The Hong Kong Island line was extended to the East at the end of 2014, with Sai Ying Pun station being the final one to be opened in March 2015. I have travelled there a few times and it is a very interesting MTR station.Not only do you have to take an escalator to reach the middle level, but you actually have to take a lift up to the street level. That’s how far down the station is.
There is a wonderful artwork depicting the neighbourhood – it is a painted bas relief created by Ms Louise Soloway Chan. Chan, originally from Britain who has lived in Hong Kong for over 20 years. Her artwork, 3D bass relief panels in Sai Ying Pun Station, bring together the past and present of a neighborhood where a congested, traditional wet market shares a wall with trendy Western-style cafeteria, both overflowing with the intense minutiae of daily life. The artwork shows different sights from Sai Ying Pun, for instance the escalator that has been built up to the High Street...the people shopping at the wet markets and little shops of the area...the day and day activities happening on the street of Sai Ying Pun.... 西营盘铁路车站,是港岛线西延段最后一个通车的车站,以紫色做车站的主调颜色。西营盘站最大的卖点是富有当区特色的艺术品,是整个港铁网络中 “艺术气息最浓厚” 的车站。 来自英国的着名浮雕艺术家LouiseSolowayChan的3D浮雕作品,以西营盘社区街景做主题,细心观赏,街上的招牌、地盘布置、街市景象、石墙大树、人物表情都很神似,栩栩如生,实景感觉十分强烈。艺术品以西环生活面貌为主题,港铁希望乘客可于欣赏艺术品时,感受西营盘的历史文化。
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Whilst exploring Taiwan last year, with my usual eye out for street art, I noticed a couple of those electricity boxes; the kind you don’t usually notice. I don’t know what the correct name for them is – Electricity transformer boxes or kiosks? Circuit boxes? Junction boxes? Electric utility boxes? Anyway, I’m talking about those boring-looking grey metal boxes that control the electricity supply to nearby buildings.
So, the reason I noticed them was that they were colourfully painted. And then I spotted more. You can’t miss these painted electrical boxes throughout Taiwan. They are virtually everywhere, and most commonly painted with landscapes or flowers. I’ve snapped a handful of them to share with you, during my walks around the city. Each box is painted on all sides. No two boxes are painted alike, although you will see recurring themes and color palates. Permission for the street exhibition was given to brighten up Taiwan’s main streets. The only regulation was that the electricity warning sign couldn’t be painted over. Street art is becoming a big obsession. One of the first things that I do when I decide on a new destination is to find out whether or not I’m going to get my fill of street art. When I decided to be in Taiwan for two weeks, and Taipei for a large majority of that, I knew I needed to scope it out. Luckily, one of my favorite things to do while traveling is just to wander the streets. And from wandering and gaining some insight from a local in Taiwan, I was able to find some of the best Murals in Taipei.
Taipei may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of street art culture, but be prepared to be pleasantly surprised. In Taipei street art and better yet, good street art is easy to come by. The capital of the island country of Taiwan is rife with large and small scale street art. Here are my favourite photos of the street art that I saw. And as always, if you know of any more, leave them in the comments! 在台北,越来越多机会看到风格不同的街头涂鸦作品。从台北东区的南港车站附近,到松烟艺术特区、圆山大直河滨公园到中山桥下,再到西门町的美国街与电影主题公园附近,都可以看见街头涂鸦的踪影。其中美国街与电影主题公园,因为有艺青会进驻,从早期是没有计画的随意涂鸦,到近几年会找国内艺术家前来,以台北街头或是台湾所见所感后,再进行街头涂鸦创作后。不管是创作技巧与内容质量,都跟其它区域有所区隔,可说是街头涂鸦的艺术重镇之一。每隔一段时间去,就不会失望,每每都能看见新的惊喜! 其实在台湾,涂鸦通常都跟违法脱不了干系,和其他国家不同的是,国外的空白墙面是可以被涂鸦创作的。在公共物品上涂鸦,当然在台湾的学校,或在社会,都是不被允许的。从学生时期桌角上的涂鸦,椅子上的涂鸦,到校园墙面的涂鸦,天桥的涂鸦,废墟外墙的涂鸦等等,任何一个土生土长的台湾人,很难伪装说他们从来没有看过这些东西的存在。涂鸦可以是文字,也可以是图画。街头涂鸦是种临场考试,与画纸创作有很大的不同,因为街头涂鸦使用的是喷漆,不仅颜色受限,更无法调色,必须利用手感来涂鸦,线条的粗细取决于喷漆的角度与速度。 My Photo Essay《转角遇上艺术新加坡与香港街头涂鸦节日》Published in LianheZaobao 联合早报 Newspapers Dated 24 February 201824/2/2018 My photo essay under pen name 蓝天游 on urban street art in Singapore and Hong Kong《转角遇上艺术新加坡与香港街头涂鸦节日》is published in today's LianheZaobao 联合早报缤纷版 dated 24 February 2018! 感谢、感恩! Thrilled to see it being featured nationwide in print! Special thanks to Lianhe Zaobao, you have made my day! :)
When it comes to the street art scene, Hong Kong is not a name that is usually among the most talked about. In the ensuing years, mural art has ballooned in Hong Kong amid a growing scene with local and international artists and increasingly favourable attitudes towards art in the public, by the public. Murals spread across Hong Kong, with diverging degrees of style, quality and message.
2013 saw the launch of HKWalls, a street art festival that has helped ferment discussion about public art spaces in the city. The following year saw the Occupy movement and its accompanying flurry of creative expression in public spaces. The protests turned out to be a rife platform for the creation of street art, with students, activists and citizens leaving their marks on the city’s concrete and turning the streets into extraordinary art installations. Their visual messages and rebellions were catapulted into the world’s consciousness via the international media reporting on the protests. I always remind people to look up in Hong Kong. If we only pay attention to the street level, we’ll miss so many wonderful things. Here take a look at some of the pieces that brightening up Hong Kong walls. 外国街头艺术十分流行,到处都有街头艺术家的杰作,走在街上都觉得充满住艺术气息。台湾、韩国等国家有很多广为人知的壁画村,有彩绘墙壁做背景,怎样拍都能照出一张漂亮的相片,走到哪儿都想按下快门,即使手软也停不下来,把一切透过镜头保存下来。想一想都让人心动,立刻飞到国外沉醉于那美丽的世界。 其实香港人不用羡慕,因为这股壁画风气早已在香港街头渐渐萌芽。有没有发现,最近一两年在香港上环出现了很多街头涂鸦壁画?原来这一切都是来自一个很有意义的涂鸦艺术节。这个由香港艺术团体HKWalls主办的涂鸦艺术节已经连续举办两年,在太平山街跟荷里活道附近留下来了不少涂鸦作品。很多人趁著假日来找找看隐藏在四周的壁画,显然已经成为上环一个小小的私房景点。这些壁画大多在大厦的侧门和后门之处,本来是单调乏味、最没人注意的场所,成为了艺术家天马行空的创意天地。这些壁画需要人用心发现,转角偶然遇上的惊喜,更显独特。 Every city tells its own unique story by the street art it has. I am a big fan of it, because it’s made for everyone and like each and every piece of art, there is always a message to reflect upon. Singapore Funan IT Mall was closed for a complete overhaul. But if you walk by there now, you might do a double take: the hoardings are covered in graffiti. A local artist teamed up with the mall to make the hoardings his personal canvas. It's so nice to see some public art in the otherwise all-business part of town.
I’m not sure how my street art obsession began but it was definitely at some point during my travels, when my creativity was sparked and my mind opened up enough to explore what I had until then considered messy scribbles. Or maybe I just fell in love with the irreverence and rebelliousness I sensed behind those scribbles. Suffice it to say that the mere act of travel helps open up my mind to new forms of art - a creativity and curiosity fueled by the different sights and lifestyles. As I travel, whenever I walk down a street and see splashes of color covering up an otherwise drab wall, I’ll stop and take a picture, imagining hooded youngsters slinking around at night, with paints and brushes and cans under their jackets, furtively slingling brush strokes at cement. I’ll probably be wrong about the image – but I won’t be wrong about loving what I see. My photo essay on Ipoh's Burps & Giggles Cafe & SG's Potato Head Cafe《绘本里的咖啡时光》is published in today's LianheZaobao 联合早报缤纷版 dated 17 August 2017! 感谢、感恩! Thrilled to see it being featured nationwide in print! Special thanks to Lianhe Zaobao, you have made my day! :)
I am a huge fan of street art (you should know that by now for readers who have been following my blog). I have many pictures taken from hundreds of street art works, in dozens of cities/countries. I am always on the constant lookout for fascinating street art. Street art is proof that some of the best pieces of art, at least contemporary art, are not locked inside museums. Instead, they are out in the open for everyone to enjoy.
Singapore may not be associated with great street artwork compared to other Western countries, but there are hotspots that are (legally) tainted with unique and striking street art. Kampong Glam district (near Bugis shopping area) is a long-time creative art enclave and is one of the best places to wander around and discover the street art scene. Here are some places in Kampong Glam district in Singapore to admire these jaw-dropping works by both local and international street artists in this area. Along Victoria Street between Jalan Klapa and Jalan Pisang: A great start to a happy week! My photo essay on《牛车水壁画说故事》"Street Art in Chinatown" is published in today's Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报副刊缤纷 newspapers dated 14 March 2016!
Thrilled to see it being featured nationwide in print! Special thanks to Lianhe Zaobao, zbNOW/早报现在, you have made my day! 感谢、感恩! 希望在任何地方的您,都能得到这一份珍贵情谊及祝福。但愿人长久 千里共婵娟。
Found this wonderful piece of street art in Singapore at People's Park Complex Level 6 Open Carpark. The one day Aliwal Urban Art Festival 2016 kicked off Singapore Art Week yesterday! Held in conjunction with Singapore Art Week, the event promises to bring out the best of the streets, channeling everything great about Singapore’s urban art scene at the ultimate urban district, Kampong Glam.
At Aliwal Arts Centre in Aliwal Street in the Kampong Glam area, urban art and street culture took centre stage with graffiti art showcases, a space for a skateboarding competition. Aliwal Art Centre is an enclave of art studios that has a wide range of tenants across visual and performing arts. The centre paid special tribute last night to street culture with their annual Aliwal Urban Arts Festival. Local graffiti gurus from the Rascals (RSCLS) performed in glorious street art at event. As a street art fan, I’m absolutely thrilled to see initiatives like this: I’ve always wanted to be in thriving street-art communities, as it always adds a distinctive flair to a place that makes it feel more personal, more yours. I love simply wandering around cities with my camera in hand, stopping whenever I want to take photos. During a trip in Perth, I wandered down unknown streets and laneways, which concealed magnificent street art pieces, often several meters in width and height, and behind skyscrapers, restaurants and small businesses. It was a wonderful way to really discover a new city and the creative side of its local artists. Street art is absolutely thriving in Perth.
Perth’s hip inner suburbs have been undergoing a transformation over the past few years. Increasingly, alongside the trendy venues — on walls once neglected and covered in graffiti — you’ll find street art. Perth street art is known to be bizarre, ranging from faces out of place in a sea of swirling colour, to a snake eating its own tail. These random depictions are eye-catching, surreal and rising in growth, leaving people curious as to what’s around the corner. These are not tags. This is real art. And real artists are behind it. They are often really stunning pieces and they’re very popular additions to the streets cape. Communities are recognising that street art can enrich their neighbourhoods. There are really talented people and it makes sense to engage them to help make the country's neighbourhoods more interesting. I must emphasize that there is a difference between graffiti and street art. The beauty in street art is liberty. Graffiti is just writing with a spray can. Street art is using the same tools for design, for artistic expression. Discover Street Art (Graffiti) At Fremantle's Heritage Wool Store In Perth Western Australia18/10/2015 One thing I have noticed out and about in Fremantle is a predominant graffiti culture. It’s not really mentioned in any guidebooks but round every corner or down every dingey alleyway is an artwork waiting to be uncovered. I know graffiti can often be divisive, but I personally love it, especially when its done well. I’m not a fan of tagging – where’s the talent in writing your name on a wall? But lots of the graffiti in Fremantle (Freo) is intelligent, can be tinged with a bit of a political message or is just really aesthetically pleasing. I at least am of the opinion that they are art and not vandalism, as long as it's designated (the owner of the building is okay with it), it's not offensive and it clearly has had some thought gone into it.
One of Fremantle’s most iconic buildings, Woolstores, had undergone an artistic transformation. The heritage-listed 1927 building was designed with a series of colorbond panels which have been installed around the building, covering the many broken windows that the building has been known for. A team of local Perth street artists took part in painting murals along the doorways and over the boarded window areas along the ground level of the building. The works can be seen anytime on the outside of the Woolstores building, which is on Cantonment Street in Fremantle. I love the huge mural artwork on the EAST WEST DESIGN building in South Fremantle in my recent trip to Perth Western Australia. They have become some of the most talked about artworks in town, and for a good reason - they are spectacular.
If you spend any time at all in Fremantle then you might have noticed the exotic shop-fronts painted over the bland warehouse wall by the EAST WEST DESIGN furniture market. This shop is a little out of the way - I discovered it by accident when I was a little bit lost. But I was glad I stumpled upon it, because it's really cool! It's a home design store inside a big warehouse, and the whole thing is arranged like the biggest and best living room ever. The huge mural is the largest in Fremantle I believe and has got so many cute details that one can spend half an hour there discovering more quirky things. While I write about amazing street art from all around the world I travelled to, there is actually a lot going on in my hometown Singapore too. Honestly, I’ve never thought I couldn’t keep up with Singapore’s street art scene, but that’s what happened during this summer, so I’m writing a blogpost collecting what’s new on the streets of Chinatown, including some older works that I still hadn’t review in my blog.
Street art has transformed Chinatown's public spaces into open-air galleries, adding vibrancy to urban landscapes. The whole place has seen a glut of impressive new public artwork appear to the delight of many. The walls come to life with murals that are painted, filmed, and re-painted to create captivating moving images. The artists had painted in Chinatown to connect with its heritage, working through issues of identity, influence and geography with sweeping murals saturated with local culture. They brim with both color and emotion. 我很喜欢在新加坡牛车水老社区的巷弄内散步,老屋旧巷在有心人士的维护下,很像活化的有机体,每回造访都有意想不到的发现。 没有什么东西会像空白的石头表面一样,能够激发广泛的艺术创作欲望。 除了美食之外,牛车水也开始散发另一种魅力。在古迹区转角遇见的壁画,成为许多人游老社区的目的。沿途的一些古老牛车水建筑物很多开始被这些创意艺术家注入了新的生命,让整个地方呈现出了另一个面貌,也让来自世界各地或外地的到访者徒步走入老街时,见证古老的建筑物牛车水一路走来的岁月。栩栩如生的壁画刻画出牛车水古早味的生活百态。可见外墙脱落,砖瓦外露的情景,让人感叹光阴似箭,感慨万分。 |
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