Lenne Chai is a photographer and director. She’s been shooting for magazines since 19, and her work has been featured in titles such as Dazed, Esquire, L'Officiel, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, TeenVogue, WWD, and more. When not working with commercial brands like SK-II, Samsung, Canon, H&M, Spotify and UNIQLO, Lenne enjoys creating sociopolitical personal work inspired by her dystopian homeland of Singapore.
Which three books would you recommend?
His Dark Materials Philip Pullman
This is technically a trilogy so I might be cheating. An older cousin lent me His Dark Materials when I was 9, and I dare say it irrevocably challenged my views on faith and organised religion. I'd recommend it to teenagers, 9 was a little too young! Love it or hate it, I think the series is fantastic at challenging our perspectives, and the idea of things being "absolute" in this world.
This Is What Inequality Looks LikeTeo You Yenn
I would recommend this book to Singaporeans, and anyone who's curious about social inequality in Singapore. It made me examine my privilege, my prejudice and what we can do to reduce the wealth gap in Singapore.
Her Body And Other PartiesCarmen Maria Machado
I am a sucker for magical realism, and it was so refreshing to experience the genre from a queer, sapphic, feminine perspective. It may be fantastical, but the stories really resonated with me and my experiences of growing up as a woman in this patriarchal world.
Whose reading list are you most curious about?
I’m very kaypoh (Singlish for ‘busybody’) but I'd love to see what Amanda Lee Koe's recommendations are!