《九九归一》= Nine vessels, one festival : the nine emperor gods festival

• Main Author: Ho, Dawin De Wei
• Other Authors: Wang I-Hsuan Cindy
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Visual arts and music::Design; Visual arts and music::Photography
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/139954
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Singapore’s demographic is undergoing a drastic change. 47% of the Singaporean population is expected to hit 65 years and older (Siau, 2019), the racial, religious and folk customs held by this generation risk being forgotten as they pass with time. Today, these guardians of folklore and traditions lack the capacity to even continue their various rituals and festivities but also their inability to pass down their knowledge and traditions to not just a wider audience but to younger one. There is a younger generation who are interested but they are often left unguided, without a compass to navigate the complexities of traditional customs and beliefs. With globalisation and modernisation threatening the many manifestations and expressions of cultural intangibles. Annually, the Chinese community holds the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, it is a nine-day Taoist event which begins on the eve of the ninth lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. As a Graphic Designer and an active participant of the festival, the lack documentation and visual references propelled me to solve this problem. Through visual ethnography, the festival is analysed and documented, providing the materials to structure and present the knowledge, practices, and the people and spirits that has supported the festival for the past decades. This project aims to ignite the curiosity in the younger generation along with clarifying doubts that people may have. As a believer, I believe that I am duty-bound to do my part and preserve this tradition not just for my generation but for the generations after.