Scent-imental Value

Scent-imental Value (2026)

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“Scruffies” a term derived from scruffy was a common vernacular between my sister and I, and was used to term our stuffed toys. Softened with age and worn through years of affection, each scruffy carries traces of time, holding onto past memories.

 

Toys were a constant presence throughout our childhood and have remained with us into adulthood, providing a source of comfort and familiarity when navigating unfamiliar environments or transitions in life. When travelling or away from home, bringing them along felt instinctive, similar to a fragment of home or a kind of “portable home", small yet filled with memory and belonging. 

 

Beyond their physical form, they were like quiet witnesses to our familial lives, existing in the background of our everyday lives, present during celebrations and lingering through difficult quiet times. 

 

Scent-imental Value reflects on how home is not solely defined by place, but by the accumulation of relationships, memories and objects that hold personal significance. It also explores how meaning is carried and preserved, suggesting that home can be both held and remembered, even as we move through different spaces and stages of life.

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Daylight Memories was awarded the Youth Category Winner in DECK's 10th Singapore Youth Photographer Award (SYPA) in 2026, and was one of the works exhibited as part of the selection.