19 April 2023—Singapore Art Museum launches two new public art trails Port/raits of Tanjong Pagar and Singapore Deviation
Singapore Art Museum has announced two public art trails Port/raits of Tanjong Pagar and Singapore Deviation. The former spans various areas in Tanjong Pagar, such as Tanjong Pagar Distripark, Everton Park, and Duxton Plain Park, while the latter extends throughout Wilton Close, Commonwealth Drive, and Kampong Bahru Bus Terminal along the Rail Corridor.
While the works boast beguiling, eye-catching appearances, they also embody thought-provoking concepts that neatly respond to the present lives, histories, and inhabitants of their locations. Many of them are playful, tactile experiences, while others punctuate the landscape with larger-than-life structures.
We liked the idea of taking a jaunt through the various area and stumbling across artworks that invite us to look closer and be more present with the world around us, in contrast to how many of us rush from place to place each day. Both trails promise to be the perfect weekend activities, as many of the works are dotted around neighbourhoods that boast solid F&B and cultural offerings. (Our tips? Check out Nylon Coffee Roasters as you discover Diva Agar’s work at Everton Park and stop by DOPA for ice cream when you’re gazing at Isabella Teng’s mural over at Tanjong Pagar Plaza.)
Check out the public artworks in the photographs below!
(Left) The backdrop at the harbor from Tanjong Pagar Distripark. (Right) Grace Tan’s Sea of Flags installed at Tanjong Pagar Distripark. Each colour is meant to evoke the colours of plants and natural materials that were introduced by colonial and maritime trade.The next public artwork took us to Everton Park, an HDB estate that is home to numerous neighbourhood food stalls and trendy cafes.The artist Divaagar with his installation Everfowl Estate, which displays fake birds in structures that echo the HDB buildings, shophouses and swanky condominiums nearby. The artist decided to include fake birds to mirror the presence of roaming jungle fowl in the neighbourhood. (Right) He stands with a modern-looking structure with blue glass windows and marble floors. (Left) A close-up of fake birds in structures styled after the pastel-swathed HDB buildings in Everton Park.(Right) Over at Duxton Plain Park is {still life} by Space Objekt. Constructed out of colourful mirrored surfaces, the structure reflects different views from the park, such as high-rise buildings in the Central Business District; nearby foliage; and HDB blocks in the distance. (Left) A close-up of {still life}. The artists encouraged us to visit at different times of day to see the structure lit up in all its multicolour glory.Artist Aki Hassan introducing one of their two installations in Duxton Plain Park. With curved beams of steel and fibreglass, the structure considers what it means to support and be supported. It’s an incredibly tactile experience, with the artist encouraging us to touch, hold, and hug it!Ending our tour of Port/raits of Tanjong Pagar was Little Islands by Isabella Teng. It took the form of an expansive mural of the seaside at Tanjong Pagar Plaza, to echo how the estate seems like its own little island surrounded by the modern environment of the Central Business District nearby. (Right) A view of the work from the ground. (Left) A view of the work from the staircase above.We were also treated to some lovely iced tea and ice cream at DOPA before moving on to the second trail, Singapore Deviation.Tan Pin Pin’s works are located at the Kampong Bahru Bus Terminal. One of the works is the installation on the ceiling, which outlines the various reasons why we might walk. With her works, Tan hopes to encourage people to think of walking as an act in itself, rather than just a means of getting from place to place.(Left) Tan’s other works include an installation featuring the Mandarin characters for ‘walk slowly’ –a reminder to the bus drivers at the terminal to be careful as they go about their busy days. (Right) Then there’s also walk walk, a video work that charts the lives of four women who walk for various reasons, be it art-making or to take in the sights of the world around them. Over in Commonwealth is Hilmi Johandi’s Stagecraft: Landscaped Grounds. For the work, the artist referred to old 20th-century posters of locomotives from Singapore’s National Collection, and adapted sections of them to form the coloured fronts of the installations. Visitors will notice the installation’s metallic backing; an ode to Johandi’s interest in stagecraft. As a whole, the work makes us think about what mass-produced images depict and how they might be constructed. (Right) Johandi explaining his work and standing next to one of the curators. (Left) A close-up of one of the installation sections. Facing a massive field with an informal trekking path is Sookoon Ang’s cast bronze sculpture Moonlight. Its form takes reference from a fallen treetrunk in the area, which has since been taken over by undergrowth.
