On a mission to help Yishun shake off its 'bad reputation'

Want a free back or neck massage from the provision shop owner at your void deck?

You can, if you live in Yishun.

A team of Nanyang Technological University undergraduates discovered this when they sought out interesting people to document for a photo exhibition.

The team from Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information also hoped to dispel the perceived "negative" image of Yishun among some Singaporeans.

The estate has been in the news in recent years for a series of cat abuse cases.

In May this year, a Yishun resident made the news for putting up a metre-high wall barbed with cacti in the common corridor to shield his family from a difficult neighbour.

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Miss Abigail Ng, 22, one of the organisers of the photo exhibition, said that the team found a strong sense of family and community in Yishun.

"Things that happen in Yishun also happen in other parts of Singapore.

"It is just that we may have a confirmation bias against Yishun, which (may be) why we find there are so many negative sentiments towards it," she said.

Titled This Is Yishun, the exhibition will be on today and tomorrow at Yishun Park Hawker Centre from 10am to 5pm.

The provision shop owner is just one of the many interesting people featured in the exhibition of 40 photographs from the 25 undergraduates in the team.

YOUNG RESIDENTS

There will also be pictures taken by young Yishun residents, aged eight to 14,showing the area through their eyes.

Visitors can also participate in Instawalk @ Yishun, where Instagrammers Cheryl Chew (@helloocheryl) and Veronica Ang, (@veronang) will lead them on a photo trail where members of the public can explore the nooks and crannies of Yishun, from Chong Pang City to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.