NUSANTARA.COM: Singapore Public Art

Texturefulness of Life, Surachai Yeamsiri, 1998 mixed media commission: Marine Parade CCC, working with Willie Lim Architects location: Marine Parade Community Centre « go previous go to next » go back to list

This work, on the boundaries between art and architecture, was the winner of a public competition. The contest set the theme of "dynamism, interaction, fusion, harmony" and offered a prize of 30,000 S$ cash, with a budget of S$ 50,000. Unusually, the competition was opened to Southeast Asian artists, not restricted to Singaporeans. In case anyone doesn't know, this is the Community Club of the constituency of the Prime Minister of Singapore, so any decisions around this space are likely to carry some political charge. The hype was considerable: "It will be the most significant piece of public art ever in Singapore. It even has the potential to be the Southeast Asian version of the Southeast Asian version of the Sistine Chapel in Italy." -- Alan Rubenstein of La Salle-SIA College of the Arts. In the end, 66 entries were received, of which 40 were from Singapore. The winning artist's statement: "a mix of materials to reflect the eclectic mix of traditional and high tech environments in Singapore. As for the video screen, he explained that it will serve to flesh activities in the club to passersby." "Marine Parade's Going Big on Art", Sunday Times, November 8, 1998 The video wall element seems to have been dropped. There was evidently a controversy over the inclusion of some text in Thai in the mural, along with Singapore's "official" languages. (I am checking this...) In any case, the Thai language text was dropped.

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