Circle Line Art
Circle Line Art
Circle Line Art
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CC1 Dhoby Ghaut<br />
Man and Environment<br />
Baet Yoke Kuan<br />
Connecting the heartlands to the buzzing Central<br />
Business District, Dhoby Ghaut Station is one of<br />
Singapore’s most hectic and heavily commuted stations<br />
where three MRT lines interchange. The artwork has<br />
been conceived to relieve the pressures of the frenzied<br />
atmosphere typical of a journey on the MRT with forms<br />
inspired by the balmy textures and sensitive lines<br />
textures abundant in nature. The natural, organic forms<br />
are inserted in the interior of the station as act as a<br />
counterbalance to its architectural scale and hectic<br />
activities of the MRT station, inviting passengers to<br />
touch and interact with this tactile artwork. The cement<br />
reliefs depict patterns that seemingly speak of lotus<br />
pods, lily pads, and footprints on the shore or shifting<br />
sands. They are fragmented pieces of visual poetry<br />
meant to ameliorate even the toughest of life's<br />
migraines, pieces that hope to stay the steps of<br />
commuters but allow their imaginations to be vivified.<br />
Baet Yoke Kuan completed his Diploma in Fine <strong>Art</strong> (painting) in 1988. He received his Master in Fine <strong>Art</strong>s<br />
(Sculpture) from the University of Central England, Birmingham, UK, in 1992. His outstanding achievement in<br />
the arena of art also won him the distinguished "Young <strong>Art</strong>ist Award" conferred by the National <strong>Art</strong>s Council<br />
of Singapore in 1995.
CC2 Bras Basah<br />
The Amazing Neverending Underwater Adventures!<br />
Tan Kai Syng<br />
Is a circle a line? Is a line a circle? Isn’t an oxymoron a contradiction in terms? Leave the real world<br />
behind and join our in-action heroine Desyphus, a Perpetual Commuter, for a spankingly dizzying<br />
ride! Accompany her on a chain of adventures on this <strong>Circle</strong> <strong>Line</strong> loop eternally, and help her battle<br />
Life’s Big Quirks, Ecstasies and Agonies along the way. We will also (re-)visit sites familiar or<br />
forgotten/thrown away, and create our own little stories that add more layers to the (hi−)stories –<br />
and the re-telling of these histories by the many museums nearby – of the Bras Basah area. Each<br />
trip begins with a cliffhanging Riddle that You, her Accomplice, must unravel. Is Desyphus floating?<br />
Is she sinking? Where have we come from? Where are we going? Are you back to square one?<br />
And, where in this world is Trip 15? Have a brilliant trip! Music by Philip Tan.<br />
<strong>Art</strong>ist, art curator and educator, Tan Kai Syng questions our ‘realities’ of the here and now. Be it installation,<br />
short film, text, performance, or new media, her work is fiercely personal but always at a critical distant,<br />
with an urgency laced with self-reflexivity. Kai Syng has presented in more than 40 cities and has won<br />
several awards for her innovative and thought provoking video artworks.
CC3 Esplanade<br />
A Piece of Ice-Clear Heart<br />
Lim Mu Hue @ Lim Aik Lee<br />
The large black and white artwork by the late Lim Mu Hue features scenes of shadow puppetry and<br />
other performances enjoyed by the early settlers in Singapore. Consisting of a set of seven pieces of<br />
wood block prints depicting various aspects of theatre, the artwork is a collage of early and later works<br />
by the renowned artist who passed away soon after the completion of this commission. Working<br />
closely with the late artist’s family, LTA has recreated Mu Hue’s wood-cut artworks prints on gigantic<br />
scale. With the station located next to the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, this will resonate with<br />
modern theatre and concert goers and is a celebration of the essential role that the visual and<br />
performing arts plays in today’s hectic environment.<br />
Lim Mu Hue was born in 1936 in Singapore and graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine <strong>Art</strong>s (NAFA) in<br />
1955. One of the Singapore’s most renowned art educationalists, Mu Hue enjoyed a long association with NAFA<br />
and taught at the college from 1960 to 1969. He is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of wood cut engraving<br />
and during the course of his long career, he held numerous exhibitions in Singapore, Japan, Taipei and the<br />
United Stated of America. Lim Mu Hue passed away in 2008 and this work is his last and largest commission.
CC4 Promenade<br />
Dreams in Social Cosmic Odyssey<br />
:phunk studio<br />
Dreams in Social Cosmic Odyssey is an<br />
illuminated celebration of our collective<br />
dreams. A promenade, usually next to a<br />
river or large body of water, is an area<br />
where people - couples and families<br />
especially - would go to walk, interact,<br />
participate and be part of 'society'. The<br />
site-specific artwork cleverly plays with<br />
the skylight to illuminate the space with<br />
glowing reflections of the light dancing<br />
from the water droplets of life, creating a<br />
kaleidoscope of patterns on the station<br />
floors, walls and ceilings. It illustrates the<br />
interaction between people and society,<br />
day and night, sky and water.<br />
:phunk is Alvin Tan, Melvin Chee, Jackson Tan and William Chan, a multi-disciplinary art and design collective<br />
based in Singapore. The collective constantly challenge the conventional notion and definition of the 'artist'<br />
and 'commercial design studio' by constantly blurring the boundaries between both, mixing Neo Pop <strong>Art</strong><br />
ideology with Post-Modernist design sensibilities. Their artistic approach is best described as “an aesthetic<br />
collective consciousness" focused on experimenting with new approaches to visual expressions. They were<br />
awarded 'Designer of the Year' in 2007 by the President's Design Award, the highest accolade for designers in<br />
Singapore.
CC5 Nicoll Highway<br />
Re-claiming the Peripherals<br />
Khiew Huey Chian<br />
Re-claiming the Peripherals explores how different subjects relating to a place can be developed<br />
through various shapes and formations. These shapes are inspired by or derived from the wild plants of<br />
Singapore. Seen by many as insignificant and redundant, these plants played a key role particularly to<br />
reclaimed land like Nicholl Highway, forming a layer of cover preventing soil erosion and loss, holding<br />
the soil firmly together. They were also the key subjects that left an impression to the artist’s childhood<br />
expedition along this stretch of place, providing endless fascination and imagination with their<br />
interesting shapes and structures. They show that anything can be of value if we just keep an open<br />
mind to observe the potential of things around us.<br />
Born in Singapore in 1969, Khiew Huey Chian is an artist and art educator. Having obtained his Master of <strong>Art</strong> in<br />
Fine <strong>Art</strong> (2002) with Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology at LASALLE College of the <strong>Art</strong>s, he is currently<br />
teaching in the Faculty of Visual <strong>Art</strong>s at the School Of The <strong>Art</strong>s, Singapore. He was the recipient for The Japanese<br />
Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s <strong>Art</strong> Award in 2000 and in 2001 he was one of the 10 recipients for the<br />
President’s Young Talents Award.
CC6 Stadium<br />
The Perfect Moment<br />
Roy Zhang<br />
The Perfect Moment is a series of images of the human form in a surreal dreamscape. These stylized<br />
silhouettes, located strategically at each end of the station, present the beauty and simplicity of the<br />
human body during sporting movement. Each human figure is woven together to create a series of<br />
synergic images depicting the moment where beauty, grace and energy are harmonized and captured<br />
in flight, frozen in time. Viewed collectively, these individual sporting movements are made to appear<br />
like a choreographed modern dance recital.<br />
Roy Zhang was pursuing an interior design career when he discovered photography and decided that<br />
photography was a more precise medium with which to express his ideas. Roy Zhang’s fascination for the<br />
aesthetics and of voyeurism led him to begin shooting human subjects. His rich and intense cinematic style<br />
creates beautiful narration and interaction with his viewers. Wildly versatile and with his ever evolving approach<br />
to photography, Roy Zhang continues to develop a roster of international advertising and editorial clients and is<br />
constantly seeking to bring his seductive and provocation narratives to new heights.
CC7 Mountbatten<br />
Lord Mountbatten Thinks of Pink<br />
Jason Wee<br />
Lord Louis 'Dickie' Mountbatten, friend to Noel Coward, Jawaharlal Nehru and Lee Kuan Yew, once<br />
thought it a good idea to paint a fleet of ships pink in wartime. In 1940, he invented Mountbatten Pink<br />
as a naval camouflage colour for the Fifth Flotilla. The naval commander reasoned that pink pigments<br />
will match the colour of the sky at dawn and dusk, making the ships harder to see by the enemy. Using<br />
these unusual connections as inspiration, the artwork depicts a modern container ship at those 'pink'<br />
hours, a vessel typical of those moored off the Fort Road shoreline close to the station. This station,<br />
and Mountbatten Road beside it, is eponymously named after him, the colourful last Viceroy of India.<br />
Jason Wee is an artist and writer. His work includes the photo series 'Captain's Log', the installation '1987' and<br />
the project space Grey Projects. He is the 2005-2006 Whitney Museum Independent Study Program Studio<br />
Fellow, the 2008 Young <strong>Art</strong>ist Award recipient and the 2009 Singapore <strong>Art</strong> Museum Voters' Prize winner. He is<br />
the editor of the book 'SQ21', which is named a 2006 The Straits Times non-fiction Book of the Year. He lives<br />
between New York and Singapore.
Little things tell little stories. This artwork<br />
narrates an open-ended story of Dakota<br />
Crescent through the objects inside<br />
residents’ homes, along the HDB flat<br />
corridors and shared outdoor spaces. This<br />
curation of objects found in Dakota is an<br />
attempt to chronicle a visual history and<br />
narrative of the space before the station is<br />
built. This artwork is a visible time capsule of<br />
the Dakota area. As the new <strong>Circle</strong> <strong>Line</strong><br />
station will necessarily change the aesthetic<br />
and social landscape of Dakota, the objects<br />
documented in this work carries with it a<br />
context of age and as an alternative visual<br />
archive of the estate.<br />
CC8 Dakota<br />
Little things, little stories<br />
A Dose of Light<br />
A Dose of Light are Ang Song Nian and Zhao Renhui. They are a collective of multi-disciplinary artists interested in<br />
portraying things from a different perspective. Their vision is to present their dreams and thoughts of Singapore<br />
through everyday scenarios and narratives with a unique aesthetic sensibility. Their work often deals with a re-<br />
portrayal and re-examination of commonly held beliefs we invest in our spaces, objects and everyday life.
CC9 Paya Lebar<br />
The Signs of Times<br />
Salleh Japar<br />
The artwork traces and reflect the development and the surrounding Paya Lebar precinct; its histories<br />
and landmarks through signs, emblems and motifs from its early beginnings to a customizing new city<br />
spaces via various images of the advertising logos, shop fronts, traffic lights signs, posters stickers,<br />
graffiti writings and road markings. In this artwork, the logo types represent the periods of the district<br />
from the rural kampong community to its present status as a satellite town. The pictographic symbol<br />
includes packed stacking pigs waiting to be feed, the community tap, the wireless tower, dhoby drying<br />
laundry, low flying airplane landing and taking off from nearby airport, cultural icons and the iconic<br />
post office complex, The Signs of Times aims to make viewers relax, smile and dream and at the same<br />
time share the special bond with history that made this area memorable to those who have lived and<br />
to those who visited the area.<br />
Salleh Japar is an artist and a lecturer at LASALLE College of the <strong>Art</strong>s. He is a recipient of several awards including<br />
Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Visual <strong>Art</strong> Award and Singapore Youth Award. He has also curated<br />
and participated exhibitions locally and internationally.
CC10 MacPherson<br />
Virtuous Cycle<br />
Kay Kok Chung Oi<br />
Virtuous Cycle signifies the symbolic meaning of Macpherson Station, portraying, the<br />
congregation of human dynamism and its cerebral energy, channelled and sustained by the<br />
‘machinery’ of the station. The colourful arrows signify the public converging upon the<br />
Macpherson vicinity while the red rectangles represent Macpherson Station. The station<br />
performs the role of a conduit, connecting the populace to Macpherson, as well as celebrating<br />
the continuous vibrancy of the Macpherson community itself.<br />
Kay Kok received her Master of <strong>Art</strong>s in <strong>Art</strong> Education from The School of the <strong>Art</strong> Institute of Chicago. As an<br />
artist, she frequently resorts to geometric shapes to express her artistic language in terms of history and<br />
culture. Her first solo exhibition, “Distant Call” about the history of Rickshaw Coolies, was highlighted in a<br />
keynote address by renowned historian Professor James Francis Warren at the National Museum of Singapore<br />
in 2007.
CC11 Tai Seng<br />
Equilibrium<br />
Francis Ng<br />
Equilibrium is a visual interplay of forms, colours and layers - qualities that are inherent in any space<br />
but are often taken for granted; qualities that are often looked at with barely more than a cursory<br />
glance, if at all, amid the hustle and bustle of urban living. Using equilateral triangles, grid lines,<br />
transparent and reflective surfaces put together with calculated precision and consideration of scale,<br />
proportionality and balance, this work examines the dynamics of spaces and invites a more considered<br />
attention to our surrounding spaces and the character of spaces we inhabit and commute in. From the<br />
possibilities of shifting perspectives and multiple readings offered by Equilibrium, viewers are free to<br />
take from the work what they want, in the same way they would in their everyday interactions with<br />
spaces they encounter.<br />
Francis Ng has an on-going interest in spaces, truth and identity. He uses his dexterity with materiality,<br />
composition and forms to explore these concepts and to communicate his studies of these ideas. A recipient of<br />
several national and international awards, Francis has presented his artistic visions through the 2003 President’s<br />
Young Talents Exhibition, the 5th Gwangju Biennale, the 50th Venice Biennale and the "Thermocline of <strong>Art</strong>-New<br />
Asian Waves” Exhibition at the ZKM Museum in Karlsruhe, Germany amongst other platforms. Since 2008,<br />
Francis serves as a member of the <strong>Art</strong>s Resource Panel of National <strong>Art</strong>s Council. In 2009, Francis founded<br />
SHOWCASE NUMBER EIGHT ////////, a conceptual platform that champions the cause for creative discourses<br />
amongst other consultative, academic, mentoring and curatorial positions and services he is currently holding.
CC12 Bartley<br />
The Coin Mat<br />
Jane Lee<br />
Coins. We take them for granted. Often we have too<br />
many, sometimes not enough when needed. At Bartley<br />
station, artist Jane Lee has created an artwork that<br />
celebrates the humble coin – 164,800 one-cent coins are<br />
encased within laminated glass panels. Look carefully<br />
and you can see the different colours and imagine the<br />
many journeys each coin has made. Look closer and you<br />
can see two tiny Vanda Miss Joaquim orchids,<br />
Singapore’s National Flower, embossed on the coins. On<br />
the reverse side, the Singapore Coat of Arms is<br />
surrounded by the word ‘Singapore’ in the four official<br />
languages, making this a ‘uniquely Singaporean’ artwork.<br />
At the station entrances, the Coin Mat theme is<br />
reinterpreted as a pattern using 5 and 10-cent coins<br />
printed on the glass panels.<br />
Jane Lee holds a Bachelor of Fine <strong>Art</strong>s in<br />
Painting from LASALLE-SIA College of the<br />
<strong>Art</strong>s and has won several awards. She was<br />
the first recipient of the Singapore<br />
International Residency <strong>Art</strong> Prize in 2007.
CC13 Sernagoon<br />
View of Life<br />
Sarkasi Said<br />
In this colourful and joyful artwork, Sarkasi Said shares with us his love of batik. “A work of art is a<br />
view of life expressed in a particular medium and I am like my canting, brushes and dye, just another<br />
medium” says Sarkasi. “I intensely relate my experience in life comparing the rhythm of darkness and<br />
light balancing the composition of the environment developed with melody – in colour – lyrical lines<br />
and construct shapes in harmony”. At Serangoon station, a lifetime of experience and expertise is<br />
combined to create the vibrant artwork with intense colours and literally exudes movement and<br />
motion.<br />
Sarkasi Said is an artist whose practice is firmly rooted in the conviction that art and nature are connected and<br />
are mutually interdependent. A prominent and renowned batik artist, Sarkasi has developed a pictorial language<br />
that is both distinctive and compelling. Sarkasi has received numerous awards and honors throughout his long<br />
career for his artworks.
CC14 Lorong Chuan<br />
Through The Looking Glass<br />
A Dose of Light and Yoma Studio<br />
Through The Looking Glass is a modern day epic, a chronicle<br />
of contemporary Singapore told through a highly-detailed<br />
illustration of Singapore. The colourful and often witty<br />
images show many aspects of life in Singapore, providing a<br />
chronicle of our time. The artwork is in keeping with past<br />
civilisations that used illustrations, drawings and paintings for<br />
documentation and as a story-telling device. A Dose of Light<br />
and Yoma Studio’s work is an investigation into an alternative<br />
documentation and archive of Singapore in 2007. It also<br />
serves as a looking glass into the past for future generations.<br />
A Dose of Light and Yoma Studio are Yong Ding Li, Ang Song Nian, Zhao Renhui, Sai Zom Pha and Juliana Ong. They<br />
are a collective of multi-disciplinary artists and designers interested in portraying things from a different<br />
perspective. Their vision is to present their dreams and thoughts of Singapore through everyday scenarios and<br />
narratives with a unique aesthetic sensibility. Their work often deals with a re-portrayal and re-examination of<br />
commonly held beliefs we invest in our spaces, objects and everyday life.
CC15 Bishan<br />
Move!<br />
Soh Ee Shuan<br />
‘Move!’ explores notions of travel, speed, progress and change amid a tableau of oversized people,<br />
tourists, scientists, flying commuters, gossipmongers and creatures. A large part of Soh’s artwork<br />
involves the creation of non-linear, spontaneous and overcrowded habitats and characters that are<br />
interconnected and thriving, often with surreal and humorous imagery. While the drawings are created<br />
in response to a city shaped largely by rules, research and systematic planning, both are seemingly<br />
cluttered, constructed, and constantly in flux. These different worlds coexisting are at the heart of<br />
Soh’s work. In all three murals, there are familiar themes of family, work-life balance, occupation, and<br />
a wanton obsession with materialism, success and happiness. It is through this improvised ecosystem<br />
that Soh’s work transports the commuter out of the ordinary and injects excitement into our daily<br />
journeys.<br />
Soh Ee Shaun is a self-taught artist who enjoys spontaneous and whimsical drawings. Soh’s work revels in the<br />
unexpected twists, mistakes, irreverence and surprises in the drawing and narratives within the illustration. The<br />
organic images are reminiscent of surrealism, graphics, graffiti and pop art fused into a lush, evocative and<br />
colourful landscape.
The work consists of a series of single-<br />
continuous line drawings where the line neither<br />
overlaps nor breaks. The drawing of the art wall,<br />
with the dimensions of gaps and positions of<br />
bolts. The artist aims to bring out the<br />
inconsistencies between the planned<br />
construction and the final wall which the viewer<br />
is facing. The drawing surrounding the ticket<br />
machines allows the viewer to see through the<br />
glass and the structures behind. In some ways it<br />
is a parody of the age-old technique of single-<br />
point perspective drawing to create an imagined<br />
three-dimensional space; here the three-<br />
dimensional space is compressed with a single-<br />
continuous line so that the viewer becomes<br />
aware of the fourth dimension: Time.<br />
CC16 Marymount<br />
Superstring<br />
Joshua Yang<br />
Joshua Yang makes single-continuous line<br />
drawing which have become recognised as<br />
the Superstring series. He uses these<br />
drawings as a metaphor for the<br />
Superstring Theory, which attempts to<br />
explain the workings of the entire universe<br />
through tiny vibrations called ‘strings’ that<br />
make up and connect everything. The<br />
drawings themselves have been read as<br />
attempts to connect scientific theory<br />
through artistic expression.
CC17 Caldecott<br />
The Cartography of Memories<br />
Hazel Lim<br />
The Cartography of Memories is a tribute to the places we<br />
love and the houses we lived in. Gathered through<br />
contributions from a hundred local residents and friends<br />
of the artist, this map of the larger vicinity of the Thomson<br />
and Caldecott areas is a collection of their personal<br />
histories, nostalgic memories and anecdotes of Singapore.<br />
By charting the streets, reservoir, houses and landforms of<br />
this area with their stories, it allows for their personal<br />
narratives to traverse the landscape of Singapore as the<br />
country shifts, changes and progresses over time.<br />
The notions of displacement, construction of histories, maps<br />
and imaginary landscapes in particular those relating to<br />
Singapore are concerns Hazel Lim often addresses in her works.<br />
By surveying the changes in the country, she examines and<br />
portrays the memories that slip through the gaps of the recent<br />
past and are constantly renewed through her paintings,<br />
drawings, photography and writings.
CC19 Botanic Gardens<br />
Aquatic Fauna No.1<br />
Lam Hoi Lit and Chua Chye Teck<br />
Aquatic Fauna No.1 is a symbolic representation of the organic beauty of Mother Nature’s biodiversity.<br />
The artwork is based on the aesthetics of traditional Chinese paper cuttings and woodblock print methods<br />
and the use of various motifs inspired by the tropical landscape unique to Singapore’s geographical<br />
position in the Asian tropical region. Produced in response to the station’s close proximity to the Singapore<br />
Botanic Gardens, this site-specific artwork attempts to bridge awareness towards the preservation and<br />
conservation of the natural ecological environments that remains amidst fast progression of urban<br />
developments.<br />
Aquatic Fauna No.1 is an artistic collaboration between two Singaporean contemporary artists, Lam Hoi Lit a.k.a<br />
Kai Lam and Chua Chye Teck. Both graduated in 2002 from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University<br />
with Bachelor of <strong>Art</strong>s in Sculpture and Fine <strong>Art</strong> respectively. Kai Lam is a multi-disciplinary artist and is currently an<br />
active member of The <strong>Art</strong>ists Village and Sculpture Society of Singapore. Chua, although majored in sculpture; is<br />
also a multi-disciplinary artist and professionally trained in photography.
CC20 Farrer Road<br />
<strong>Art</strong> <strong>Line</strong>age<br />
Erzan B Adam<br />
<strong>Art</strong> <strong>Line</strong>age explores how multi- and inter-cultural<br />
relationships within a community interact and negotiate to<br />
co-exist. The lines distinct to each ‘artist’, is the creation of<br />
the community. The final artwork is a compositional play of<br />
these lines to show how different races and cultures within<br />
the community can interact harmoniously to co-exist. With<br />
involvement of the community and the use of lines as the<br />
sole element, this artwork emphasizes unity, conceptually<br />
and visually. Erzan’s work is essentially a reflection of<br />
Singapore’s integrated multi-racial and multi-cultural<br />
society.<br />
Erzan B Adam obtained his Bachelor for Contemporary <strong>Art</strong> from<br />
the University of Tasmania and was admitted to the Dean’s Roll of<br />
Excellence in 2004. He completed his Masters in Fine <strong>Art</strong> with<br />
LASALLE College of the <strong>Art</strong>s in 2008. His works explore the<br />
tangible and intangible elements in art and life and how tensions<br />
and frictions brought about by ‘relationship’ negotiates to co-<br />
exist. Through the ideas of distribution of space and treatment of<br />
the surface, he investigates the compositional ‘play’ in the<br />
context of abstraction.
CC21 Holland Village<br />
Holland Beat<br />
Jeremy Sharma<br />
This artwork reflects the culture and heartbeat of Holland<br />
Village. Holland V has a diverse crowd of expatriates,<br />
youth and heartlanders. It has trendy cafes and old-world<br />
charm, bustling areas and quiet retreats. Here the mythical<br />
Windmill reminds you of Holland, but this ‘Holland’ is<br />
really named after Hugh Holland, an early resident who<br />
was an architect and an amateur actor. An old airline<br />
safety card, chosen for its colour scheme and clean lines to<br />
match the station interior, inspired its design. Created<br />
through a process of drawing, collage and digital<br />
manipulation, the final artwork has a very retro-<br />
contemporary feel about it. The figures are arranged in a<br />
way that has a flow and non-linear narrative in relation to<br />
space and imagery.<br />
Jeremy Sharma completed his postgraduate studies with the<br />
Master of <strong>Art</strong> (Fine <strong>Art</strong>) programme at the LASALLE-SIA College<br />
of The <strong>Art</strong>s Singapore/Open University UK in 2006. Sharma was<br />
the winner of the Della Butcher Award, Singapore (1999) for<br />
Excellence in Painting and an Honorable Mention at the Philip<br />
Morris Singapore-ASEAN <strong>Art</strong> Awards (2003 & 2005). His practice<br />
has always involved traversing the different modes of painting<br />
and creating inventive strategies to continue the dialogue on<br />
the role of modernism.
CC22 Buona Vista<br />
The Tree of Life<br />
Gilles Massot<br />
Scenic tropical greenery along South Buona Vista were the<br />
earliest impressions Massot had of Singapore when he first<br />
arrived in 1981. This strong sense of nature and greenery and its<br />
association to the name Buona Vista inspired this artwork.<br />
Situated close to Rochester and Nepal Parks, The Tree of Life is<br />
an attempt to bring the over-ground landscape to the<br />
underground station. This eucalyptus tree, though not an<br />
indigenous species, has been selected as the subject for its<br />
shape and texture of the bark, as well as the colour to<br />
complement the colour scheme of the station. Dimension and<br />
movement created through the use of tiling technique brings<br />
life to the station space.<br />
After studying architecture and eventually graduating in photography,<br />
Gilles came to Singapore from France in 1981 to work in advertising.<br />
His earliest involvement with the local art scene saw him contribute to<br />
the development of street art performance for the first three editions<br />
of the Singapore <strong>Art</strong>s Festival Fringe. In 1985, travel photography and<br />
writing became the focus of his professional work, which eventually<br />
resulted in long-term researches on Asian civilisations. His artistic<br />
work is characterised by an emphasis on historical and ethnological<br />
topics, developed from the perspective of photography theory.
CC23 one-north<br />
A Visual Narrative Pandemonic Rhythmic Movement<br />
Yek Wong<br />
This triptych is a visual metaphor of the operational timeline of the Mass Rapid Transit system. The<br />
zigzagging intertwining looping dance-like linear elements weaving through time (from left to right)<br />
represent passengers’ daily commutes. The pulsating background of shifting magenta, cyan, pink,<br />
orange, green and black give the illusion of the progression of time. Viewed as a whole, each of the<br />
three panels resembles time-lapsed video or photography of commuters getting into the train to get<br />
to their destinations: getting off the train to go to work, go to lunch, finish work; and get home. The<br />
image of the entire MRT system depicted in an abstract manner, is a narration of synchronized-<br />
chaos and rhythmic-poetry from morning (left panel), to afternoon (middle panel), and into evening<br />
(right panel).<br />
Yek Wong completed his Bachelor of <strong>Art</strong>s with the University of Texas at Austin in 1994 and received his<br />
Masters in Fine <strong>Art</strong>s from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. He spent a large portion of his education<br />
and artistic career in the American west coast, soaking up more than just its sunshine. His artistic<br />
sensibilities, as a result, took on a ‘cool’ (in aspects of colours, light and space) and ‘ironic’ (in philosophical<br />
outlook) tone.
CC24 Kent Ridge<br />
Poetry Mix-up<br />
Mixed Reality Lab<br />
Interacting by reciting or writing poetry has been an important<br />
cultural practice from ancient times. However, the interests of<br />
the modern generation with their absorption in rapidly<br />
emerging technologies, tends to provide less regard and<br />
appreciation for traditional literary practices such as poetry.<br />
Conversely, cultural computing uses various methods to model<br />
the established cultures, allowing users to interact and<br />
experience these cultures through modern computing<br />
applications. This work combines traditional literary work with<br />
modern digital technology to create a familiar and enjoyable<br />
platform for the new generation to appreciate traditional<br />
literary works. Poetry Mix-up encourages users to experience<br />
the creation of a ‘remixed’ variety of poetry by sending a SMS<br />
to a digital poetry generator. Be creative. Express yourself.<br />
Send a SMS now and unleash the poet in me!<br />
The developers of Poetry Mix-Up Adrian David Cheok, Owen Noel Newton<br />
Fernando, Nimesha Ranasinghe, Kening Zhu, Janaka Prasad Wijesena,<br />
Chamari Edirisinghe and Akki Reddy Challa are from Mixed Reality Lab<br />
(MXR) of National University of Singapore. Their vision is to push the<br />
boundaries of research into interactive new media technologies through<br />
the combination of technology, art, and creativity. The key objectives of the<br />
MXR Lab are to create a world centre of excellence for interactive media<br />
and entertainment technology to provide a multi-disciplinary project-based<br />
learning environment for students to modify creative media technology to<br />
promote the economic development of Singapore; and to open new doors<br />
for creativity for inventive and innovative students.
CC25 Haw Par Villa<br />
Eroclamation<br />
Tan Wee Lit<br />
Much of the west side of Singapore is reclaimed land. As<br />
Singapore continues to undergo development and<br />
construction, traces of our history have been gradually<br />
replaced and consigned to memory. Consisting of various<br />
iconic landmarks of the West, the work presents these<br />
distinct features in the tradition of a paper-cut that aims<br />
to re-capture the tranquillity of a past longed for. The<br />
omnipresent construction machinery juxtaposed against<br />
the serenity of the composition represents their<br />
naturalized integration into our everyday environment<br />
and the integral role they play in social progress and<br />
urban development. Literally the ‘movers and shakers’,<br />
these machines are the modern symbols that epitomize<br />
the necessary evil of creation and destruction, birth and<br />
death. As erosion and reclamation of both our land and<br />
values occur- what do we want to keep?<br />
Tan Wee Lit graduated from the School of the <strong>Art</strong> Institute of<br />
Chicago with an MFA in Sculpture and had his first solo exhibition<br />
at the Museum of Contemporary <strong>Art</strong>, Chicago (2008). He has<br />
represented Singapore in the exhibition ‘Identities vs<br />
Globalisation’ in Berlin, Chiangmai and Bangkok (2004) and has<br />
also exhibited at the ‘Fifth Outdoor Sculpture Biennial’ in<br />
Baltimore (2008), ‘Urban Contemporary <strong>Art</strong> Trail’ in UK (2008),<br />
and ‘Emerging <strong>Art</strong>ists’ in Illinois (2007). He was a recipient of the<br />
Graduate Fellowship Award from the School of the <strong>Art</strong> Institute<br />
of Chicago, Grand Prize Winner for the Singapore Sculpture
CC26 Pasir Panjang<br />
Lieutenant Adnan<br />
Ho Tzu Nyen<br />
Lieutenant Adnan Saidi was a 27 year old infantry officer whose<br />
bravery and eventual sacrifice, in one of the fiercest battles in<br />
Singapore’s history, makes him the stuff of legends. This is the Battle<br />
of Pasir Panjang, fought against the Japanese during World War Two.<br />
Situated in close proximity to the battle site, this artwork at Pasir<br />
Panjang station honours the fighting spirit of this war hero, by taking<br />
the form of an imaginary film, featuring in the leading, titular role,<br />
popular real-life action star, Aaron Aziz. The artwork comprises three<br />
sets of images, namely: a vertical centrepiece at the lift shaft, a diptych<br />
at both ends of the platform, and a quartet of images at the concourse,<br />
near to the station control. The vertical centrepiece takes the form of<br />
film-stills that sequentially reconstruct a heroic action, while the<br />
platform diptych narrates the life story of Lieutenant Adnan. Finally,<br />
the concourse quartet enacts a moment of the battle in the classical<br />
style of western ‘history paintings’. These three sets of images are<br />
positioned to encourage commuters to actively piece the artwork<br />
together through the exploration of the station space, while<br />
uncovering a fragment of Singapore’s history.<br />
Ho Tzu Nyen is an artist and filmmaker whose projects are characterised by the<br />
investigation and incorporation of important cultural moments as their material. His<br />
art projects have been presented in exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale (2011); the<br />
6th Asia-Pacific Triennial (2009); the 1st Singapore Biennale (2006); the 3rd Fukuoka<br />
Asian <strong>Art</strong> Triennale (2005); and the 26th Sao Paulo Biennale (2004). His theatrical<br />
experiments have been presented at Theater der Welt (2010), KunstenFestivaldes<strong>Art</strong>s<br />
(2006, 2008) and Singapore <strong>Art</strong>s Festival (2006, 2008). His films have been shown at<br />
film festivals such as the 64 th Locarno International Film Festival (2011); the 41st<br />
Directors' Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival (2009); and the 66th Venice International<br />
Film Festival (2009).
CC27 Labrador Park<br />
Without Which/ Would Have Been/ Impossible<br />
Heman Chong<br />
This artwork explores the notion of balance between<br />
different forms of living things, each dependent on each<br />
other in an intricate manner. Labrador Park is a<br />
representation of this commitment to achieve balance<br />
between urban development and the natural world,<br />
ensuring an ecological future for Singapore. Chong’s work<br />
consists of two elements. The main motif is generated out<br />
of a microscopic view of a single rock found at the park,<br />
highlighting the distinctive identity of Labrador Park as the<br />
last surviving rocky sea cliff in Singapore. The second<br />
element, WITHOUT WHICH/ WOULD HAVE BEEN/<br />
IMPOSSIBLE is inspired by one of literature’s most minimal<br />
forms – haiku. The often reference of haiku to nature<br />
complements the elementary object in this work.<br />
Developed as a monument, the artwork invites commuters<br />
to reflect in fundamental concepts, discovering the<br />
interconnectivity and deeper understanding in them.<br />
Heman Chong is an artist, curator and writer. His art practice<br />
involves an investigation into the philosophies, reasons and<br />
methods of individuals and communities imagining the future.<br />
Charged with a conceptual drive, this research is then adapted<br />
into objects, images, installations, situations or texts.
CC28 Telok Blangah<br />
Notes Towards a Museum of Cooking Pot Bay<br />
Michael Lee<br />
Notes Towards a Museum of Cooking Pot Bay investigates<br />
Telok Blangah as a site of ever-evolving ideas. Beginning<br />
with archival research about Telok Blangah, this work<br />
takes a literary leap of faith to weave different episodes<br />
taking place all at once: It draws links among the<br />
neighbourhood’s past, present and future, while stumbling<br />
on things here, there and nowhere. The outcome of this<br />
exercise is a hypothetical museum for the community of<br />
Telok Blangah. As with any institution that studies, collects<br />
and displays artefacts of lasting interest, this proposed<br />
museum has 5 galleries that highlight key points about the<br />
places, people, events, objects both movable and<br />
immovable, and ecology of Telok Blangah. Presented here<br />
is a mind map about such a museum.<br />
Michael Lee is an artist and curator based in Singapore. His<br />
research addresses representations of the built environment,<br />
especially the contexts and implications of its lost elements. His<br />
observations are mainly transformed into objects, diagrams,<br />
situations, curations or essays. His art projects have been<br />
presented in exhibitions such as The 2nd Asia Trienniale<br />
Manchester 2011 (Chinese <strong>Art</strong> Center, Manchester), The 3rd<br />
Singapore Biennale 2011 (Old Kallang Airport, Singapore), and<br />
The 8th Shanghai Biennale 2010 (Shanghai <strong>Art</strong> Museum). He<br />
was a recipient of the Young <strong>Art</strong>ist Award (Visual <strong>Art</strong>s) 2005,<br />
conferred by the National <strong>Art</strong>s Council, Singapore.
CC29 HabourFront<br />
Commuting Waves<br />
Jason Ong<br />
The artwork consisting of a pair of three-dimensional<br />
waveforms draws a contextual link between HarbourFront<br />
and train commuters. It is derived through elements of<br />
chance by computing the travel patterns of commuters on a<br />
particular weekday and weekend. The pitch and spacing of<br />
the glass planes represent the passenger volumes and train<br />
frequencies during the operating hours. The fragmented<br />
planes developed through repetitions and variations are<br />
influenced by the gradual process of transformation in<br />
minimalist music while the arrangement of the colours and<br />
the images of HarbourFront water are determined by the<br />
principle of serial music composition. Commuting Waves is<br />
essentially a reflection of the rhythm and flow of human<br />
activities captured in time.<br />
Jason Ong is an independent designer engaging in multi-<br />
disciplinary work. Since setting up his practice, Jienshu, in<br />
2005, he has been working on furniture, product, exhibition<br />
and set design projects. Ong was the first designer selected to<br />
showcase at the President's Young Talent Exhibition in 2005.<br />
He attained his Master in Design with Distinction from the<br />
Domus Academy in Milan in 2002. He lectures part-time in<br />
design at the Nanyang Technological University, the National<br />
University of Singapore and the Nanyang Academy of Fine<br />
<strong>Art</strong>s. Seeing art and design as a reflection of the human self,<br />
his work often explores themes concerning the human<br />
conditions and the communication of humanistic values.