Art In The Heartlands: The Murals at Woodlands HDB Estate On Old, Modern & Future Singapore Times5/9/2020 Singapore has some amazing street art, scattered in various neighbourhoods, painted by incredibly talented artists. Among them, Mr Yip Yew Chong is the one of the popular artists who draws the original scenery of Singapore in its early days with a warm touch. He has been inventing new ways of utilising our shared space to communicate, provoke, and interact, which is what made this a vibrant and engaging place to live. Most of his artwork are murals telling a story about the very place they are located in. All his murals are site specific, but these are more literally so. They are centered on the social practice of using art to create social interaction, in which people reflect on the history, current state, and better potential, of the very space they find themselves in. There’s no better ways to record stories from our pioneer generation than to put them into painting. What’s more we have lifelike murals. At Blk 683C Woodlands Ave 6 near MRT Admiralty Station, the empty void deck has been transformed into a whimsical world with three zones by Mr Yip. It is divided into three zones featuring nostalgic murals of the farmland and kampung, nature murals and futuristic city murals. The murals resonate with people in a nostalgic way. I feel that Mr Yip did an amazing job. I also think that his artwork itself has the capacity to engage people in conversation and to look at landscapes and physical environments differently. I hope the community will appreciate it and feel that it's their space. Telling stories of Singapore in the 'old' times. These mural serve as a beautiful snapshot of Singapore futurism. A vantage point was created from which to reimagine the present future; a perception which refocuses the conflicts we embody in the modern age. What a futuristic world we would live in. These paintings remind us that everyday life does not have to be gray. They are in fact a peaceful depiction of farmers gathering their crops amidst the daily rhythms of life in rural Singapore. This is where humans must be mindful of the balance between deriving value from nature while also preserving it. The line between the two is as often a battle line as it is a unifying one, and these murals will hopefully prompt that conversation. Much of technology ultimately does harm to nature. In a whimsical way, I was thinking about technology that can solely designed to help and benefit nature. I found some murals at the neighbouring block 682B Woodlands Ave 6 which include modern architecture such as the Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay. They were painted by school students. Lastly, i also found these interesting murals done by another talented local street artist, Ceno2, at the nearby Woodlands Galaxy Community Club that is somehow an art gallery itself. I’m so glad that I have always been interested in murals and/or street art. It is enjoyable roaming the city searching for them. For them to be noticed, they require slowing down, stepping up close to take in the messages. This sequestration of time from our sped-up lives is part of these murals’ goal. That’s what my interest is. Who are we and who are we to each other and what is this process that we’ve been involved in, whether it’s a community struggle or wanting to change something or address something.
Check out my street art collection in Singapore for more, or see where else in the world I’ve found amazing street art !
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