Cambridge Connection
Katie, posing in front of Marthalia Budiman's Cattle Installation
Inspired by the cattle trade in the 19th century, and colours and motifs from Indian culture, Marthalia Budiman’s herd of colourful cattle lay idyllically on a grass patch in Clive Street.
We met Katie, who was photographing the artwork, and chatted with her for a while.
Katie was a tourist from Cambridgeshire, England, and had been exploring different parts of Singapore during her visit. She expressed her excitement of finding some cattle here, as it had always been part of her own cityscape. According to her, Cambridge sits right by the countryside, and the livestock, inclusive of cows, sheep and geese, often crossed these spaces.
“I’ve always loved seeing cows you know? They’ve got a certain gravitas. Much better than sheep.”
A herd of cows grazing close to the city centre of Cambridge
Credit: Katherine Ash Whitters
Occasionally they would pose problems to the city as they rummage through garbage, but they were otherwise beloved by the residents of the city. Katie found it "quite heartening" that Singapore chooses to remember their history this way, though she prefers the real thing.
We thank Katie for chatting with us on her graze through Little India