly you see these horrible windows and really without any thanks or consideration for what it was.”. He feels that by removing these old windows, they are not showing any consideration for what the culture originally was, and in turn, years of heritage are lost.

He then let us in on what Tiong Bahru was really like in the past. 10 to 15 years ago, Tiong Bahru’s reputation was bad. The city was rundown and dirty, and many “Ah Bengs” had second or third wives. As the light went down, “Ladies of the Night” would appear. They would come dressed in long dresses, faces heavily caked with make-up. This too, is another part of Tiong Bahru’s culture that not many people know of.

He also shared with us a story about a man who was rummaging through the garbage bin, searching for remains of tea sachets which he would then pour into his plastic bottle to give himself a treat. ‘’This is a face of Singapore which you hardly see anymore, which is really striking.” He stated.

Change is not new to Mr JB, the transition from France to Singapore was only the first step. His career change from being a banker to selling antiques, and the changes in his surroundings made him realise that change is inevitable.

This is the true face of Tiong Bahru, beneath all the old architecture. Conserving the buildings is not enough. We need to conserve the culture as well as buildings, as what Mr JB said: “The real treasure is the melting pot, the mixing of people, foreigners and locals, young and old, rich and poor.”