The next time you’re in ION Orchard, look out for the waterfall running down from the fourth floor. But wait … it’s no ordinary waterfall. Created by British art and design firm Troika, ION Waterfall uses a cascade of hundreds of “flip-dots,” controlled by a computer, to create mesmerizing abstract waves of “water” that shower down onto onlookers.
ION Waterfall is the latest addition to the mega mall’s collection of artworks which includes the larger than life Nutmeg & Mace by local artist Kumari Nahappan and the Urban People figurines by Swiss sculptor Kurt Laurenz Metzler. In addition to these three works, the mall also has an art gallery (ION Art) on the fourth floor plus Opera Gallery on the third floor, which showcases works from such über-artists as Picasso, Dali, Gauguin, Miro, Braque and Chagall.
“Art revitalizes the malls and adds an important dimension to the space—Singapore is very much a city of shoppers, and if this is where the people go, the art can certainly follow,” says Stéphane Le Pelletier, director of Opera Gallery which has played a role in giving new life to the public art sphere by organizing one-time outdoor exhibitions like the recent Britto In Singapore and Master’s Formula—The Artistic Drive last year.
True enough, since it’s unveiling, ION Orchard’s Nutmeg & Mace and Urban People have been hits with visitors to the mall—who regularly (if only momentarily) let go of their credit cards, pick up their cameras and take pictures.
“I think Kumari’s Nutmeg & Mace in front of ION Orchard is pretty cool. You can’t get much more kitsch than a giant fruit, and people like to take photos in front of it (a sure sign of kitsch). But its materials and form are interesting too. It’s also site-specific, as it refers to the nutmeg plantation that gave Orchard Road its name many years ago,” quips writer and art commentator Peter Schoppert.
Further down the road, another mall, Orchard Central, is also celebrating art in a very big way. Its developer, Far East Organization, has invested a whopping $9 million in commissioning contemporary art pieces exclusive to the mall by artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Matthew Ngui, Victor Tan and Gary Carsley. With works spanning the art gamut—including sculpture, automation, interactive digital exhibits, light and sound installations, and multimedia art—it reinforces Orchard Central’s positioning as the “Center of New.” An escalator ride up to the second floor from the entrance at the junction of Orchard and Killiney roads will send visitors into an abstract take on Istana Park by Carsley, an Australian artist… while a four-storey tall “shopper” by German art collective Inges Idee greets visitors in the atrium.
“By situating art installations in the public space for free, we hope to make art accessible to every shopper, thereby enhancing the multi-sensory appeal of Orchard Central. The artworks at Orchard Central function in the spaces in which they reside, making these pieces even more privileged, accessible and interesting than art in a private gallery or exhibition hall,” says Kelvin Ling, Chief Operating Officer, Retail Business Group, Far East Organization. He added that there’s a possibility the works might grow in number especially since such installations are aligned with the company’s efforts to contribute to a vibrant and varied local arts scene.
While the works in these malls are truly awe-inspiring, art in public spaces is not a new concept here. We’re pretty sure most of you have posed for pictures with Robert Indiana’s Love sculpture outside Park Mall or used Marc Ruygrok’s GoGo in VivoCity (which boasts 13 permanent sculptures by six international artists), to make a wish to be taken far, far away.
Singapore, in fact, is like one big art gallery (minus the pretentious chin-stroking) with more than 150 works scattered around the island. You can’t pass Raffles Place without admiring Botero’s The Bird, Chong Fah Chong’s The First Generation, Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure or stop and stare at Dali’s Homage to Newton; (and yes, there is the Merlion and statue of Sir Stamford Raffles there too). Even far-off Sengkang has its own “sculpture park” with artworks reflecting the town’s fishing village roots.
People in the art industry that I-S spoke to have much praise for governmental and private corporation efforts in introducing art into our urban landscape, but they agree that art in public spaces could be more than the odd static sculpture.
Artist Justin Loke of local art collective Vertical Submarine thinks that art in public spaces shouldn’t just sit still behind figurative velvet ropes. “For public artworks near buildings, they should move beyond being merely installed within a designated site … to artworks that impregnate, intervene and disrupt the pragmatic functions of the building or the vision of the architect,” he says. He adds that pieces in public spaces should be allowed to “grow” organically within their environment—either through natural forces or by being “damaged” by people—as forms of informal interaction between the artist and the public, or between art and nature.
Peter Schoppert agrees: “I would love to see more thoughtful and careful interventions involving art in public spaces. Some of that could be in the form of big expensive sculptures or screens in public places, but there are lots of other possibilities, including temporary installations, flash mob interventions, more gardens and plants, stickers and other clever kinds of urban graphic art that is respectful of property and safety.
“And if we do put more expensive sculptures and screens in, I hope that people commissioning works devote more thought to the process, involving people, including artists and curators, involving the architects, and really having a robust conversation about art in public places.”
Bottom line is, each sculpture should of course enliven its surrounding, but if it can also open up a vein of interaction between the artist, the exhibition space and the public, then it becomes a true masterpiece.
Public Art Attack!
I-S brought along two friends—an oblivious tourist and an art expert—around town to decipher the famous and the latest art in public spaces.
Orchard Road
Nutmeg & Mace
Where: ION Orchard
Art Fart says: It’s a giant nutmeg … like duh. And what’s mace?
Art Smarts says: Correct. In fact, it’s inspired by the site’s heritage as the site of nutmeg, pepper and fruit orchards. The signature sculpture of the mall was designed by award-winning local artist Kumari Nahappan, who is known for her public art sculptures that explore nature’s forms and Asian identity. And mace refers to the red covering on the nutmeg seed.
Mother & Child
Where: Outside Far East Shopping Centre
Art Fart says: It looks like a statue of a mermaid holding its baby on a fountain.
Art Smarts says: One of the most familiar and earliest works of Singapore public art, the late Dr. Ng Eng Teng’s famous Mother & Child sculpture embodies his concern with the themes of identity, belonging, basic human feelings and states of mind. This piece suggests an intimate and interdependent existence between them all. Ng’s vision of a mother lifting and supporting a child reflects the concept of motherhood, an apt statement perhaps at a time (1980s) when Singapore was seeing rapid economic progress supported by commerce. It is located outside a mall on Orchard Road after all.
ION Waterfall
Where: ION Orchard shopping atrium
Art Fart says: Is that a sign that says “Sale On First Floor” or something?
Art Smarts says: Created by London-based art collective Troika as a permanent installation presented under the ION Art program, ION Waterfall is a breathtaking attraction for visitors to the mall. Fabricated in aluminum and stainless steel and using the same electro-mechanical “flip-dot” technology used in the time-schedule signboards of airports, train and bus stations, this “old” technology is given new life and a contemporary edge to simulate flowing water. ION Waterfall brings to the interior of the mall the fascination of a sparkling waterfall cascade. Troika is most noted for Cloud, its only other creation which employs the same technology, located at Terminal 5 of Heathrow International Airport in London.
Tall Girl
Where: Orchard Central Discovery Walk
Art Fart says: Wow! It’s a giant effigy of a typical Singaporean shopper!
Art Smarts says: Just trying to look at this sculpture eye-to-eye will take you up four storeys. With an impressive height of 20 meters, German art collective Inges Idee’s aptly named Tall Girl reflects the unique spatial and architectural features of Orchard Central—it’s Singapore’s first vertical mall by the way. And what else to represent a mall than a shopper!
Cloud
Where: 4/F Orchard Central
Art Fart says: My, my, my. Is that gas from the giant shopper girl?
Art Smarts says: Ermm ... no. It’s actually based on an actual cloud and explores the complex relationship between art and science. Spanish-born, US-based artist Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, with the help of modern tech wizardry, scanned a thundercloud and “frozened” (his word) it until it became the bulbous titanium thing hanging from the ceiling. Natural light reflecting onto its surface gives the illusion of a moving cloud.
Raffles Place
The Bird
Where: Outside UOB Plaza (along the Singapore River)
Art Fart says: It’s a bird! It’s a VERY big bird.
Art Smarts says: This three-dimensional Bird by Columbian artist Fernando Botero, who’s famous for exaggerated proportions and the “fatness” of human and animal figures, also signifies the joy of living and the power of optimism as well as peace, which a bird often symbolizes. UOB believes that as long as there is peace and optimism among its people, Singapore will continue to grow and prosper (and bank at UOB).
Homage to Newton
Where: UOB Plaza atrium
Art Fart says: It looks like the sculpture melted in the heat or something …
Art Smarts says: Well, it’s created by surrealist master Salvador Dali, who’s famous for his melting clocks in The Persistence of Memory, that’s why. The dropping ball represents Isaac Newton’s greatest discovery—gravity to you noobs—while its hollow torso and head represent two necessary human qualities: An open heart and mind.
Momentum
Where: Finlayson Green
Art Fart says: Eh! I didn’t know they have those shopping mall Christmas trees around here too.
Art Smarts says: OK. The similarities just end at its distinct conical shape. Created by Israeli artist David Gerstein, Momentum, which features 175 colorful metal cutouts of human figures, depicts an upward cycle of progress, symbolizing the energy and momentum of the district, Singapore and its people.
Marina Bay
Singapore Brushstrokes
Where: Millennia Walk outdoor plaza
Art Fart says: Looks like something my kid brother can do—drawing
some squiggly lines.
Art Smarts says: Singapore Brushstrokes is part of a larger series of Brushstrokes, which pop artist Roy Lichtenstein began in the mid-1980s and continued up until his death. What began as a parody on the over-enthusiastic slashing brushstrokes of the spontaneous abstract painters of the 1960s and ‘70s has become a larger series for the artist.
Abundance III
Where: Outside Suntec City Mall (near Starbucks Coffee)
Art Fart says: Ok. It’s a weird looking tube. So what about it?
Art Smarts says: Working predominantly with bronze, award-winning architect-turned-sculptor/painter Sun Yu-Li’s Abundance III is an extension of the artist’s fascination with space and form. According to the artist, the circular shape of the piece represents heaven and infinity. A circle has no beginning and no end; for Sun it is the perfect shape.
Seed Series
Where: Esplanade outdoor plaza
Art Fart says: Are those stone cacti?
Art Smarts says: 1995 Cultural Medallion winner Han Sai Por’s works are usually associated with the natural world—especially the tropical rain forest—thanks to her belief in the spiritualism inherent in nature. The Seed Series reflects the seeds of creativity and the arts being sown on the grounds of the Esplanade. Whether anything good has sprouted up, is a different matter altogether.
Art in Hotels
Ritz-Carlton, Millennia Singapore’s Podcast Art Tour
Consisting of 4,200 pieces, the art collection at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore is considered by many to be among the finest corporate modern art collections in Singapore. Valued at approximately $5 million, 90 percent of the works were specially commissioned for the hotel, including approximately 350 major “museum quality” pieces from the likes of David Hockney, Henry Moore and Andy Warhol. Guests staying at the hotel can sign up at the concierge for a self-guided podcast art tour complete with running commentary on each artist’s profile and history. Ritz-Carlton, Millennia Singapore, 7 Raffles Ave. Call 6434-5118 or email rc.sinrz.reservations@ritzcarlton.com for more information.
St. Regis Singapore’s The Art of Living
Spend an afternoon in the company of creations by artists Jasper Johns, Fernando Botero, Anthony Poon, Li Chen and more, after a round of afternoon tea, scones and macaroons at the ultra-luxurious St Regis Singapore’s Brasserie Les Saveurs. This special expert-guided tour features well known masters of modern and contemporary art such as Picasso and Miró as well as a good representation of Singaporean artists responsible for the Nanyang Style movement, from pioneer artists like Georgette Chen and Cheong Soo Pieng to second-generation contemporary artists such as Henri Chen Ke Zhan and Chua Ek Kay. St Regis Singapore, 29 Tanglin Rd. $53 with one glass of Moët and Chandon Rose. Call 6506-6866 or email dining.singapore@stregis.com for reservations.
Art on The Green
Li Chen: Mind. Body. Spirit
Embark on a sculptural trip around the Bras Basah precinct and in the National Museum and Singapore Art Museum with Li Chen’s powerful, large-scale bronzes. The striking pieces fuse Eastern philosophy and mythology with contemporary art practices. Through Dec 9. Various locations and at the National Museum, 93 Stamford Rd., 6332-3659; Singapore Art Museum, 71 Bras Basah Rd., 6332-3222; Campus Green, Singapore Management University, Bras Basah Rd.
Nature Borne
See the Singapore Botanic Gardens as you’ve never seen them before. As you wander around Singapore’s most beautiful park, look out for a series of artworks scattered in the different nooks and crannies. More than 25 sculptures and installations have been created by five Korean and Singaporean artists like Jason Lim, Michael Lee, Jason Wee and Vertical Submarine. through Dec 27. Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Rd., 6471-7138.
