Sit back and learn more about Singapore in a new Civic District art trail
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Joyce Beetuan Koh’s A Micropolyphonic Stage is a pair of quote marks found along the Singapore River.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
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SINGAPORE – Take a seat on one of the six new art benches around the Civic District, and you could be transported to the past, or even the future.
A new art trail called Benchmarks was launched on Wednesday to get people to think more about historical landmarks around the Civic District and its surrounding area.
The trail was designed by six local artists – Lua Boon Kai, Joyce Beetuan Koh, Immanuel Koh, Yang Jie, Jeffrey Tan and Jason Wee – who responded to the theme of punctuation marks.
Curator Justin Loke said: “Just as when someone is giving a speech or writing something, punctuation adds on elements and helps us create a tone of voice or manner of speaking.”
The multi-disciplinary artist hopes these benches can act like punctuation marks for visitors to pace their experience of walking around the Civic District, and to be aware of the historical significance of the area’s past and present, and even to create new stories of the future.
Jeffrey Tan’s Sayang! Satay Sayang! pays homage to the old Esplanade Satay Club, inviting people to relive times at the bustling food centre and reflect on stories that lie within.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Some benches reflect the past, like Yang Jie’s ...All the King’s Men situated along Queen Elizabeth Walk. The bench was made using slabs of broken granite stones ostensibly stapled together to pay homage to the Singapore Stone. The large slab of sandstone, which contained indecipherable inscriptions, was discovered in 1819 and was destroyed in 1843 to make space for Fort Fullerton.
“This particular bench is a response to the idea that there was a stone, there was a strike, and how then can we put the pieces back together like in our memories, back in the place where it was supposed to be,” the artist said.
Yang Jie’s ...All the King’s Men situated along Queen Elizabeth Walk.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Joyce Beetuan Koh’s A Micropolyphonic Stage is a pair of quote marks found along the Singapore River for visitors to fill with their thoughts.
“I would love for a passer-by to come to the space to contemplate and to be present,” she said.
The interdisciplinary musician and composer drew inspiration for the bench from the surrounding performing venues, and hopes people can experience the transformative power of music and performance.
Jason Wee’s #iykyk comprises five circular benches signalling the Morse code for the letters “iykyk” (which means “if you know you know”).
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Immanuel Koh looked to the future for his bench, Re-Store / Neural Artefact Black, which was designed with the help of an artificial intelligence model trained on images of furniture and sampans from Singapore’s National Collection.
“To me, I am interested in memory, in the sense that it is not a record of what used to be there, but looking at the archives and creating new memories,” he said.
Immanuel Koh’s Re-Store / Neural Artefact Black bench was designed with the help of an artificial intelligence model that trained on images of furniture and sampans from Singapore’s National Collection.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
This is Not a Bench by Lua Boon Kai is situated outside The Arts House. Through fun and humor, this artwork attempts to redefine preconceived notions of form and function on a bench.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
It took a year to conceptualise and develop the art trail, with surveys and consultations with public stakeholders including the National Parks Board, Urban Redevelopment Authority and National Heritage Board.
The art trail was commissioned by the Civic District Alliance which includes the Asian Civilisations Museum, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, National Gallery Singapore, The Arts House, and Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall.
Members of the public are welcome to sit and interact with the benches until July 31, 2026.
