Food is a common language here in Singapore. It’s how we greet one another, how we care, how we remember. Long after the taste fades, something lingers—the feeling of being looked after, of home, of a moment in time that stays with us.
This project begins with that. I invite anyone to share a food that means something to them, along with the story that comes with it, big or small, recent or from long ago.
In response, I interpret each story into a food label on a sealed can, just like the ones we might find in our kitchen cabinets. Each can holds a memory that can’t quite be contained, but is carried anyway.
In a world where so much is branded, packaged, and made ready for consumption, these cans resemble something we could pick up off a shelf—but what they hold cannot be bought or reproduced. They invite us to consider what resists being turned into a commodity, and what remains tied to time, care, and lived experience.
This project is a living archive of stories across generations and cultures. And through all our differences, certain things keep returning: family, relationships, love, time, memory.
If you have a story to share, I will turn it into a unique can label—one that carries your memory forward, and perhaps touches a stranger’s heart. <3
Note: Year and country of birth help situate each food memory within its own time and cultural context. As this project brings together stories from different generations and backgrounds, these details allow each “can” to reflect the diversity of the community while being presented equally as part of a shared archive of care and comfort.