Writer: Serene Tng | Photographer: Chee Boon Pin
It is a special homecoming for the Singapore-based UK artist Chloë Manasseh, stepping back into her grandfather’s world, in the house that he was born. Her grandfather, Leonard Manasseh, a renowned British architect, was born in 1916 at 28 Nassim Road in Singapore, now the official residence of the British High Commissioner.
Chloë was invited by the British High Commissioner to present a series of paintings inspired by Eden Hall at 28 Nassim Road in 2019. In “Fruitfulness of Forgetting”, she wanted to recreate the sense of home by bringing the outside in. Her paintings are filled with floral patterns and birds, drawing from the intricate patterns in the house and Singapore’s natural landscape.
Artist Chloë Manasseh and some of her artworks at 28 Nassim Road in 2019.
“There is a human tendency to want to bring elements from the outside into one’s home such as plants. This makes you feel more familiar in your homestead and more grounded,” says the 28-year-old. In blending in the paintings into the home, she measured and custom fit each one specifically into the different spaces and corners for them to look like they have been a part of the home for a long time.
The original grounds around Eden Hall was home to variety of tropical birds, including kingfishers, long-tailed parakeets and black-napped oriels. It also had a stable and a tennis court. Remembering stories she hears from her family about the house and Singapore, she imagines Singapore then as a “jungle scape, with animals roaming freely.”
28 Nassim Road is part of the White House Park/Nassim Road conservation area. It was built more than 100 years ago in 1904 by Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh, Chloë’s great grand uncle. He was a merchant from Baghdad who sold rice and opium. R.A.J. Bidwell of renowned local architectural firm Swan & Maclaren (now known as Swan & Maclaren Architects) designed the mansion and other prominent landmarks such as the Raffles Hotel and Goodwood Park Hotel. It was eventually sold to the British government in 1955 by Ezekiel’s stepson, Vivian Bath.
The house was designed by R.A.J. Bidwell, who also designed Raffles and Goodwood Park Hotels.
Chloë’s works has exhibited internationally. Working between painting, print, video and installation, her works sit between experience and imagination. On her love for painting, it was her grandfather who inspired her. She recalls: “I started painting at a very young age with my grandfather and in a way, he mentored me. I remember sitting on a stool and painting together with my grandfather on a hill top in the south of France.”
Chloë Manasseh with her grandfather, Leonard Manasseh, who was born at 28 Nassim Road in 1916. Image credit: Chloë Manasseh
Her grandfather was one of the leading British architects of the 1960s. He was also an accomplished painter in oils and watercolours where his artworks show his style in architecture in his delicate approach to buildings.
In all of her works, she is fascinated with how people engage with their physical surroundings and its impact on one’s identity and how imaginations contribute back to shaping spaces. In her search for her own identity, she is comforted that her grandfather’s home remains intact after all these years. Chloë now calls Singapore her home and is studying her second Masters focusing on Art Therapy at the Lasalle College of the Arts.
The “Fruitfulness of Forgetting” was presented by The British Council, in partnership with the British High Commission and ArtPorters.