Between Heaven And Earth: A S’pore Story In Flowers

DOLLY SINHA DAVENPORT arrived in Singapore as a bride in the 1960s. Settling into her new life and a new home, she was encouraged to pursue her passion in floral design. Being a botanist, she took to the art like a duck to water. She was taught Sogetsu and Ikebana but true to her feisty character, Dolly developed her own pragmatic style — due in no small part to the myriad influences surrounding her in her adoptive country. In this book, Dolly expresses herself through floral arrangements. Her story is intricately tied to Singapore’s — the years after World War II, the fight for independence, Singapore’s merger with Malaysia and its subsequent separation. She was transfixed as she witnessed kampongs give way to a metropolis. True to the spirit of her endeavour, Dolly uses only flowers found in Singapore. The designs reflect a multiracial Singapore. She also draws inspiration from high-rise dwellings, the bygone kampongs and Singapore’s almost 200-year botanical heritage. This book is a Singapore story, told in flowers. And the backdrop is the Singapore story — from the days of Singapore’s founder, Sir Stamford Raffles, to the architect of modern Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew; and from Raffles’ functional botanic gardens to Mr Lee’s vision of “a Garden City”, now evolved into the idea of “a City in a Garden”.

Author: Dolly Sinha Davenport

Format: Hardcover