ABSTRACT
People from China, Malaysia and India formed Singapore society initially. A former British colony, the working language is English; however, within families myriad dialects and customs are evident. The younger generations seldom learn dialects, resulting in a gulf in spoken communication between the elderly and their grandchildren. The hospice movement in Singapore is growing and diversifying to encompass the needs of people of many faiths in this small nation. General healthcare is sophisticated but costly, and stigma still surrounds mental health, sometimes resulting in a reluctance to seek professional help and a tendency towards somatization of emotional distress. Neuroscience has demonstrated that emotional trauma can leave tissue damaged in the brain. Van der Kolk also explains the ways our complex body systems can be altered by distressing emotional events. This understanding has led me to listen more intently to what is said about the body and to notice how this appears in myriad symbolic ways in the artwork.
