Marina Bay, the Civic District, and the Singapore River celebrate sustainability with i Light Singapore 2019.
I’ll begin this post with something
embarrassing.
I got confused. Too many quirky light art
installations and events were popping up downtown.
I mean, I knew i Light Singapore 2019 was starting this week, running concurrently with Light to Night Bicentennial Edition. However, the two light-ups being practically crawling distance from one another resulted in me mixing up the respective displays.
In fact, I didn’t realise this till I was mopping my floor yesterday. (A true epiphany, that one) That’s why I mistakenly used Anderson Bridge as the feature pic for my second write-up on Light to Night 2019. I only just changed the pic.
Anyway, it’s all clear to me now … I think. Made my way through most i Light Singapore 2019 installation venues this evening too, from those at the Singapore River to those beside the ArtScience Museum.
Compared to last year, I find this year’s displays more picturesque overall. They also seem to be grander; this, perhaps due to the festival being part of the SG Bicentennial Celebrations.
Like the partnering festival, many installations also clearly honour Singapore’s unique cultural identity.
i Light Singapore 2019 – Bicentennial Edition
First installation I viewed. Constructive Interference at Boat Quay North. A simple concept that would be a great background for selfie-masters.Another one that’d be a hit with selfie-masters! With A View by Superiore Design Associates at the River Promenade. By the way, I strongly agree with the concept brief that local shophouse windows are strongly representative of Singapore’s past.Run Beyond. A “powerful metaphor for liberation” at Elgin Bridge. (Hmm. This is next to, you know, the Parliament House) For i Light Singapore 2019, the three most famous colonial-era bridges spanning the Singapore River are all hosts to displays.Pyrotechnic finale for the truly dramatic Bridges of Time, performing hourly at the heart of the Singapore River. Suggestion, bring a super-wide lens if you’re photographing this! The display is massive!The euphoric conclusion of Time Rhythm at Anderson Bridge.A quieter moment over at the Waterboat House Garden. This is Cenotaph for a Stone and it’s about the Singapore Stone. As in, the legendary stone featured in the current light projection at the Arts HouseThe playful Flower Clock, inspired by the relationship between time and blooming flowers. This installation at One Fullerton might feel meek, but you can clearly see it from across Marina Bay.
A Time Traveller at Clifford Square. Inspired by Bamboo Fish Traps of the past.
Squiggleat the Promontory is my favourite installation of the evening. My shot is far from decent but believe me, there’s a certain breezy, uplifting feeling standing among all those twisting, changing lights.Shades of Temporality beside Squiggle. This is probably the most entertaining activity of i Light Singapore 2019. You literally get to “paint light” onto a wall. (There’s a sensor of sorts on the roller, wirelessly connected to the system operating the projector)Sails Aloft. A holographic celebration of the sampan races of the past.Photography service is provided at some of the light art installations, by the way.Ended the evening at the ArtScience Museum with the Lighthouse of Time light show andThe Rainbow Connection, the latter of which reinforces the theme of sustainability with its reuse of cookie jars.
