Prudential Singapore Eye

The inaugural Prudential Singapore Eye exhibition celebrates Singapore’s contemporary art scene with over 40 works by local artists. See some of the works on display at the ArtScience Museum in this photo tour!

Singapore Prudential Eye exhibition is part of the 2015 Art Week. I’ve had grand plans to visit everything but I’ve decided to stick to what’s at ArtScience for this month. Given the way I cover events, I might get side-eyes at Art Stage. Okay, anecdote time over.

This photo tour does not cover everything, so treat it as a highlights sort of entry, specifically one where I feature pieces that photograph well; and not on artistic merit of the work itself.

I visited both Prudential Singapore Eye and Da Vinci: Shaping the Future in the same day. Both were excellent exhibitions, but I must say that I enjoyed the Singapore Eye much more. It is contemporary art, and there’s far fewer people. The Eye costs less to visit ($13 per adult, $9 if you are a Singapore Resident) and the top-up is minimal if you are already visiting Da Vinci ($3 add-on for adult; but a mere dollar if you are a local resident!). Making a detour to the Level 3 galleries much worth the time.

There’s free entry to the exhibition on certain Mondays – making this even more of a “must visit”. Scroll down to find out more.

Chen Sai Hua Kuan – Bottles and Fans

This caught my attention from another gallery, because of the unusual sounds it produced. Pocket fans dangle above assorted bottles filled with water.

Press a button and some fans power on, creating a surprising melody.

Over time, the water would evaporate, affecting the sound produced by this unexpected orchestra.

The various bottles, some with labels removed, also makes identifying them a fun exercise.

Chia Ming Chien – The Wires

Sean Lee – Shauna series

Yeo Chee Kiong – A Secret Garden

Green wool as a metaphoric rainforest. This is the first work you’ll see if you turn right at the entrance (which is a gift shop) instead of left. It is accompanied with a fun, but rather noisy installation..

Angela Chong – 3D Tic-Tac-Toe

3D Tic-Tac-Toe. Making the world’s simplest game very complicated. Previously shown at i Light Marina Bay 2014.

Justin Loke – Lady Lyndon on Harpsichord

Frames in a Frame. Each one a window to a scene from the Barry Lyndon film (1975).

Mintio – Concrete Euphoria

A fascinating trio that needs to be seen up close. Which is why these large prints appear so small here.

Gerald Leow – The Decline of the Western Civilisation

A figurine of Hong Kong singer Leon Lai squashed by a the logo of American metal band Anthrax

Lee Wen – Ping Pong Go Round

Occupying an entire gallery on its own, this revolutionary table tennis court is the most “interactive” piece in the exhibition. I prefer to visit the Museum during off-peak times to get a peace of mind – and not disturb other visitors with my camera.

So I get the table empty, which presents another point of view. Paddles and balls left behind in a fit of frustration in this impossible game.

But if you’re the sort who like to participate, better go during peak periods, like weekend afternoons. (or convince the gallery watchers)

Kumari Nahappan – Red Trails

Jane Lee – Turned Out

Resist the urge to pull, please.

This is not a giant reel of ribbon, but a long continuous strip of canvas, painted red.

Jane Lee – Beyond the Blue

The blue piece beside Turned Out – a mess of paint, so heavy that it collapsed on itself.

Donna Ong – And We Were Like Those Who Dreamed

A curious little cabinet, with intricately cut drawings mounted on glass, creating dramatic dioramas.

There is another Donna Ong piece stowed into the dark recesses at the ArtScience Museum.

Donna Ong – secret, interiors: chrysalis (19)

Once I saw those grim bubbling containers with dolls, I knew where I saw it before. No, not that place from Halloween Horror Nights 2. It was Singapore Biennale 2006. Back then, secret was a series of four – each one in (if I remember right..) a judge’s chamber. When installed in one of those offices, it was an imaginative piece contextualised to a certain persona. Here, amid the silence broken only by constant bubbling, the obsession doesn’t quite surface from weirdly soaked items. Still, nice to get those haunting memories back.

The seat is still there for anyone daring to indulge in the madness. Look below, and you might unearth its mystery.

The exhibition has a second segment which features works from overseas that were shortlisted for the 2015 Prudential Eye Awards.

Wu Chi-Tsung – Crystal City 006

Fascinatingly simple, but pretty to look at.

Hannah Bertram – An Ordinary Kind of Ornament

A “carpet” made from “dust”. Fragile, and temporal.

Amir Hossein Zanjani – Submission to Power

Ichwan Noor – Beetle Sphere

Kohei Nawa – PixCell-Elk#2

Metamorphosis through embellishment of glass beads and spheres.

This piece is created with support from the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès. You can check out another installation in Singapore (Ran Hwang, till 31st January 2015) supported by the programme.

Singapore Prudential Eye

Now showing at the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands – until 28 June 2015.
10:00PM – 7:00PM daily, last admission at 6:00PM

Free Admission on select dates
Starting from 2 February 2015, visitors can enjoy free admission to the exhibition every first Monday of each month, which should be the following days: 2 February, 2 March, 6 April, 4 May, 1 June.

For more information, refer to the ArtScience Museum website or Prudential Eye website.