From a distance, it looks like a huge, colourful rock.
But look closer, and you will find moving silhouettes inside it.
It is time for the i Light Singapore festival, and the crew are busy setting up the artwork Iwagumi Air Scape at The Promontory @ Marina Bay.
Inspired by the Japanese art of Iwagumi, which means underwater gardening, it is one of 17 pieces of artworks by 25 local and international artists. The festival organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority showcases light art installations.
In the energy-sapping humidity, Nimrod Weis, an interactive artist from Australia, and his men were hard at work to ensure that the artwork met the high standards expected of a festival of this magnitude.
Weis is the founder of art and technology company Eness, which is behind Iwagumi Air Scape. He said: “It is really hard to work in such humid, hot and wet conditions.
“When you go inside the rock, it’s like when you go camping in a tent, and the sun shines on the tent. It’s unbearable and so hot inside the tent. That’s what it’s like there.”
HOT AND HUMID
“When you go inside the rock, it’s like when you go camping in a tent, and the sun shines on the tent.”
Weis said he had to do a lot of work on the position of each rock, as he was seeing the installation for the first time after designing it in 3D in Australia. He even cycled around Marina Bay to make sure that it looked good from all sides.
Over 11 days, the team worked on large inflatable boulders that had to be arranged, inflated and fitted with lights and sensors that would react to people when they go near the installation.
Like Weis, other artists were also seen setting up their installations.
The theme for the festival in 2024 is Cyclical Nature. Artworks have been set up around Marina Bay, South Beach, Millenia Walk and for the first time in Tanjong Pagar.
The sound of people working and lively chatter filled the air as a group of students used wooden remnants from building sites to build Liminal; Minimal at the Waterfront Promenade in front of the Red Dot Design Museum.
The artwork is a collaboration between Singapore University of Technology and Design students Benjamin Lim, Yeo Soon Yii and their university mates. The team’s progress was hampered by the rain, which led to them working at night.
A giant piece of yarn was strewn outside Marina Bay Sands, as part of Spin Me A Yarn by artists Lucy McDonnell and Stephen Newby by Studio Vertigo.
Noting how yarn preparation contributes to the fashion industry’s global carbon emission, the artists hope to remind people about the threads that bind and the collective responsibility to shape the future.
On a floating platform, Australian artist James Tapscott worked with a technician to check if a metal arch was properly secured around the bay as part of Arc Zero: Nimbus. The artwork features mist emerging from the lighted arch at night.
At Clifford Square, a set of colourful swings light up the area. This is a part of the artwork entitled Fountain Of Happiness by artists Pawimol Samsen and Chayanon Tocharoen of 27June Studio from Thailand.
“I really like the communal spaces here, I think Singapore has really good public spaces, and you can see things around the bay and make you feel like you are in the city and share the same experience,” said Pawimol, 34, who hails from Bangkok.
At the Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza, an artwork named Kinetic Perspective by Spain-based Juan Fuentes Studio had an issue – a light was not moving in circular motion together with the other lights.
Immediately, Mr Eduardo F. Banderas, a technician, went on a video call with an artist in Australia and fixed it.
Over at the South Beach, a team of three women (below, from left) – Heather Noble, Sara Ibrahim and Ye Sul E. Cho – from London-based art collective 65 sqm @ Susa Space, were busy inflating and wiring balls that are part of Lumi, an artwork shaped like a meandering river.
When asked what their biggest challenge was, they said it was the humidity. They said they were used to the rain here since they are based in London, but struggled with the humidity.
For the first time, the festival will have a satellite site at Tanjong Pagar.
Before turning Discover Tanjong Pagar Park Community Green into a playground for the interactive light art game Kickit Team Tennis, Hungarian artist Viktor Vicsek had to ensure that the wiring was done correctly. Electricians dug into the soil to hide the wires so that it would not become a safety hazard.
Singaporean artist Yun, whose full name is Lee Yun Qin, had her work BottleBlooms installed at two places in Tanjong Pagar, with one being atop a hill.
“I had a muscle ache on Sunday morning after running up and down (the slope) more than 20 times on Saturday, ” she said with a laugh.
Lee, 43, created plastic flowers, which are lit with a bulb and a solar panel. In total, she used 1,500 polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, bottles gathered from a public collection drive to create her artwork.
“I am quite happy it turned out the way I had in mind because sometimes when you do art installations, the final effects may not turn out the way you want it to be.”
EFFORT PAID OFF
“I am quite happy it turned out the way I had in mind.”
The festival runs from May 31 to June 23. Opening hours are from 7.30pm to 11.00pm daily, with extended hours to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Opening hours for various programmes may vary.
Head to https://www.ilightsingapore.gov.sg to find out more about the festival.