‘It’s hard to be a snake’: S’pore artist draws 65 ‘vilified’ native species in colourful field guide
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Author and illustrator Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray's Snakes Of Singapore: A Slightly Unhinged Field Guide is a quirky panorama of all 65 known species of snakes found in the country.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
- Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray created a colourful field guide illustrating all 65 native snake species in Singapore to change negative perceptions and promote appreciation of snakes.
- The book blends art styles and personal stories, aiming to reach a wider audience beyond typical nature enthusiasts and raise awareness of snake conservation.
- Lizeray highlights threats to snakes from urbanisation and habitat loss, urging people to be curious about the animal rather than fear them.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Even as an animal-loving child, illustrator and author Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray suffered a recurring nightmare of being helplessly strangled by a muscular boa constrictor while at sea.
Today, Lizeray, 44, is an advocate of the “vilified” serpent as the creator of a new book, Snakes Of Singapore: A Slightly Unhinged Field Guide (2026). She diagnoses her nightmare as a symptom of having internalised the smear campaigns snakes have been victim to in popular culture.