Arts Picks: Escape rooms, humorous paintings and art from St Petersburg
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(Clockwise from left) The Dr X escape room, Joi Murugavell’s Many Ways Home and Samuel Chen's St Petersburg.
PHOTOS: SCIENCE CENTRE SINGAPORE, JODIE BARKER, LIYU
Escape @ Science Centre
What is more fun than locking yourself in a room, where the only way to get out is by solving puzzles?
Science Centre Singapore opens its permanent escape rooms themed around science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem). Consisting of three rooms that vary in physical intensity, the concepts are created in partnership with entertainment company Gushcloud and Singapore theatre company How Drama to develop immersive and challenging experiences.
Visitors can break out of an alien facility in the Museum of Humankind, escape a glitchy metaverse in Shangri-La or rescue a friend from a deranged scientist in Dr X. The rooms are recommended for ages 13 and above, particularly for Dr X, which contains mild horror themes.
Each hour-long session can take up to eight people, with a minimum requirement of two people. Groups of more than three people are eligible for discounts.
Where: Annexe, Science Centre Singapore, 15 Science Centre Road
MRT: Jurong East
When: Thursdays to Mondays, 10am to 5pm. Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Admission: $25 a person
Info: www.esc.sg/therooms
Many Ways Home
Many Ways Home is Joi Murugavell’s first exhibition in Singapore.
PHOTO: JODIE BARKER
Australian doodle artist Joi Murugavell reflects on the meaning of home through her colourful works in this solo exhibition.
She invites visitors to examine and explore the making of home in a society that attaches meaning to everything.
The Sydney-based artist incorporates humour and play into her work, a value she learnt from her father. Brightly coloured, abstract and funny, Murugavell’s paintings appear as childlike explorations of the world, revealing deeper threads to current events and cultural change upon closer inspection. Her use of mixed media gives life to characters she calls Ooglies.
This is her first exhibition in Singapore, having had showcases in Seoul, Taiwan and China previously.
Where: Nonage Gallery, 02-03, 5 Jalan Kilang
MRT: Redhill
When: Till June 19, noon to 6pm daily
Admission: Free
Info: nonage.co
St Petersburg, Singapore, TV
Samuel Chen studied painting at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts before further pursuing his passion in St Petersburg.
PHOTO: LIYU
Singaporean painter Samuel Chen furthered his passion for painting when he enrolled in Russia’s St Petersburg Academy of Fine Art. He first went to Russia in 2015 for a month-long summer course with Repin Academy of Fine Arts, before deciding to relocate there in January 2019 as an art student.
His time in Russia was broken up by a trip back to Singapore in 2021 from May to October. Chen remained in St Petersburg until returning to Singapore recently, where he plans to remain for a year.
The exhibition features a collection of paintings brought back from St Petersburg and works previously created here. There are landscapes that compelled him to stop and paint for days in the Russian cold, portraits he has done over the years and old paintings of his life in Singapore.
Most of his work use traditional mediums like pencil, oil paints, watercolour and acrylic paints.
Where: Mr Lim’s Shop Of Visual Treasures, 02-01, 8 Haji Lane
MRT: Nicoll Highway/Bugis
When: Wednesdays to Sundays, noon to 7pm
Admission: Free
Info: www.mrlimsshopofvisualtreasures.com
