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Doomscrolling on Instagram recently, I came across what looked like a photograph of the former Jurong Entertainment Centre (JEC). The image appeared hyper-realistic \u2013 its distinctive facade, with its blue-grey palette and Shaw Brothers \u201cSB\u201d signage, immediately stood out \u2013 before it started to feel \u201coff\u201d.<\/p>\n
This Jurong East staple, which had shut down in 2008, held many core memories from my teenage years. The stale buttery scent of popcorn-stained cinema seats. The hand-painted dinosaur mural flanking the main escalators. The cold blast of air walking into the ice-skating rink. The final moments I spent with a budding relationship that was over before it had begun.<\/p>\n
Those days were defined by the twang of heartache and innocence, a bittersweet bite of nostalgia \u2013 feelings stirred up by old photos.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But this digital likeness of JEC left me with only a creeping sense of unease. The building\u2019s exterior looked impossibly sleek; the surrounding foliage was a shade of green too alien; and a motorcycle parked near the traffic junction stuck out like a misplaced Adobe Photoshop layer.\u00a0<\/p>\n