While NUS Baba House on Neil Road undergoes a physical makeover until 2027, the artefacts that once filled its vibrant rooms have temporarily found a new home at NUS Museum. The exhibition, Refrain, Reframe – Baba House Displaced, takes its cue from this transition period. But instead of recreating the original gallery space and its rooms, the exhibition presents the collection of furniture, decorative arts, domestic utensils and architectural fragments in a different setting. Each item is grouped according to its function, materials and thematic connections, inviting you to view the objects from an alternative perspective and consider how identity and memory can be shaped by movement and interpretation. Among those on display is a bentwood kopitiam chair, an English ironstone wash basin on a Chinese stand, and a ceremonial tenong basket, a traditional handwoven container that’s often used for weddings and auspicious deliveries.
Aside from the collection of artefacts, the exhibition also pulls back the curtain on the hard work that goes into conserving a historic house museum like Baba House, from the years of research and documentation to the countless decisions involved in preserving heritage for future generations.
