Day 308 : We are Loving Marina Bay!

If there is one place in Singapore that has gone through the most dramatic changes in the past 30 years, in my opinion, it has got to be Marina Bay. From reclamation works starting in 1971 that expanded our bay mass by another 177ha to the progressive developments that transformed the downtown waterfront area into a showcase of trophy skyscrapers and iconic architecture, Marina Bay would have people falling in love with our little red dot in a heartbeat.

So when I was approached to be one of 20 featured photographers and bloggers for the Loving Marina Bay outdoor photo exhibition, I was struck with cephalgia for decent shots to submit. The pressure was high because my photos will appear alongside pro-photogs and multi-award winning photo enthusiasts. I didn’t want to be the weakest link that bring down the overall standard of the exhibited works.

Launch of Loving Marina Bay exhibition at San-Sui Sumiyaki & Bar at One Fullerton. Food was simply amazing with top marks for taste and creativity.

To hunt for the photos, I scoured through folders after folders of photos I’d taken of and at the bay area within the last 2 years while reaching into my memory bank for personal Marina Bay encounters.

My most enduring awareness of Marina Bay began at the now defunct Satay Club where my mum used to work as a beer promoter at night. While waiting for her to get off work, I spent many hours playing by the Tan Kim Seng Fountain which marked the entrance of Satay Club. The fountain still stands today but the waters have dried up like my very distant childhood.

Good thing is, there are so many more avenues around the bay for new memories to be born and the Loving Marina Bay photo exhibition is a collective dialogue with our darling waterfront!

Met up with many photographers and bloggers whose works and words I follow on Facebook and their personal sites. I feel so little in the presence of their mammoth talents and creative capacity.

All featured AmBAYssadors were presented with a token of appreciation with one of our photos printed in canvas. It was wonderful that URA recognised our contributions for the exhibition with such a thoughtful and unique gift.

Occupying a stretch known as Clifford Square (between One Fullerton and Collyer Quay), the outdoor exhibition is high on gawk factor with stunning shots of Marina Bay through the unique perspectives of individual AmBAYssador.

Photos ranged in subject matters from architecture, celebrations, festivals, people, Marina Bay at dawn, and at night.

Retrace the footsteps of Marina Bay’s development with Street Museum style photos where heritage photos are mapped onto current scenes around the bay.

Scene with the old General Post Office (right) which has been given a new lease of life as the luxurious Fullerton Hotel.

Collyer Quay then and now.

I chose these 4 photos to show the different aspect of Marina Bay… the abstract, the fiery, the contemplative, and the vibrancy.

Frame your love at Marina Bay!

Loving Marina Bay.

Loving Marina Gay?

Loving Marina Yay!

The photo under the Esplanade Bridge was taken with Casio Exilim ZR100 and this goes to show that compact cameras can take exhibition-worthy pics too!

Map showing the location of Loving Marina Bay exhibition and Fullerton Hotel where you can drop off postcards produced in conjunction with the event and it will be sent anywhere in the world free-of-charge. One of the 6 postcards is my dawn over Marina Bay photo.

The Loving Marina Bay photo exhibition runs from 3 Nov – 3 Dec 2012. It is a free-to-public event with special photography workshops, activities and heritage walks conducted by AmBAYssadors happening every weekend. So come on down and check out the photos! … and discover a piece of Marina Bay that you love

Day 301 : In the Affairs of Cats & Dogs

It’s raining cats and dogs inside Esplanade’s foyer as artist Chua Boon Kee turned the Prime Minister’s Nation Day Rally speech last year about culling cats and saving dogs into a light-hearted art installation.

Titled ‘In the Affairs of Cats & Dogs, the Government’s Involved and So Shall We’, Boon Kee’s proposal won the most votes at the Esplanade’s 13 Steps art competition to celebrate its 10th anniversary. I found the whimsical assembly of cats and dogs so adorable. Paw this way to check out the installation from 11 Oct 2012 - 1 Jan 2013.

Aren’t they just so adorable? The good news is, there’s a chance for you to own one of them! Some of the cats and dogs on display are up for adoption and you just need to email a short explanation of why you would be a responsible adopter and include your name, NRIC number, address and contact details to visualarts@esplanade.com. Good luck!

Day 213 : Nostalgic Chic with Hermes The Gift of Time Exhibition

Time. It is a gift, but also a curse. It all depends on whether we are in control and decide what we do with it, or we allow others use it up for us.

Tonight, I used and was ‘used’. Both in a good way at Hermès’ The Gift of Time exhibition at the now-defunct Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. I haven’t stepped inside the national monument for a long time and was pleasantly surprised by how the station could appear so mod and glamed up.

Thanks to an invitation by the queen of quirks, Juliana, who didn’t want to attend the exhibition’s gala preview alone, I had the rare chance to fill my Tuesday evening with high fashion, artful creativity, nostalgia, and not enough champagne.

The exhibition runs from 1 – 12 August 2012, 11am – 9pm daily. Entrance is free.

Conceptualised by American artist, scenographer, poet and long-time collaborator of Hermès, Hilton McConnico interpreted time as Hermès sees it through seven roomfuls of poetry, installation art, creativity and imagination.

The rooms are arranged in a circular loop to represent the cycle of time. And here’s sharing with you my time at the exhibition…

Room 1 : The Origin of Time. The motif on the sundial’s face is an Hermès scarf designed in 1963. I felt so under dressed amongst the well-heeled crowd in designer dresses and tailored jackets. Time, obviously, has not taught me good fashion sense.

Room 2 : Free Time.

Room 3 : Time Suspended.

Room 4 : Time Balance.

Room 5 : The Stroke of Time.

Mosaic cat pieced together by cut-out pieces of leather.

Room 6 : Imaginary Time.

Room 7 : The Gift of Time.

Wine gets better with time.

Yesteryear toys I grew up with.

The U Cafe serves up a mean menu to enjoy a meal or cuppa by the old rail road.

Day 143 : They Only Come at Night – Pandemic

Singapore is under attack by a deadly virus that turns the infected into bloodthirsty vampires and we are the last survivors! We must escape to OldSchool, the last stronghold where survivors gather and hopefully, we will make it out of this pandemic alive!

And that’s the story premise of the most experiential piece of theatre at this year’s Singapore Arts Festival. Happening at OldSchool, They Only Come at Night : Pandemic is a play where the audience gets to play. What does that mean? Quite simply, the audience is a part of this theatrical production that unfolds like a larger-than-life diorama.

I won’t divulge the story, but here’s an account of how I survived…

Pandemic took place at OldSchool, which is the former Methodist Girls’ School turned art enclave.

Located on Mount Sophia, the old world setting provided an excellent backdrop for a piece of drama that took advantage of the site.

What horrors await?

Crucifix in hand and garlic in pants.

Our journey to survive the vampires begins with a free exploration of the post-apocalyptic school…

I was told that OldSchool would be demolished soon so Pandemic was a great opportunity for us to wander and feel the nostalgia charm one last time.

Listening to narration that gives the background on what caused the pandemic while finding our way around. There was quite a bit of walking around and climbing of stairs. It was exercise theatre!

The school premises was dressed up to inject fear but not to the scare level of haunted houses.

Who or what is Quinn? My curiousity was stroked. The answer was revealed during the play.

Lots of broken salt circles littered the set. Complete salt circles are believed to be protection rings that keep evil forces out.

After exploring the upper level corridors, the audience gathered at the performance space on the lower level.

One advice for catching Pandemic… bring perfume or axe oil. As the play progresses, the most scary things weren’t the impending threat of being devoured by a vampire, but the body odours that emanated from everyone around.

The actors stood on makeshift stages to deliver their lines and at times, came down and interacted with the audience.

Close encounters of the fright kind.

Performed as a piece of interactive theatre where the audience were also props and actors, I thought the concept was creatively novel and interesting. But anyone seeking to be really spooked would be disappointed, as was I.

Personally, I felt the audience participation was merely a means of distracting the audience from a script we’ve seen so many times at the movies and the play’s cliche characterisations. The actors did a good job, just that the evening started out promising but the creature feature was too safe to raise any heart rates. They vampires was what we came for after all.

And the lenghty dialogues lost out to the sticky heat of an open-air performance space and didn’t quite reach a level of engagement where I felt for what went on, the five characters, or the theme of courage.

But for the unusual way that a play can be presented and experienced, I think Pandemic had stabbed a stick right at the heart of creativity.

They Only Come at Night : Pandemic runs from 22 – 27 May 2012.

Ticket Price : S$36.00 from SISTIC.

Day 138 : Flight of the Jade Bird

The annual Singapore Arts Festival launches this year on the wings of Mark Chan’s The Flight of the Jade Bird, a chorusical where the struggle between industrialisation and old-world tradition is sung-told as a modern fable.

Consisting an ensemble of five singers, 10-piece orchestra, a dancer, and a narrator, Jade Bird’s austere staging somehow felt awkward against the rather quirky narrative script. Perhaps that’s the intention of Mark Chan, Jade Bird’s story originator, music composer and director, to let audiences experience the chasm that modernisation has driven into humanity.

Great artistic risks were definitely taken with the scripting and stylistic presentation of the piece. If I were to use an analogy, it would be like eating Myojo noodles from a fine China porcelain bowl with pure silver fork, spoon and knife. Being the dimwit at fine art appreciation, I fought hard to connect with Jade Bird’s disharmony of eastern-western instrumentations and the abstract interpretation of the title character in the form of a dancer writhing with a dark drape of cloth. That kinda resembled a phantom or Casper trapped inside a giant black pillowcase. Again, the artistic intent could be spot on in portraying the Jade Bird as a shadow but I was expecting something more visually stimulating. Perhaps this theatrical piece would be more at home as a CD soundtrack release.

I am no connoisseur of the arts so please do not take my juvenile comments as a qualified review of Jade Bird. What I failed to appreciate may make a lot of sense to somebody else. The Flight of the Jade Bird will be staged for two nights only (18 and 19 May 2012, 7.30pm) at the Esplanade Concert Hall. Ticket prices range from S$20 to S$100 purchaseable online through SISTIC.

About Singapore Arts Festival 2012

To the theme of Our Lost Poems (2012), this year’s arts fest is the final edition of a three-part trilogy preceded by Between You and Me (2010) and I Want to Remember (2011).

The festival will run from 18 May to 2 June with ticketed shows and a bevy of free public performances at the Festival Village (Esplanade Park) by a stellar line-up of local and international acts. Don’t miss the artful entertainments happening these two weeks made possible by the Singapore Arts Festival!

Related Post : Singapore Arts Festival 2012 Bloggers’ Preview

Day 088 : Merlion in Drag

Since agreeing to be an Official Blogger for i Light Marina Bay 2012, I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been to the bay area to photograph the lights. I prefer to come during weekedays after work to avoid the crowd but that means I’ll have to endure hunger till 11:30pm to have dinner.

I usually eat after I get home as dining around the bay is expensive. A meal costs about S$20 so if I’ve been there 5 times, I would’ve spent at least S$100. So if you intend to shoot the i Light installations these few days, bring along some food.

This is the last week that the festival will be on so don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to photograph the artworks!

Tonight, I finally made it to see Light of the Merlion by OCUBO from Portugal. I’d seen countless photos and videos of this projection piece but being there in person was just something surreal.

I’ve seen  our national icon in a prettier light!

i Light : Artifying Inside Spaces and Outside Places

More than just an exercise in visual acrobatics, I think art that utilises lights as its medium invites viewers to expect the unexpected and purports a dimension of beauty that’s both transcendental and hypnotic.

Instead of passively viewing a painting or sculpture and contemplating what it does to us inside (I think that’s what it is meant by art appreciation), lightarts heighten the awareness of our surroundsings and renewed an appreciation of what’s on the outside. We start to see how a scenery converse with the changing volcabulary of light. And how sometimes the weakest glow, illuminates things that we’ve never noticed.

So here is a small collection of installations from this year’s i Light that I came across from visiting the festival five times so far. Although inadequately, I’ve classified these works into how they artified an indoor space and outdoor place. I hope this post will turn on in you a different perspective of the art pieces and ways to photograph them.

With the Official Blogger pass, I had the privilege of visiting the exhibits before they were completed and direct access to the artists so I’m incorporating some of these behind-the-scenes moments in the hope that they will add to your feel about the works…

Crystallised by Andrew Daly and Katherine Fife (Australia)

Comprising of 5,000 acrylic icicles, the overhanging canopy of lights looked like a miniature interpretation of auroras in the polar hemispheres. Understated and unflambouyant, the creators of Crystallised attempted to invoke the awe of looking up at a night sky of ever fluctuating lights with the topograhical represntation of glowing stalactites.

The installation at working level before it was hoisted overhead.

Walking under the lighted sticks, I found concentric patterns that made for an interesting shot.

A photo taken on slow shutter speed while zooming in on the lights.

Another zoom out shot of the installation at 1 second shutter speed with the Panasonic Lumix GF3.

Parmenides 1 by Dev Harlan (USA)

i Light Marina Bay saw a maverick of techniques in harnessing the artistic of light. One of my favourites was the hypnotic and mesmerising installation by Dev Harlan. I’m in the experiential media industry that concerns itself with creating an all encompassing digital-cum-tactile experience for visitors, so I can appreciate the technical difficulties what Parmenides 1 needed to overcome in order to reach the visual effect it achieved.

Dev giving an insight into his highly mathetical piece. Parmenides is the name of an ancient Greek philosopher who excelled in logic and a mathematical quantification of the world.

Dev at work in aligning his projection on the 120 surfaces of the Parmenides lantern.

Mapping and alignment of the projections on the multi-faceted structure take a lot of patience.

Bleeding of misaligned projection.

The finished work. So psychedelic!

Zoomed in effect of Parmenides during its black-n-white projection sequence.

Zoom in effect with Panasonic Lumix GF3 of Parmenides during its colour wave sequence.

Parmenides in one of its many geometric incantations.

Sweet Home by Aleksandra Stratimirovic (Sweden)

Diabetics, be forewarned. Looking at photos in this section may cause an insulin surge. Sweet Home by Aleksandra is eyecandy on a large scale. Driven by a desire to turn unsightly places into beauty queens, the Swedish artist had given many places the touch of her saccharine makeover.

Aleksandra sharing her previous works during a meet-the-artists session.

Before the pieces were assembled to invoke a feeling of home under the sitting gallery at The Float @ Marina Bay.

Don't they just look like giant candy-striped jawbreakers?

Or raspberry / strawberry rippled marshmallows?

A swirl of homely charms gives the installation the feeling of walking into a movie set.

A hint of Eastern.

A pet of Western.

The finished Sweet Home installation. Turning a pedestrian space into a welcoming place.

An outdoor IKEA show decor? Lots of people love posing with the furnishings. Definitely an ideal spot to hold a party!

Key Frames by Groupe LAPS (France)

Reinterpreting the pastime of animating stick figures with flipbook sketches, Key Frames used the dark of night as its canvas to create a tactile playground for over 50 stick people made of LED light tubes. Accompanied by a light-hearted soundtrack, the figures take on life and action to excite the senses!

The hands of god creating man?

Olivier putting the veins together to make sure the figures get their electric blood.

The completed Key Frames installation fighting to stand out from the Central Business District lightscape.

Key Frames viewed in the direction of the Singapore Flyer's wheel.

Playful lights framed against the gorgeous Marina Bay Sands and Art Science Museum.

Immersion by Martin Bevz and Kathryn Clifton (Australia)

When I first saw Immersion, it looked like a tele-portal that will be activated by the command, “Beam me up, Scotty!” Resembling a vertical fountain frozen in motion, the installation changes colours in response to motion. Walk around it and the 8m-wide semi-circle of light will throw out a variation of hues and colours.

This photographer so hardworking! He was photographing the installation even though it was raining. Which, ahem, speaks about how 'hardworking' I am too at photographing him capturing the lights under the rain.

I came another day to photograph Immersion and it was again raining. But I think the wet floor made the installation more interesting by acting as a muted mirror that reflects the lights.

Zoom effect of Immersion.

Took the zoom shots on handheld with the Panasonic GF3. Suddenly the light sticks take on a different life.

Panning shot of Immersion. It can be quite boring just taking photos of the stationary lighted tubes so try some light painting. This installation is totally built for that!

MEGAPOV by Teddy Lo (Hong Kong)

With MEGAPOV, there’s more than meets the eye. What looks like a stick of pulsing LED lights actually hid a variety of images when viewed by moving one’s head from side-to-side. I saw quite a number of people shaking their headings violently to see the images. I was in stitches seeing how comical they looked.

I joined it too. But soon found out there’s a better way to appreciate the work. Through the lens of the camera. Here’s how…

A stick of flickering LED lights beguiles a collection of images that required a special technique to reveal them.

To see the images, I set the Panasonic Lumix GF3 to Shutter-Priority mode and panned it to shoot. I tried a couple of speed setting but found that 1/2 seconds was the best with this camera.

King of Spades at Marina Bay Sands Casino... Huat ah!!

Well, that’s all on the collection of works in this inside-outside take on the installations. This is just a skim of the works and the best is to go down to the bay and check them out yourselves. I’ll post about more works soon. Lights out for now

i Light Marina Bay 2012 Official Launch

The anticipation is over… i Light Marina Bay 2012 was officially switched on yesterday with a bevy of light art all ready to dazzle, sparkle and shine!

This post captures the happenings during the launch event, some of the installations I came across that evening and the fun I had camwhoring with the works of art

i Light Marina Bay 2012 is in full bloom! Catch this installation titled 'Planting Shadows' and many others along the perimeter of Marina Bay from now till 1 Apr 2012.

This is Jerrald, one of the many student volunteer guides from Temasek Polytechnic who will help visitors appreciate the inspiration behind an installation. I was so impressed by Jerrald's initiative in approaching me to share information about Planting Shadows when he saw me taking photos it. Thumbs up!

Yeah, it's time to take out the camera to go photo farming at i Light 2012...

Planting Shadows is by a group of five Singaporean artists who call themselves, Vertical Submarine. So why are the sunflowers grey? The inspiration behind this piece is a poem by local writer Chien Swee-Teng (hmm… is this where the artists got their moniker from? Chien Swee-Teng in Chinese sounds like ‘潜水艇’, which means ‘submarine’!).

The poem tells the tale of a sunflower plantation owner who made a pact with an imp who lives in an empty sunflower oil bottle. In exchange for prosperity and success of his sunflower business, the owner must give up his ability to see colour. Kinda like the Little Mermaid giving up her voice to become human.

But more than just a physical realisation of the story, Planting Shadows invites visitors to appreciate the beautiful form and shape of sunflowers without the interference of colour. However, there’s a twist to this piece. During night fall, the flowers light up to create a visual harvest. I’m not putting up the afterdark shot of this installation so that you can come visit the exhibit and experience the poetic aura yourself! Heh heh…

Light Meets Asia

Happening once every two years, this is part duex of i Light Marina Bay after a successful run in 2010. The theme for this sophomore edition is ‘Light Meets Asia’ and it brings together light artists and designers from 17 countries and territories. The festival features around 30 installations, of which 22 are by artists and designers based in Asia.

The launch was held at The Promontory @ Marina Bay on 9 Apr 2012, 7pm.

Junk Jam drumming up a tune for sustainability with drums made from discarded tin cans and plastic barrels.

E.T. would be jealous of his multiple lighted fingers. Let the healing powers of light fill you this March at Marina Bay!

A tall-order of fun with masquerade LED stilt walkers on parade.

Catch them on weekends during the festival period from 7:30 - 8:30pm.

Sass in the city. LED twirlers will be spinning up a wave of lights on weekends during the 3-week festival.

Always a gem... with the zany Juliana all decked out in another one of her eye-pooping fashion creations and the blogger who's on everyone's invite list, Hong Peng.

Energy-saving lights. i Light Marina Bay is not just about beautifying our cityscape with illuminated art but also to raise awareness about environmentally-friendly practices for a sustainable future.

Guest-of-honour - Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Minister for Manpower, urned on i Light. His short speech was peppered with humour especially the part about him being perfect to launch i Light because his darker skin is light absorbing. LOL! Not so funny was his bodyguard though.

Artists, curators, Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) team, and festival partners... The people who put the 'i' in i Light.

A photo with the festival's appointed bloggers, photographers, and Festival Director, Mary-Anne Kyriakou (the beautiful mom-to-be).

With photography maestro, Calvin Huang. I learnt a trick from him last night. To have your face looking slim in a photo, always angle the body to the side and turn to face the camera. Picturesque waterfront setting with great-looking light art, i Light Marina Bay is glowing with photo opportunities.

Create a light spectacle of your own with glow sticks, torches and finger lights purchasable near the Breeze Shelter a short distance from The Promontory @ Marina Bay. A set of 4 finger lights costs S$5.00.

After the launch ceremony and reception with gorgeous pizzas by Verve Pizza Bar @ Marina Bay, I was in the mood for some sleuthing. I think one of the thrills of coming to i Light is looking for the artworks. They are not hard to find, but there’s a “ah-ha” moment when I finally encounter them.

I’ve seen photos and read briefs about the works so seeing them upclose triggered a sense of familiarity in me, like meeting someone you’ve befriended online for the first time.

Bibigloo by BIBI (France)

Imparting a chill factor to the bay is Bibigloo by French artist, BIBI. Assembled with 250 recycled plastic jerry cans, the work aims to draw focus on global warming issues and the melting polar caps.

I wonder... if I slept in Bibigloo, would I have a Dream of the Red Ice Kachang (红豆梦 instead of 红楼梦)?

iTouch at i Light. Many of the exhibits encourage visitors to interact with them.

A peek into Bibigloo.

The Gate by Li Hui (China)

Walking along The Promontory stretch of Marina Bay, I noticed a shimmering red burn emanating from Marina Bay City Gallery in the distance. The flashy glare demands attention and announces the exhibit it comes from before I was even close. That’s The Gate by Chinese artist, Li Hui, a masculine piece that hallmarks the role of gates as portals that connects one realm to another.

Li Hui presenting his i Light inspiration to Singapore. His works are imbued with high concept ideas executed with the use of innovative exhibitory techniques.

This shot of The Gate's laser projection was shot near the Breeze Shelter, which I estimate to be about 200m from the Marina Bay City Gallery where the piece is housed.

Light has the ability to expand an installation's presence much larger than the artworks themselves.

Enter a whole new dimension of art appreciation through The Gate.

Visitors become a work of art themselves when passing through The Gate.

Illumination Disorders II by Tay Swee Siong (Singapore)

Outside the Marina Bay City Gallery stands a beautiful mess. Composed of discarded materials, Singaporean sculptor Tay Swee Siong gave the trash a second life with this whimsical sculpture that lights up in response to voices.

If you need someone to talk to and respond to you, this is your piece!

Who's the garbage here with such a trashy pose?

BioShell by Shinya Okuda (Japan / Singapore)

Departing Marina Bay City Gallery, I walked further along the bay in the direction of Marina Bay Sands. That was when my path was crossed by these two ‘things’…

Crouching Cougar Hidden Skeleton? Kungfu by the bay or escaped zombies from a bio hazard zone?

IMO, the best way to enjoy i Light and Marina Bay is to get a friends who are uninhibited in front of the camera, feed them with alcohol and start clicking away. Calvin and Juliana were so spontaneous, the Panasonic Lumix GF3 that I was using to shoot had a field day!

Now back to this next exhibit… BioShell by Shinya Okuda. With Calvin and Juliana in their wild state, the installation sure comes in handy to have them stored away!

BioShell is a lightweight temporary shelter illuminated purely by LED lights,

'Wildlife' contained but the infection of fun continues to spread with their quirkiness. Naise!

The fully biodegradable disaster shelter was adorned with stickers on 11 Mar to commemorate the massive Japan earthquake that caused a meltdown of the country's Fukushima power plant a year ago.

The Light Dam by Uno Lai (Taiwan)

I shared in my i Light Sneak Peek post I’ll talk more about the inspiratino behind this piece as old to me by the artist himself, Uno Lai. According to him, this installation is partly self-sustaining as 30% of the light is recycled.

How does it work? Uno has installed small solar chips into each of the cubes that capture energy generated from the lights. The stored energy is in turn reused to power the lights, creating a self-sufficient installation.

Currently, the installation is only able to capture 30% of the light energy for reuse. Ideally, according to Uno, the chip could also capture sunlight for energy so that the artwork would require no external power source. 30% or 100%, this prototype is a clever idea nonetheless!

Uno explained that when visitors put their hands into the holes, the light in the cube will dim slightly because the energy-capturing sensor is being blocked.

I'm no light technician. All I know is that The Light Dam makes a uber cool backdrop for a photoshoot. With this act-cute pose, I was afraid I would short-circuit the installation.

No, no... I'm not having a manicure or getting electrocuted. The reason for my expression as I put my hands through the holes was because... (see next photo)

... this was waiting at the other end.

Hope you had fun looking at the photos and found inspiration in the featured installations in this post. I’ll share more of the works when I get to visit and shoot them in the upcoming weeks.

Meanwhile, make a date with i Light Marina Bay and create your own artful memories Below is a map of the festival with all the locations of the installations marked out. For a larger version of the map, click here.

Festival Info :

Duration : 9 Mar – 1 Apr 2012

Operating Hours : 7:30 – 11:00pm nightly

Admission : Free

Click here for i Light Marina Bay 2012 Official Website

Day 066 : i Light Marina Bay Sneak Peek

i Light Marina Bay 2012 doesn’t happen till this Friday (9 Mar) but I was eager-eyed to get a peek. So armed with the Panasonic Lumix GF3, I made a trip down to the bay after work in the hope of catching the artists in action as they set up their pieces and finding out their inspirations in person.

Unfortunately, most of them were busy assembling their exhibits and I didn’t want to be a bother. Furthermore, some of the artists and I have a chicken-and-duck thing going… we don’t speak the same language. i Light 2012 features light-art from prolific regional light artists as well as those from Australia, China, France, Japan, Portugal, Sweden, and USA. Such a feast for the eyes!

And here’s a sneak behind-the-scenes peek at some of the installations that will turn Marina Bay into a lighted playground for all!

Putting the light festival together requires the efforts of many.

This installation is titled Storybox. It explores the role of light in inspiring and shaping our urban landscape.

Titled Receptacle, this installation reminds me of a relaxing beachfront spa pavilion.

Her name is Oar and she's the assistant of Thai lighting maestro, Be Takerng Pattanopas. Titled Gap the Mind, these lighted cocoon lanterns allow you to step inside and experience a meditative state with music and lights.

The installation brings a sense of Zen to Marina Bay, a great lunchtime respite for busy executives in the Central Business District area.

Something massive is coming out of the water... its a giant 5QU1D! Yup, it's spelt 5QU1D to represent the Singaporean artist's interpretation of nature's fusion with urbanisation. The light sculpture is aptly placed in front of commemorative Olympic rings... an allusion to calamari rings perhaps? LOL.

The monster has yet to come alive. I'm curious how 5QU1D will look when it's completed.

BioShell. This piece looked like an inflatable HASMAT capsule or a floatation sphere ready to go into the bay waters!

Hands off the exhibits for now until the official launch this Friday. By then, these lighted installations will welcome everyone to interact with them.

This is one of the hottest light artists in Taiwan, Uno Lai. His piece, The Light Dam, has both an aspirational and functional approach to light as a self-sustaining energy source.

Uno shared with me his thoughts about setting up The Light Dam which I will post once I get a photo of his finished work.

Fancy / Lightweight is the name of this exhibit that brings to life those computer screensaver line graphics. I strummed the strings and shot with a slower shutter speed to get this 'laser' effect. I think the organisers will frown that I'm sharing my 'abuse' of art to create art. Heh heh. Try it. It's fun!

Acrylic popsicles of Crystallised. From this work on, I've arrived at The Float. The installations are lined all around Marina Bay so it's a journey of discovery along the waterfront alcove.

Love the alien-geometric form of Parmenides 1. It requires precision projection on the rubix-like sculpture which involves a lot of tweaking and adjustments to the projectors. While I was there, the artist was engrossed in perfecting the mapping of videos on the pointy sphere.

Forming and dissolving, the sculpture takes on different skins and looks with mesmerising effect!

An assembly of candy-striped lampshades... something sweet is coming your way. Sweet Home that is. The lighting project aims to turn ugly spaces into pretty places.

Titled Key Frames, this installation features a collection of lighted figures in various poses. So fun to see what I usually draw on paper to represent human, the stick figures, in 3D!

This is Olivier fixing the power to light up the stick figures. I tried to explain I'm an official blogger for iLight and if he could stretch out his hand for me to pose for a pic but he just looked at me blankly. I hope he had dinner for working so tirelessly though.

Even though I just popped by to have a quick browse, I ended up spending 3 hours at i Light and I didn’t see everything. So if you’re planning to visit, plan for repeats in order to see all the works. And if you’re into photography, the best times to come would be during week nights as human traffic is less congested. But then, perhaps the bay will be busy once all the pieces are up.

I hope this behind-the-scene look will excite and open up a personal level for you when enjoying the works. This is just the beginning…

Day 062 : i Light Marina Bay Official Blogger

From 9 March to 1 April 2012, Marina Bay Singapore will be transformed into a massive outdoor light gallery with 30 innovative installations that explore the world we live in through iLight, Asia’s first and only sustainable light art festival.

And I have the privilege of being invited to be the event’s official blogger! That means I’m officially the unofficial eyes, ears and mouth for the 3-week festival at the bay area with special access to activities, events, artists and programmes.

So get ready for a delightful March as I try to capture great shots of the exhibits, the inspirations behind them, and share tips to best enjoy this carnival of lights!

Flower Dome and World Orchid Show

Okay, it’s not very macho to admit this, but I love flowers.

They represent the ‘enlightenment’ that a plant achieves. After going through periods of rain and sunshine, the plant reaches a certain point in maturation and one day, colours and fragrance burst forth. 

Much like the blossoming of our innermost human consciousness. When we reach a threshold of self-awareness and can be at peace with all that is within and around us, we bloom.

A bridge on Level 4 of Marina Bay Sands links directly to Gardens by the Bay. The scenic walk provided a nice transition from urban livin' to nature lovin'.

So when I received an invitation to attend the preview of the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay in conjunction with the 20th Orchid Conference, I had a bee to honey moment.

The media event was supposed to be on 13 Nov but I was running a temperature and missed it. Thankfully, an additional invitation allowed me to visit the dome and conference between 14 – 20 Nov so I made my way down during my off day yesterday. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good day to go. The sky was overcast.

Glad I had the Casio Exilim ZR100 with me. Using the HDR-Art mode, I was able to capture colours on an otherwise very muted shot due to the dull weather.

However, as the Flower Dome received visitors only during that 1 week period as a preview ahead of the Gardens by the Bay official June 2012 launch, I was determined to get the best out of my visit come rain or shine. It’ll be a challenge to get nice shots that day, which was a perfect opportunity to test out the new Casio Exilim ZR100 (EX-ZR100). I brought along my DSLR so you’ll see photos from both cameras.

Pictures with a thin black frame around them are taken with the EX-ZR100.

Awaiting full bloom. Gardens by the Bay is Singapore's new approach to greening the city with environmentally-friendly technology and sustainable resource management.

The above few photos were taken with EX-ZR100′s HDR and HDR-Art modes. I tried taking those shots with my DSLR but the colours were very bland and the subtle presence of clouds were lost, making the sky look white-washed.

So for anyone who thinks that the bigger the camera the better the photos, well, that’s not always true.

Inside the air-conditioned Flower Dome... the plants all so hoh mia (good life)! The conservatory replicates the cool-dry climate of the Mediterranean and semi-arid subtropical regions like South Africa and parts of Europe such as Spain and Italy.

Consisting of several ethnic-themed gardens by the southern coast of the Marina Bay area,  the sprawling horticultural development will showcase flora and fauna from different continents of the world except Antartica.

Around 226.000 plants are expected to be featured when the project is complete. I’m sure it’ll become a photography hotspot.

Love the dome design and architecture. The lines form such a dramatic webbed background when shot with fisheye. Just from the looks of the Flower Dome, Gardens by the Bay is already on my super like list!

Was greeted by a row of red gerberas upon entering the dome. Shot with EX-ZR100's HDR-Art mode.

Also shot with the HDR-Art mode, this albino gerbera turned out yellow! Interesting.

The essential "I was in the Flower Dome" shot.

I used to be crazy about orchids for a while and would spend hours visiting the Thomson Road stretch of nurseries. I even attended a course on orchid cultivation and indoor gardening by NParks.

Unfortunately, my heart may be green, but my fingers are not. Many orchids withered in my care no matter how much attention or nitrate fertilisers I fed them. Maybe they got smothered by my over-zealousness. I even managed to kill a couple of common dendrobiums, the hardiest of orchid species. Think I should just see and don’t touch!

Name of Orchid : Renanthera 20th WOC Singapore 2011. The flaming red blossom was the official flower of the 20th World Orchid Conference. It was polinated in August 2003 (Renanthera Bangkok Flame + Renanthera Klsom) and first flowered in June 2005. That's the fun thing with orchids, different species can be spliced to get new ones.

My favourite species... lady slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum)! This specimen has such vibrant, bewitching colours. During a garden festival at Dempsey many years ago, I bought a jade green slipper orchid for S$60! The flower lasted for about 3 weeks. After that, I didn't manage to get it to flower again and it died of root rot.

Cymbidium Chen's Ruby 'ORCHIS'.

Another shot of the Ruby 'ORCHIS' taken in HDR-Art mode. Such radically different colour results from the original. So cool!

Close-up of a giant phalaenopsis' lip in HDR-Art mode. Can you see a face with raised arms? Looks rather comical don't you think?

The wide sepals of the white Phalaenopsis has this aura of virginal purity around it. I'm used to seeing Phal sprays with several flowers but not this single bloomer.

The dancing lady orchid (Oncidium) on steroids! These big florets have the sultry allure of a yellow-skirted flamenco dancer.

Forgot to get the name of this orchid species because I was so enthralled by the patterning and colours saturated by the HDR-Art mode.

So heartwarming to see everyone enjoying the flowers. There was this couple who asked me to take a photo for them. I think the husband suffers from cerebal palsy coz he couldn't walk very well and very slow. But his wife was patiently guiding him to stand next to her for their portrait. I was so touched.

After the Flower Dome, I took the 10-minutes walk to cross over to Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre for the 20th World Orchid Conference’s World Orchid Show. First thing that struck me was… so many people! I wonder if I would find my little piece of paradise in the crowd. 

The conference was a massive gathering of orchid societies all over the globe showcasing their native species, winning breeds, as well as floral art culminating as the World Orchid Show. I’ve never seen so many real orchids at one place in my life.

Orchid-laced corridor leading to the exhibition halls. Very grand indeed.

A triennial international event, this year's conference also heralded the largest orchid show in Singapore featuring over 75 decorative floral installations.

I think this is a Vanda orchid. With so many hybrids crossing the distinctive properties of various parentage, it can sometimes be confusing trying to identify an orchid species just by its flower alone.

Champion of the floral display at the World Orchid Show.

The show was a platform for countries to show off their creativity with all things floral. These were entrants for the best table floral arrangement competition.

Inspiration for Lady Gaga's next fashion fantasy?

Hwah!

Love the gorgeously rich velvet hues on this slipper orchid. 'Orchid' comes from the ancient Greek word 'orkhis'. It means testicle. Doesn't this orchid's pouch remind you of something other than a lady's slipper?

Before the orchid show, I didn't know there are so many different species of slipper orchids. I was over-stimulated and had the urge to buy one home. But I know my housing condition isn't suitable for growing the slippers as they are rather fussy.

Sprays of pure yellow dancing lady orchids without the species trademark spots and markings on its petals and lip.

Look how small these papery purple orchids are!

This orchid feels so retro-groovy. I thought it was fake initially.

First time seeing more than one slipper orchid on a peduncle.

This orchid looks so bizarre! It won the Gold Medal Award and Best Bulbophyllinae Award.

Wanted to take an underside photo of this strange orchid that resembles a green squid with snake skin but it was placed close to the ground. I couldn't go any lower with my DSLR so I shot it with EX-ZR100's Super Macro mode. A compact camera really comes in handy to capture odd angles. But most importantly, it must be able to take decent shots or the effort at framing from an uncomfortable perspective will be wasted.

HDR-Art of liliac-coloured Phals. So psychedelic!

I spent about half a day taking in the sights at Flower Dome and the orchid show. I wished I had more time but I had a dinner appointment and my eyes were getting all flowery.

Really glad I made it before the show was over. I must say that the orchid show was well organised and I super like what I saw at Gardens by the Bay. Can’t wait for it to be completed.

EX-ZR100 Night Landscape mode.

As I departed Marina Bay Sands, I was greeted by the dusking skyline of Marina Bay. Oh, how beautiful it looked in that evening blue!

Like a flower that is the enlightenment of Singapore.

I Heart Singapore!

Every so often, I’m a closet patriot. I’d more readily jump on the bandwagon to criticise Singapore than to vehemently state what I feel about my motherland. And I think this is a pretty darn great place to call home.

So this year, with the inauguration of the Youth Olympics Games close on the heels of Singapore’s 45th National Day Parade, it’s an unprecedented opportunity to hold five stars and be over the crescent moon with pride!

My nationalistic high began with the 4th full-dress rehearsal of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games on 7 Aug, heightened by the spirit of unity at the Kaki Bukit NDP celebrations the next day, and climaxed like the NDP fireworks I could see from my room on 9 Aug 2010. I even carried Joy and Rainbow to see the dazzling sparks though they were more interested in the booming sounds than the atmospheric bling.

I was pretty slow to catch the SYOG fever. Maybe because I have a natural immune system against sports. I think most Singaporeans possess this immunity because I hardly felt any excitement in the air regarding this historic occurrence. This is the FIRST TIME the Youth Olympics is ever held and Singapore is its birth place! Surely this once in a lifetime honour is worth blowing our horns about?

Perhaps when the youth edition comes of age like its big brother, The Olympics, and sister, The Winter Olympics, a world event like this will finally receive the fanfare it deserves at its host countries. Just as the first recorded Games held at Olympia, Greece in 776 BCE had only one event – a 192 meters sprint, and the later revival of the Games in 1896 had the commitment of only nine countries, the YOG may need to go through a long puberty before gaining the muscle power needed to move people.

On hindsight, I am mightily glad I attended the rehearsal of the SYOG Opening Ceremony. Even though it was just a rehearsal, I was pretty wowed by it. I’m sure the actual show is going to be even more awesome. Then again, I could have been easily impressed because I don’t attend much of outdoor parades or clocked enough ‘live’ show mileage. But well, I was pretty impressed by the show and the animation of Lyo and Merly, the SYOG mascots inspired by our national icon the Merlion, was rather unexpected of stiff-shirted Singapore. I didn’t think much about the mascots before, but I heart them now!

The SYOG Organising Committee had requested that no photos be posted about the show so I shan’t spoil the surprises here. But I will say this, it’s a visual feast! The show weaved various elements and media together to tell the story of Singapore aplomb with pop culture… something the youth, and the young at heart (like me!) can appreciate and enjoy.

To commemorate the historical significance of the SYOG, I got my hands on a pair of the DBS Visa Prepaid cards, Mascots Edition. It acts like a store-value card where I can load in a certain amount and use it to pay for purchases anywhere. What a great way to control my finances! And it’s convenient too, just a tap to pay my bills. Guess card-tapping would be my Olympic sport!

These cards specially designed for the SYOG also doubles as an ez-link card. However, it seems such a waste to use these beautiful cards. Think I’ll keep them for the purpose of collection and who knows, maybe it’s value will appreciate in the future! Ka-ching!

Each card costs S$28.00, but a set goes for S$50.00. You can get them online or at any POSB/DBS branches.

Still fresh from the SYOG Opening Ceremony rehearsal, I attended the Kaki Bukit National Day community celebrations event as a designated ‘photographer’! Sounds so pro hor?

Actually, I have no idea what I signed up for. Siow Har asked me to accompany her to take part in the photography of the event and so I went along. Again, on hindsight, I’m glad I did. Not only did I learn by observing how the seasoned photographers take their shots at an event like this, I learnt to appreciate the racial harmony that makes Singapore so fantastic.

It was really amazing to be surrounded by so many people who love Singapore. Children, adults, teensters, senior folks… all of them waving the national flag, wearing white and red, placing their right hand across their chest while reciting the national pledge… it filled me with many goose-pimples moments.

The most memorable incident for me during the carnival was these two kindergarten schoolgirls. One was Indian, the other Chinese. A group of the children were huddled together at a corner while waiting for the guest-of-honour, Dr. Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, to arrive.

It was a terribly hot day and despite the efforts by teachers and parents to keep the group cool, the children were dripping. And there were these two girls taking turns to fan each other with a piece of thin cardboard. This went on for a while. Them fanning each other. It was so heartwarming. Then one of them took the cardboard, tore it into half and shared. They started to fan themselves but occasionally, still fanned each other.

Truly, those two kids exemplified what the Singapore spirit is about – selfless care and concern for each other regardless of background and colour. We’ve spent 45 years to get here. May we continue to grow in cohesion and together, achieve greater things to come. Create our dreams!

信心就是力量 Power of Faith

The power of will may accomplish the impossible
But the power of faith brings about a miracle

Making that Fire Work

31 Dec 2008, 11:59pm. A year ago, counting down to 2009, at that very same moment, I was experiencing a firework of a different kind. The kind that shakes you to your very core and ignites new hope. This countdown to 2010 however, I had to be satisfied with fireworks that filled up the night sky, but not the barrenness of heart.

For the first time, I went to Marina Bay to catch the countdown fireworks that heralded the start of another decade. How love and fireworks share the same lifespan. I waited 6 hours to catch but a 5-minutes display of pyrotechnics. I waited 4 years to catch but a 10-months romance.

But better to have had than to have nothing at all. And while I’m at it, I took lots of photos. Photos last longer. Which brings me to the purpose of this blog to share what I’ve learnt about photographing fireworks. May we all remember the brilliance of the fireworks and forget the reasons that diluted a chemistry that made sparks fly. Yes, the darkness returns, and it’s necessary because we can’t be staring at bright lights all the time. And there’s always the next countdown when the fireworks will return so long as a relationship is kept alive.

So here’re lessons I’ve learnt about prolonging the beauty of a split-second…

1. Go REALLY Early

The fireworks don’t happen till midnight, but my friend, Siow Har and I arrived at Marina Bay at 6pm. The front row spots along the bay were already lined with photography enthusiasts! We were lucky to find an empty space just nice to fit our tripods towards the end of the bayside, next to the floating stage. I was told that people go as early as 3pm to get in the front row. I thought it was ridiculous. I was the one ridiculed.

2. Don’t Leave Your Spot

At about 9pm, I crossed over to Marina Bay to do some big business (in the toilet). Then I wandered around the shopping complex to enjoy the air-con since I’ve been out in the open for a number of hours. At about 10pm, I decided to return to the bay area. I wasn’t allowed back in by traffic police.

Apparently, the bay area had reached a quota for human capacity and no one was allowed in. I was directed here and there, walked through and fro, caught in crowds… to cut the story short, I went through an ordeal. And the police wouldn’t let me back in. I was there since 6pm, my camera and equipments are all set up, and I’m sure as hell not gonna miss photographing the fireworks after waiting so many hours and that being my sole purpose of being there!

So I tak-bodoh (act blur) and began crossing the street to Esplanade. A female constable promptly blocked my way. I tried to state my appeal. But don’t expect much from a robotic parrot. All she did was repeating the words, “You cannot go over”, while spreading her arms like a well, squawking parrot.

Thankfully, another male officer came over to handle the situation. I explained my predicament and he promptly let me pass. Good to know that our civil service still has people who listen. More of them would be nice. I understand they’re doing their job, but it was not made known that we’re not allowed back in if the place got overcrowded. Otherwise, I would’ve stink up the portable lavatories.

From one nightmare, I crossed over to hell. Marina Bay was jam packed with people. And many of them spread out groundsheets and sat in groups, making it almost impossible to pass. I can’t remember how many feet I stepped on, got chided by an uncle who stretched out his legs fully in a body-to-body space situation, and said sorry a gazillion times. But I made it back.

I went through a lot of trouble, effort and time. The photos better be worth it.

3. Camera Settings (Nikon D90)

Use a really wide lens (mine was 18mm and still couldn’t capture the full scene)
ISO – 200
EV – -0.3
Camera Mode – S Mode (set to Bulb)
White Balance – Tungsten
Turn OFF Long Exposure NR (Noise Reduction)

4. Photographing Technique

In S Mode, frame and shoot your scene a couple of times with varying shutter speed and determine which shutter speed correctly exposes the background buildings. Mine was 5 secs.

Then switch to Bulb mode. This mode holds the shutter open for as long as the shutter release button is depressed. It is useful to use a wired or remote control shutter release device to avoid camera shake.

Cover the front of the lens with a matt black card. Press your shutter release device to open the shutter. Each time fireworks appear, remove the black card to capture the scene and cover again when the firework is not that nice. You can do this a couple of times but the total capture time must be equivalent to the time determined to correctly expose the background buildings (5 secs). Then let go of your shutter release button (wired or remote control device). Repeat this step to take more photos of the fireworks.

You must also be deft to reframe your shot because your original framing may not capture the full fireworks.

What Really Happened During the Shoot

The settings and technique were told to me and based on further research on the net. But no one told me to turn OFF the Long Exposure NR setting! What happens if this setting is ON is that the camera will go into a ‘Job nr’ mode after taking a photo and I couldn’t depress the shutter release button again to take another shot. I was losing precious time!

As I later found out, the camera will start processing each shot I’d taken in NR on mode and it could take up to 30 secs. Photographing fireworks is very time sensitive so imagine the amount of images I lost because I weren’t able to snap any more after the first shot! I panicked and to rectify the problem, I turned my camera on and off after each shot was completed. It works but the correct way is to OFF the NR.

On top of that, I realized that my lens couldn’t capture the full fireworks. So I had to reframe to the best I can very quickly. And in the race for time, the good ’ol pressing the shutter release button directly method is easier than using a remote control device. But some shots suffered camera shake.

It was my first attempt at photographing fireworks and it was a good learning experience. Although I was somewhat disappointed with the photos as they didn’t turn out they way I thought they should, and I didn’t get to enjoy much of the fireworks because I was fiddling with my camera the whole time, but the process was not without its sweet moments.

Just like the person we’re with may not be the ideal or what we have in mind, it still doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some fireworks once in a while. This countdown was memorable but I sure don’t want to wait for hours, squeeze with thousands of people and face the trouble of getting home after the show again. Unless my photography skills and equipment improve, it’s just not worth it.

But I sure would like to have fireworks of the first kind any day… any time. And hopefully at the next attempt, I know how to make that fire work a lifetime.

The Swimming Instructor drowned

So clever of local fashion label BODS.BODYNITS to disguise their fashion show as a stage play; because after watching The Swimming Instructor, what’s more memorable was those cute trunks and striking bikinis. Sex sells. For the first 15 minutes. After that, it’s overkill with needless baring of skin in a patchy storyline. And injecting short filmlets throughout the production didn’t quite filled the gaps (what’s with the feet in pool and hand sequence?).

The most redundant skin scene would be when Dave (played by Jeremy Lee) bared his ass in a ‘shower’. He could’ve kept his trunks on to ‘bathe’ and still set the stage for what was going to happen next. As a character, Dave is somewhat conservative and uptight, so it’s more likely for him, as a matter of characterization, to keep his trunks on while showering than to go nude. I recognize these types of character. I keep my swimwear on when bathing at a public pool.

Weak characterization was also what drowned this production of personality clichés. There is the hunky, beng-type straight swimming instructor who can’t decide if he likes neh-nehs (breasts) or soft men; then there’s the slutty spoilt little rich girl who wears her sexuality on her belly button; and finally there’s the self-important prissy gay guy who is very lao ji gey way (Hokkien phrase to describe people who outwardly pretend that they don’t desire someone, but inside, they are getting all wet even by just looking at that person’s shadow).

Therefore, don’t expect ISO 9000 stamped-chopped-approved acting from the cast. No wait, their acting was really good because you can tell that they were acting. This is especially obvious in the inconsistent beng accent of the title character, Guan. Played by Lim Wee Hong, Guan is one minute broken English and poor diction, then the next, speaks in perfect sentences and clear enunciation. His saving grace was his incredibly amazing physique. But his manicured tan was too golden and splendid. Most swimming instructors we see at the pool have dirty black tans with bands of white where their watches / rings     had been. So, Guan’s tan could go even darker. But then again, who wants to watch their mother’s leather handbag on stage?

With the characters spelt out, the story pretty much told itself… that of one-and­-a-half girls lusting after a half man. And it also tried to deal with the subject of love, and made a mess of it. But the symbolic ending was rather touching and left a bittersweet note that wraps up the jerky performance nicely. The stage set was also interesting with a bracket of water that brought the idea of a swimming pool into the small theatre. And there were some pretty good situational humor in the middle of the play that really tickled.

The Swimming Instructor didn’t really quite make a splash, more like a ripple in the ocean. So re-staging this play for the third time is about enough… unless BODS.BODYNITS has a new line of swimwear.