Singapore may be a concrete jungle, but as the murals on the streets and charming heritage buildings show us in the recent years, you can find beautiful art almost everywhere in the city. Even our humble HDB flats have been catching our eye more and more lately, boasting all sorts of creative designs from pop art to Medieval-style architecture. Sometimes a pop of colour is all you need to brighten a place up. Seven HDB flats in the Teck Whye Avenue at Choa Chu Kang estate received an colourful new coat of paint a few years ago. The HDB flats at Teck Whye Ave ditched their old do – bright vibrant colour scheme with teal accents – for eye-catching designs inspired by the famous paintings themed “Composition with Red Blue and Yellow” by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. Last year, the facade of several HDB flats in Circuit Road at MacPherson Estate have also been painted to the designs inspired by Piet Mondrian. Piet Mondrian was a 20th-century abstract painter from the Netherlands who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of his generation. Also known as one of the pioneers of abstract art, he was a firm believer of basic forms of beauty and hence discarded “non-essentials” in his work. “Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow” is a product of the Dutch De Stijl (The Style) movement. Many attribute Mondrian for bringing popularity to this rather obscure style. The surface of things gives enjoyment, their interiority gives life — Piet Mondrian
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虎豹别墅是许多新加坡人年幼的时候常去的景点,这个地方是我小时候和父母观光时的其中一个印象深刻的景点。我还记得当时的新加坡给我的记忆就是虎豹别墅、龟屿、圣淘沙和裕华园。然后虎豹别墅内最吸引还是个小不点的我首推那些美美的建筑及雕塑。不过必然啦,有些太过逼真的人像还是会让我却步的咯,就好象上面拍的那些阎罗殿内的景象,我也忘了自己有没有走完全程。或许现在新加坡人有更多的休闲地方可以去,脑海中就没有“虎豹别墅”的名字了。甚么时候,记忆中的虎豹别墅会再浮现。不过呢,曾经风光一时的虎豹别墅在我上个星期落足时已经给我一种“此一时,彼一时”的感觉了。
虎豹别墅著名的“十殿阎罗”展区同崭新景点“地狱博物馆”合并,最近重新开放给公众参观,展区内的雕塑和实景模型经过重新上色后更栩栩如生,还增添了室内冷气以改善通风。就如我刚说上次是很多年前才来过虎豹别墅一次,所以我想回味一下。根据中国和印度的传统观念,人过世后亡灵要到阴间报道并接受阎罗王的审判。生前行善者可升入天堂,生前作恶者则会被打入地狱接受惩罚。这座主题公园的色彩犹如梦魇。假石铸成的地貌泛着渗人的血红与病态的藤黄,让人倍加毛骨悚然。尽管四处掉漆而满是裂缝,神奇的是,在这一片混沌之中,经历了多年的风雨和遗弃,公园的名字照片仍屹立于此:虎豹别墅。小时候我还很好奇,虎豹别墅为何不见别墅呢? 老实说,我很佩服虎标万金油的创业者胡文虎在1937年开始建筑(为他的弟弟胡文豹而建)虎豹别墅的那份热诚。这片土地在胡文豹去世后,如其所愿重修为一处柔和了儒释道文化的神话主题公园,蔚为壮观。一系列恐怖的雕像表现了“地狱十王”的主题,或是唐代“乳姑不怠”的孝行。胡文虎的初衷是想建立一座属于华人的花园,弘扬中华文化。因此,虎豹别墅汇集诸多中国神话和历史故事雕塑,教育后代要做善事,好好做人。公园中随处可见的虎豹瓶罐复制品也提醒着游人此地曾也是药业帝国毫不吝啬的广告门面,胡文虎给其民众的捐赠,好比其大方像药膏一般给人止痛。 Apart from visiting the Singapore Zoo and the Jurong Bird Park when I was a child, my parents enjoyed bringing my brothers and I to educational places such as the Science Centre and Haw Par Villa theme park too. My late grandmother used to tell me many stories about Chinese myths and legends, so I’m very familiar with stories of Sun Wukong the Monkey King, Chang’e and The Jade Rabbit, and the legend of the White Snake, just to name a few. I have not visited Haw Par Villa located at Pasir Panjang Road for more than two decades. To my surprise, I found it very interesting to rediscover this quirky place as an adult. The Ten Courts of Hell was recently re-opened on 28 October 2021 being fully air-conditioned and it is part of a new attraction called Hell's Museum. Previously known as the Tiger Balm Garden, this cultural theme park is the last of its kind in the world. Built by the late Aw Boon Haw, the millionaire philanthropist who gifted the world Tiger Balm, Haw Par Villa is Singapore’s largest outdoor art gallery. This eclectic park which houses more than 1,000 statues and 150 giant dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese mythology, folklore, legends, history, and illustrations of various aspects of Confucianism, is a treasure trove of Asian culture, history, philosophy and religion. |
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