SOT stands for 'Singapore-on-Thames', an acronym used to describe the ideal of the new architectural property developments in London, in particular the area stretching from Battersea to Vauxhall. The new developments replaces an industrial zone with new high density flats, embassies, cafes and restaurants. This new 'utopia' is supposed to draw on the capital developments of places like Singapore and Dubai. SOT combines images of these new 'ideal' spaces inset into images of Singapore and Dubai. The montages contrast and relate these differing spaces and their conflicting models of this 'real utopia' on my doorstep in London.

David Bate is a photographer, known for his projects like ZONE and Bungled Memories that deal with places, along with other photography projects based in different locations, e.g., Australia, India, Estonia, Germany, Spain, UK and USA. His work is compiled in the monograph Photography as a Critical Practice, (Intellect, 2020). His most recent book of writings on photography is: Photography After Postmodernism, Routledge, 2022.