Astonishing hypnotic world of Lee Fook Chee and Marjorie Doggett  Â
Marjorie Doggett Singapore & Lee Fook Chee Hong Kong
Lee Fook Chee Hong Kong & Marjorie Doggett Singapore
Lee Fook Chee Hong Kong & Marjorie Doggett Singapore photographs are linked by their period, the 1950s.
Shophouses in Chinatown, seen with the area’s bustling and varied local life
They were taken by two photographers – Marjorie Doggett in Singapore and Lee Fook Chee in Hong Kong.
Doggett’s and Lee’s lives had some parallels, and the two cities had similarities. Yet, for both photographers and cities, there were also great contrasts.
Spotlight on two pivotal Asian cities
In Singapore, the grand 1930s Fullerton Building stood in the colonial precinct. Nearby was the Bank of China.
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In Hong Kong, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank rose beside the Bank of China. Adjacent was the British Cricket Club.
A bumboat moored in the Singapore River with a cargo of crates and sacks
By the Singapore River, traditional, wide-beamed bumboats unloaded cargoes in crates and sacks.
A pre-war Star Ferry crosses Victoria Harbour, heading towards Central District
In Victoria Harbour, weather-beaten junks with canvas sails tacked across the blue-green waters.
Decades-old visuals
Marjorie Doggett and Lee Fook Chee created vivid records of Singapore and Hong Kong more than six decades ago.
On the Sheung Wan praya, where cargo junks unloaded, boys have some summer fun
Both were highly capable. In 1947, as young adults, they left their homelands to live out their lives in the cities they reached, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Origin & Future Lee Fook Chee & Marjorie Doggett
Yet their origins and futures were vastly different.
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Through photography, Marjorie found a purpose in her pioneering architectural photo book, Characters of Light.
Crucial times for Hong Kong & Singapore
Exploiting his skills, Fook Chee made a living selling his photos to tourists on the Peak.
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The 1950s were to be a crucible decade for both cities.
Sir Samford Raffles’ statue looks across the Singapore River to the Fullerton Building
Singapore was moving steadily towards a locally inspired and led future. Hong Kong was to witness a fundamental economic transformation.
Joshua, a pre-war mansion, by the 1950s had only a faded grandeur
In both, the urban landscape would soon be massively changed and developed.
Inspirational & historical
The photos should spark interest in these two cities today.
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Since Marjorie Doggett and Lee Fook Chee were self-taught, their aim to achieve will inspire readers and viewers.
Doggett and Lee captured the places they called home on the cusp of enormous change.
The Fullerton Building, seen from Clifford Pier – and today The Fullerton Hotel Singapore
How do their photographs resonate today?
By the 1950s sedan chairs had almost disappeared, except for ceremonial uses
Where have we come from?
Trams and all kinds of life on Des Voeux Road, just to the west of Pedder Street
What do their photos and their characters reflect about each city and perhaps about ourselves?
Text Edward Stokes /Photo copyright: Marjorie Doggett – National Archives of Singapore, Lee Fook Chee -The Estate of Lee Fook Chee
