This year’s edition of the Light to Night Festival is a massive expansion of an anniversary event by National Gallery Singapore, and arty installations are spread out across the entire Civic District from now until 28 January 2018.
With this year’s theme centered on ‘Colour Sensations’, visitors can enjoy an array of dazzling, immersive installations ranging from the massive and the intriguing, to some musically moving performances.
With so many things happening, it can be rather confusing on where to begin your journey into this celebration of visual arts.
So to help those who are not familiar, here are eight installations that you have to seek out at the festival:
1. Arts Skin on Monuments – Brandon Tay X Safuan Johari
Starting with the outdoor installations in the festival, Art skins on Monuments is by far, the biggest facade light show in Singapore.
It is a massive installation curated by media artist Brandon Tay and sound designer Safuan Johari, featuring a total of 30 images designed by Singaporean and Singapore-based artists, illustrators and multimedia designers.
Keep your eyes peeled for the visual illustrations that range from vibrant to intricate designs.
The curated works are displayed on the facades of the Asian Civilisations Museum, The Arts House, Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall and lastly, Singapore’s former Supreme Court Building. The best place to be in awe of the size of such visual work would be along the pathways in front of the old Supreme Court Building.
Dates & Times: 19 – 28 January 2018, (Fri to Sat) 8pm – 12am, (Sun to Thu) 8pm – 10pm
Price: Free
Arts Skin on Monuments – Brandon Tay X Safuan Johari: Civic District, Singapore | Website
2. Chromascope – Spinifex Group
The next installation, Chromascope is just beside the Art Skins on Monuments at the National Gallery Singapore.
Spinifex’s inspiration behind this massive installation is based on the idea of participation; the group invites everyone from all walks of life, both young and old, to create a stunning piece of visual work, by stomping their feet on the stomping pads.
The stomping pads are located across the streets, at the Padang field facing the facade of the building.
You can think of the installation as a gigantic game, where the stomping pads are your controllers and console, and the National Gallery Singapore is your television. Go crazy!
Dates & Times: 19 – 28 Jan 2018, (Fri to Sat) 8pm – 12am, (Sun to Thu) 8pm – 10pm (Projections only, no interactive play)
Price: Free
Chromascope by Spinifex Group: National Gallery Singapore Façade, City Hall Wing, 1 St Andrew’s Rd, Singapore 178957 | Website
3. House of Mirrors – Creative Production Services Group
Moving into the realm of intrigue, lies the installation called House of Mirrors. It is a multisensory-based installation that takes the form of a house-sized kaleidoscope, created by Christian Wagstaff and Keith Courtney from Melbourne, Australia.
Anyone entering this installation must be prepared to get disorientated and lost, as you’ll probably bump into others or even your own reflection.
Due to its small size, the installation can only hold 50 people at any point in time, and visitors have a timed admission of 15 minutes per person.
Dates & Times: 19 – 28 January 2018, (Fri to Sat) 8pm – 12am, (Sun to Thu) 8pm – 10pm
Prices: S$2
House of Mirrors – Creative Production Services Group: Empress Lawn, Singapore | Website
4. Portal of Patterns – Kelly Limerick
This crochet installation resembles an archway of a portal for visitors to enter the Asian Civilisations Museum to discover historical artefacts.
Portal of Patterns may seem small at the entrance, and perhaps, not so alluring as compared to the other visual works above, but the beauty is in the details and the traditional way it was made.
Measuring four meters wide and three meters longs, Kelly envisioned its design to be tessellated; repeated patterns of smaller crocheted pieces shaped like diamonds, made by a community of 62 volunteers from all walks of life, formed together to create history.
If you wish to slow down and enjoy the little things in life, Kelly’s work is a testament to that.
Dates & Times: 19 – 28 January 2018, 5pm – 12am
Prices: Free
Portal of Patterns – Kelly Limerick: Asian Civilisations Museum Lobby, 1 Empress Place, Singapore 179555 | Website
5. OH! Treasure Chest – By Other Half
Within the Asian Civilisations Museum, lies another realm of intrigue; a life-sized kaleidoscope. But unlike the House of Mirrors, OH! Treasure Chest is created from rare, colour collections within the museum by the duo Ho Lay Hoon and Sumay Cheah.
The idea behind this installation is to make a portal for everyone to escape from our stressful environments through art, and immerse ourselves in a different take on our lives.
To achieve this idea, the duo uses a total of 50 ancient artefacts with intricate details, rendering them into kaleidoscopic imagery, along with the use of soundscape to create an ambient environment.
Upon entering the installation, you will find yourself disconnected from the world, and in that moment, you are in your own little bubble.
Dates & Times: 19 – 28 January 2018, 5pm – 12am
Prices: Free
OH! Treasure Chest – By Other Half: Asian Civilisations Museum Learning Gallery, 1 Empress Place, Singapore 179555 | Website
6. Curious Creatures – fFurious
Curious Creatures is an installation by a creative agency called fFurious. Almost like a redesigned version of the movie, ‘Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus’, the installations are broken down into the most simplistic geometric form showcased in a single colour.
The idea behind it is a response of the designers’ experiences when they went around the museum exhibition to observe artefacts about the historical portrayal of mythical beasts.
Through their own interpretations of mythical creatures from their visits, they created Curious Creatures to be a sense of wonderment, to have that ‘ah‘ factor when visitors view their installation.
Dates & Times: 19 – 28 January 2018, 5pm – 12am
Prices: Free
Curious Creatures – fFurious: Asian Civilisation Museum River Room, 1 Empress Place, Singapore 179555 | Website
7. The House Is Crumbling – Pinaree Sanpitak
The House Is Crumbling is a sculptural installation created by Pinaree, an artist who creates large-scale immersive works that explore the sensory perception.
Consisting of 4,000 khit pillows with 16 strings sewn on the sides of each pillow, this installation is a combination of fixed structure and loose forms that can be constructed continuously; deconstructed and reconstructed by visitors.
The aim of this installation is to look at how the body interacts with space and its surroundings, and visitors are invited to be a part of the installation through the interaction with the pillows.
Dates: 4 December 2017 – 1 April 2018
Price: General Admissions
The House Is Crumbling – Pinaree Sanpitak: Supreme Court Wing, Level B1, Koh Seow Chuan Concourse Gallery, 1 St Andrew’s Road, Singapore 178957 | Website
8. Walk, Walk, Walk: Search, Deviate, Reunite – teamLab
In the darkness of a space within the National Gallery, comes the journey of enlightenment through an endless narrative cycle. Walk, Walk, Walk: Search, Deviate, Reunite is a narrative 3D environment created by a global interdisciplinary group called teamLab.
The group of talented creatives aim to explore the relationship between man and nature through art. To them, everything exists in a long, fragile yet miraculous continuity of life.
In this particular installation, you will be challenged by the presence of figures that playfully entice, tease and respond to your actions as if they are able to sense your movement, body heat and voice.
As you travel into the installation, you will continuously be presented with options on the paths you take, such as having to choose which image to follow or interact with.
Dates: 5 January – 12 August 2018
Walk, Walk, Walk: Search, Deviate, Reunite – teamLab: City Hall Wing, Level B1, The Ngee Ann Kongsi Concourse Gallery, 1 St Andrew’s Rd, Singapore 178957 | Website
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So, there you have it! Eight installations ranging from stunning visual work and traditional craft, to intriguing imageries to help you and your friends start your journey into Singapore’s Light to Night Festival 2018!
Light to Night Festival 2018 – Colour Sensations: Various Locations | Website | Facebook
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