From Middle-earth to Dune: How a dad-and-daughter duo turned a fantasy collection into a Singapore exhibition

From Middle-earth to Dune: How a dad-and-daughter duo turned a fantasy collection into a Singapore exhibition Scott and Shona Graham turned a lifelong love of sci-fi and fantasy into The Portals Experience, an ongoing exhibition at Fever Exhibition Hall in Singapore featuring thousands of books, artworks and miniatures. Step through the doors of The Portals Experience and it immediately feels as though you have entered another realm or two. Located at Fever Exhibition Hall on Scotts Road, the ongoing exhibition spans more than 13,000 sq ft and brings together books, magazines, miniatures, collectibles and original paintings from the literary worlds of fantasy, science fiction and mythology. On display are more than 3,000 novels, manuscripts and magazines, over 10,000 miniatures and collectibles, and more than 800 original paintings featuring works by over 200 artists and illustrators. Visitors can spend hours exploring everything from Greek mythology to Middle-earth and Tatooine. The exhibition also features detailed dioramas by Sri Lankan art studio Paintedfigs, including one of the lost city of Atlantis. Behind this massive world is the dad-and-daughter duo Scott and Shona Graham. Scott, a 55-year-old former businessman, owns most of the items and has been collecting all things fantasy since he was 12. Today, that lifelong passion is on display with the help of his 27-year-old daughter, Shona. GROWING UP WITH A LOVE FOR STORIES The youngest of three children, Scott grew up in the small Scottish town of Lochmaben, with a population of just over 1,000 back in the 1970s. “There were more sheep and cows than there were people,” he said. “My world felt small, but what made it very big was that my parents read to me and my older sisters. I’d be introduced to many worlds and realities.” There were no bookshops, but Scott distinctly remembers library vans, also known as mobile libraries, visiting the town and bringing books, audiobooks and other resources to rural areas in the United Kingdom. It was through these that he and his family were introduced to more fantasy worlds, from Earthsea in Ursula K Le Guin’s books to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld and, of course, JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth. “The books were the portals through many worlds that I could travel through, cry with the characters, love with them and see many different perspectives,” said Scott. When he was 12, he discovered a book that would change everything: The Sailor On The Seas Of Fate, the second novel in Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone saga. “The book threw me into a rabbit hole of fantasy and sci-fi, and I began collecting many similar books and magazines throughout the years.” By the time he was in his 20s, he had thousands of books and magazines – and these would follow him everywhere he went for work, including India and China. In 2005, he came to Singapore with his daughters in tow, where they became Singaporean citizens in 2010. His children would eventually grow up with the same love for stories. “It's funny because I wanted games or toys. But every birthday or Christmas, I’d feel the same rectangle of a present, and when I unwrapped it – oh hey, it’s yet another book,” Shona recalled with a laugh. “It was tiring as a kid, but now I always look back at those memories fondly. I’ll always be grateful to my parents for reading me all those stories,” she said. Her favourite fantasy world? The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit. "Tolkien’s worldbuilding and storytelling are simply unmatched," she said. “I love how every character, friendship, rivalry and triumph feels human even within a larger-than-life fantasy world." While Shona loved the books her father got her to read, her real love was art. “Books are amazing, but it was the art pieces that I really fell in love with,” she said. “It’s amazing how some artists bring these worlds to life, how they visualise the fights, the adventures, and the various scenes and landscapes. It’s breathtaking.” A DAD-AND-DAUGHTER DUO BRINGING STORIES TO LIFE As Scott’s collection grew, so did a dream he kept returning to. “At work, I was crunching numbers, figuring out ways to sell businesses to other businesses,” Scott said. “And while I am thankful for my job and all the opportunities it has given me, deep down, I kept thinking of travelling in the Hyborian Age with Conan or the desert world of Dune – and I wanted to bring my love and passion for these worlds to life.” For decades, the dream of putting on an exhibition remained just that, and Scott kept telling anyone who would listen about it – until he retired at the age of 50 in 2021. Like many retirees, he found himself bored. Unlike most retirees, however, he decided to spend a significant amount of his savings to turn a lifelong dream into reality. In 2024, Scott brought the idea up to Shona for the umpteenth time. This time, his daughter, who was already working in public relations and events management, could see how it might come to life. “I figured, Dad has been talking about this forever. It was really now or never, and we had to go big or go home. So I quit my job and really gave my all to this,” she said. The duo started The Imaginariad, a Singapore-registered company with a name that combined “imaginary” with Homer’s epic Greek poem The Iliad. From the beginning, they were clear about the values behind the exhibition: Celebrate human creativity, create a screen-free experience, and see the project through to the end. They began consulting exhibition organisers, libraries and peers to see whether the idea could work. At the same time, they began contacting renowned sci-fi and fantasy authors to reproduce and feature their work, and reaching out to artists whose works they wanted to display. Planning the exhibition as a family was a memorable experience for both. “When I first decided on it, there were many times I wondered how it would all work,” Shona said. “But I never doubted that Dad's idea would tide us through whatever struggle.” “There’s something utterly special about seeing this woman, who you’ll always remember as young and small, be so capable and brilliant in her own way," said Scott. “If it wasn’t for Shona, all this would have still remained a dream.” Their close bond would even rub off on the people they worked with. “It was funny because I just stuck to calling him Dad, and eventually everyone else – from the staff to the vendors – started calling him Dad, too,” Shona quipped. A "BROAD CELEBRATION OF HUMAN CREATIVITY" The Portals Experience, which Scott said cost roughly seven figures to bring to life (excluding the value of the books and artworks themselves), runs in Singapore until Sep 2. The current edition features only a fraction of Scott's entire collection catalogue, which now numbers over 30,000 books. “It would be wonderful to bring the exhibition around the world,” Scott said. “But I also feel that Singapore feels like the right place for it to be. Perhaps if anyone wants to see it, they can feel free to come to Singapore to visit.” Despite the exhibit already being as vast as it is, the two continue to be excited about the possibilities of expanding it even further. Both acknowledged that the current edition of Portals is largely Anglocentric, apart from a small amount of Chinese mythology they were familiar with. “My 13-year-old son is a huge fan of Japanese manga like One Piece, Attack On Titan and Captain Tsubasa,” Scott said. “And whenever he tells me about the stories, I realise just how incredible the worlds are and how there are so many more universes of fiction that we can share, love and discover together.” Shona added: “I would love to see how this exhibition grows. For now, it still feels pretty surreal that we made it happen, and we just want to bask in the success of it all.” Ultimately, Scott emphasised, the exhibition is a “broad celebration of human creativity” and on the subject of success, he sees it in many ways. “Success is seeing people come and enjoy themselves," he said. "Many people have told me that they feel like they’re going down a beautiful, nostalgic memory lane when they walk through the gallery aisles. “Success is also seeing people bring their children and seeing the light in the children’s eyes as they look at the expansive worlds these authors and artists have brought to life for decades." The Portals Experience runs until Sep 2, 2026, at Fever Exhibition Hall, 25 Scotts Road. Tickets start from S$26 for adults and S$17 for children. Those interested can book passes via the official Portals Experience website. [Image text:] PORALS PORALS