And what a time to be there, while London prepped its streets for the epic Platinum Jubilee (and I left just one week before the holiday!). I was also so excited to see the gorgeous Big Ben, which has been freshly restored and the clock dials are now back to their original

blue colour!

I took hundreds of photos every day and the memories are still fresh in my mind. So I wanted to write all about it on my blog to relive all of the days! I will be sharing about my itinerary my style which is basically: art, museums and bookstores (plus libraries and archives).

In 3 weeks I went to these museums for my art and history side:

• The Courtauld Gallery
• The British Museum
• The National Gallery, London
• Royal Academy of Arts
• The Wallace Collection
• Tate Modern
• Kenwood House
• V&A Victoria and Albert Museum
• Tate Britain
• Imperial War Museum
• Natural History Museum

And these libraries & bookstores for my bookish side:

• The British Library
• Waterstones
• London Review Bookshop
• Daunt Books Marylebone
• The Notting Hill Bookshop

That’s a preview of what’s to come! I also very importantly, saw artworks by the artist that I’m researching, Angelica Kauffman, for the first time in person and they were absolutely beautiful. I can’t emphasise enough now how important it is to see art in person.

In the words of Wonder Woman in WW84: “It’s all art.” And that certainly applies to London. ❤️

Find more posts from my London Art Series at this tag!

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If you’re wondering, HDBs are painted according to various colour schemes and designs, and they are maintained and re-painted every several years. The Teck Whye residential estate, located at the north-western side of Singapore close to Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang, consist of older residential blocks, and their makeover is definitely in the most special design I have seen. Residents were asked to choose between two design options, and ultimately this Mondrian design won!

I just appreciate all the detail that went into the painting – from the exterior building facades to the sheltered walkways and the void deck columns!

Would you choose to move here just to be able to say you live in a Mondrian-inspired HDB? In any case, I’m sure our expectations of what kind of designs we want in our HDBs have been upped…

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I currently find myself in a spot of free time that inadvertently came along unplanned, which leaves me feeling a little unsettled since I always want to know what direction I’m moving in. But, for now, I am enjoying this break, and I’m trying to make time to pursue my interests, and it feels nice to have this pause to think back on the past year.

But to go back to what ‘Prospect and Refuge’ is in the first place, it is a theory coined by the geographer and academic Jay Appleton in 1975 relating to architecture and how we perceive our spaces by looking to fulfil two desires of prospect (opportunity) and refuge (safety). A simple idea is like how I like to hang out in cosy cafe corners yet have a view of the outdoors while I blog, right about now!

Under the giant awning at South Beach.

Thinking further on it, I just thought it was a perfect way to sum up the feeling of having big dreams and wanting to keep moving forward but also wanting to stay comfortable. Last June, it felt really difficult to move away from Hong Kong because it was letting go of an amazing experience that I didn’t feel ready to move on from, though it is necessary for practicalities to come first (sometimes).

Though, of course, moving back to Singapore isn’t a bad thing at all! I spent a lot of time at first wandering around this sparkling, beautiful city.

Made my first stop of my exploring at the Apple Store which opened last May in Knightsbridge Mall (what a fancy name). I’m so grateful for it now because I sent my very precious Macbook there for repair when it broke down last month and the service was so good!! Just sharing my appreciation. :D

I also caught art exhibitions – like the massive Yayoi Kusama exhibition at National Gallery Singapore that I completely forgot to share on any platform whatsoever – that I plan to share here later as a way of catching up with everything over the last year. Art museums here are mostly housed in old, grand, colonial buildings with a touch of contemporary glass and chrome elements which Singapore is so good at at adding to old buildings.

When the polka dot phenomenon took over Singapore last summer.

A good mix of old and new in the National Museum of Singapore.

But geez, that transition between graduation and full-on ‘adulting’ is a tricky one! Despite all the well-meaning ‘advice’ you hear, you don’t really know what to expect until you start the job application grind, and thankfully, land your first interview and then the job (!!) after months of seemingly unending waiting time. But that’s if you decide to enter the workforce – making the decision to continue in postgraduate studies or to go out to work was even tricker to me.

Oh, the dilemma.

Revisited this gem The Thinker by Rodin at OUE Bayfront except it’s now politely barricaded. And I’ve got a much better-working phone camera with me now compared to the last time I captured this in Sculptures on the Street which I worked on 3 years ago now and I’m still so proud of!

Also saw this crazy hyperrealistic figure of a security guard by Marc Sijan at OUE Bayfront. Almost thought ‘he’ was real but it’s on a podium so it’s a piece of art, see!

I always took my (tertiary) education seriously, so I wouldn’t want to pursue postgraduate studies only for the purpose of ‘escaping reality’, but really to expand my knowledge and pursue my academic interest in a specific field (art history, of course!). That’s all and well, but then also comes the deciding factors of where I wanted to enter, funding matters, and the unavoidable point of your age matched to your amount of work experience (hi, real job, what internship?).

Another new photo of an old favourite: Sky Mirror by Anish Kapoor outside Artscience Museum.

In my final year of undergraduate studies, I asked a few professors about choosing between work and studies and I realised that there wasn’t one answer that could solve it all for me. After choosing to work first, when talking to colleagues about postgraduate studies, everyone also has varying ideas about how many years you should work first before studying further.

So, to anyone who happens to be stuck in this dilemma, weighing the pros and cons, considering the weight of what you might be losing out on or gaining in return, all I can say is: funnily enough, the quite unpleasant application process would help clear up whether or not you are ready for it, so plan ahead and give it a shot if you really want to do it!

Open call-out to SMU: please add a didactic next to this! It’s Bright Idea by Sir Michael Craig-Martin, isn’t it? I think it fits this university campus setting much better than the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, doesn’t it?

With that said, going out to work was great in propelling me out of my ‘refuge’ zone and in seeing what my prospects are. Identifying those prospects also gave me goals to look toward, one such as the ideal yet probably not very reachable ‘work-life balance’ (hahaha, in Singapore/Hong Kong, the ultimate dream).

Stopped for a photo break while cycling from East Coast Park to the Marina Bay area on a sweltering hot day last June.

Half-joking aside, work gave me a literal case of expectations vs. reality. For many of us art history students, the career goal is always to become a curator. Same goes for me! We might get student curating projects, and some people might remind students that to become an curator at the point of actually curating exhibitions takes a long time.

Side note: it’s funny and ridiculous how everything is ‘curated’ these days. Let me give an example: Reader, you are currently on Wording Art, a blog of curated art posts! Okay, but enough of that – curating is way far more than putting objects together in an exhibition and writing about it. It was only after beginning work in the field that I realised how wide the job of being a curator really is, which I think is great for managing my expectations of the job and seeing how I would like to keep moving forward in work.

Loving these boards for a store that is coming soon at Wisma Atria… What is it?? A fantastically themed cafe or retail concept? I’m just dying to know!

I suppose I’m writing this to ground myself somehow in my current stage of in-between-ness. The very wise words by Lewis Carroll couldn’t be more fitting for what I’m thinking about right now. And right now, I’m also really glad to have this little digital space of my own here that in one way, I see as a record of all the art things I’d seen and where I was at, and in the same way, this post serves the same purpose too.

Looking down from the 8th floor of the Central Public Library, where I discovered their fantastic reference section of art history books!

With all that said, here’s to new opportunities and good things ahead! And to more posts overcrowded with pretty pictures, as per usual, hahaha!

The post Prospect and Refuge | In Architecture, Art and in Life appeared first on Wording Art.

Spring is here! And along with that is a range of art events in Hong Kong for its Art Month in March. This year, the range of art fairs is happening in the later part of the month starting this week, and there’s a number of “satellite” exhibitions ongoing now which I’m interested to see!

HONG KONG

Art Fairs

• Asia Contemporary Art Show

I didn’t realize that this art fair opened a few days before the others! In case you missed it like I did, there’s also a Fall edition that will be held in September.

17 – 20 March 2017, Conrad Hong Kong— Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong, more info here.

• Art Central

Art Central tends to show more edgy and provocative contemporary artworks in its giant marquee! To see more from the past two years of the fair on the blog, go here.

21 – 25 March 2017, Central Harbourfront Hong Kong, ticketing info here.

• Art Basel Hong Kong

Art Basel shows a vast mix of contemporary and modern artworks that takes hours to trek through. I recommend checking out the magazines booths after you are all done looking at the art, I tend to bring home a number of free art magazines! To see more from the past two years of the fair on the blog, go here.

23 – 25 March 2017, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wanchai, ticketing info here.

• Kingsley Ng’s Twenty Five Minutes Older

There are events part of Art Basel happening outside the HKCEC as well! One of it is local artist Kingsley Ng’s Twenty Five Minutes Older that is happening in trams going between Wanchai and Sheung Wan! I’m so excited because I love love love trams and it’s so fun to have them incorporated into an art piece. The trams will become moving camera obscuras (first form of cameras), displaying images of Hong Kong streets. It sounds like a great way to experience Hong Kong in a new way – in a tram, through art.

20 – 28 March 2017, aboard trams going from Wanchai to Sheung Wan, free admission but requires tickets, limited tickets still available – go here, more info here.

• Sir Michael Craig-Martin’s Bright Idea, 2016 for ‘Love Art at The Peninsula’

Photograph of Bright Idea 2016 at the evening discussion with Sir Michael Craig-Martin (right) and Tim Marlow (left) at HKU last night

I don’t know why I’d missed The Peninsula Hong Kong’s collaborations with Art Basel every year since they started their ‘Love Art’ series with Tracey Emin’s My Heart Is With You Always displayed on the facade of the hotel in 2014 (which I very unfortunately had to miss). So I am determined to catch Michael Craig-Martin’s Bright Idea 2016 at The Peninsula this time!

Bright Idea 2016 continues in Martin’s style of taking mundane objects in daily life, producing them in much-larger-than-life forms and placing them in unexpected sites, like The Peninsula’s fountain for one.

20 March – 31 May 2017, The Peninsula Hong Kong, more info here.

Exhibitions

• Picasso and Jacqueline

I wished I had known about this earlier, so I would have more time to go check it out! The exhibition centres around 13 artworks of Picasso’s that were dedicated to his last wife Jacqueline.

Some points to note: It’s free admission, but you have to queue outdoors for quite a long time, I heard. And no photography is allowed, sadly.

26 February – 21 March 2017, Times Square Living Room Museum, more info here.

• The Legend of Hong Kong Toys

This is such a great exhibition that I recommend for all kids and adults alike! It gives a look into Hong Kong history through the toys people played with over the last century. I will be sharing more photos from the exhibition on the blog soon!

2 March –  15 May 2017, Hong Kong Museum of History (closed on Tuesdays), 100 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, HKD10 standard tickets, HKD5 concession tickets, more info here.

• Zaha Hadid: There Should Be No End to Experimentation

Zaha Hadid’s architecture is so iconic and creative, and I’m waiting for the day when I can finally visit one of her creations Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul! In the meantime, I’m so glad that an exhibition of her paintings and drawings is now in Hong Kong! The exhibition also includes a few virtual reality experiences, which should be interesting.

17 March – 6 April 2017 (17-21 March: 10:00-18:00; 22 March – 6 April: 10:00-21:00), ArtisTree, 1/F Cornwall House, Taikoo Place, 979 King’s Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, more info on Taikoo Place’s site and on Serpentine Galleries’ site.

• It Speaks to Me

Ng Lung Wai’s exhibition ‘It Speaks to Me’ features mixed media paintings that uses objects such as shirts and architectural models to create large-scale pieces, which sounds like a fun way to make artworks! To see more of Ng’s previous exhibition ‘1960s Big Era’ which featured portraits of historical figures made out of pins, badges, and other collectibles on the blog, go here.

21 March – 3 April 2017, G/F, Open Space, Central Plaza, Wanchai, more info here.

SINGAPORE

• i Light Marina Bay

Singapore’s also having some really cool stuff going on with its fifth edition of i Light Marina Bay, a sustainable light festival. Wish I could be there to see it! Check out the video above to see more.

3 – 26 March 2017, Marina Bay Waterfront, more info here.

• Shakespeare In Print:  The First Folio

Something a little different from the other exhibitions above – an exhibition that displays Shakespeare’s plays in their first printed form. I can’t say that I am the biggest fan of Shakespeare, but his works are so influential and I think it’s good to have an understanding of them. For all fans of the Bard and literature fanatics, I think this should be fun to check out!

11 March – 23 April 2017, Level 10, Gallery, National Library Building, more info here.

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While looking up Annie Leibovitz’s recent exhibition Women: New Portraits in Hong Kong, I realized it toured Singapore before coming to Hong Kong. It exhibited at an interesting choice of location – Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. I had absolutely no idea that the railway station was even in use at all!

Stopped by Kennedy Town and took a super old-school lift to see Annie Leibovitz’s latest project Women: New Portraits, featuring influential women figures today. On show till June 26th!

A photo posted by Ellice Wu (@wording_art) on Jun 22, 2016 at 2:49am PDT

Turns out that the station has been open to visitors on Singapore’s public holidays since February last year, so I decided to check it out on Hari Raya Puasa (July 6th) just a few days after I landed in Singapore.

Tanjong Pagar Railway Station was first opened in 1932 when Singapore was under British colonial rule, and the trains traveled between Singapore and Malaysia up till operations ceased in 2011. I find it very interesting to see a heritage building centered right in the middle of Singapore’s landscape of shiny buildings!

The four sculptures on the facade of the building represent Industry, Agriculture, Commerce and Transport, the four pillars of Singapore’s economy then. The letters FMSR stands for Federated Malay States Railway. (It’s now renamed Tanjong Pagar Railway Station as it’s situated in Tanjong Pagar, which is part of the Central Business District in Singapore.)

I just love the big, high arches, and the flowery pattern design within each arch! There is no lighting installed at the entrance, just lots of natural sunlight streaming in through the arches.

I was surprised to see these murals on the walls of the ticketing hall, I didn’t expect to see artworks inside! The murals depict various aspects of Singapore’s industry, agriculture, commerce and transport, represented again in a different format from the sculptures outside.

On to the actual railway tracks! I don’t think many people would have the chance to walk on a railway track (the wooden bits have disintegrated at points), so this is cool.

The railway tracks don’t go far, with the rest of the space acting as a mini park of sorts.

The bright blue sign reads:

All these are important heritage artefacts, we appreciate if you refrain from touching. Thank you for your understanding.

Best shoes shot ever.

I was a little sad to see that the clock doesn’t actually work. However, the railway station will be undergoing renovations after December this year till 2025. I hope the clock will be back working again when the station is reopened!

It’s disappointing to see this railway station going into temporary closure after I’d only just discovered it but it is, after all, Singapore where renovation is always ongoing. It’s good to hear that the original design will still be retained, along with a few new additions of an art gallery, an auditorium, and a MRT station.

There are three more public holidays in Singapore left in the year, including tomorrow’s Hari Raya Haji, to visit Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, open from 9am to 6pm. Take a nice day off to immerse in a bit of Singapore’s history and heritage.

To find out more about Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, check out this article here.

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I was curious to hear about the 2015 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism \ Architecture with the theme of Visions 2050 – Lifestyle and the City that sounded fresh and innovative. It was held from 11 December 2015 – 28 February 2016 at Kowloon Park. I went to see it in January this year, and I have to say I felt underwhelmed by the exhibits.

On a better note, there was an exhibition (part of the event) at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre that was pretty interesting. It was mostly photographs of Hong Kong’s architecture with a few model exhibits and a video screening area. There were some photographs I really liked so I wanted to share them here!

(On another note, it was my first time in Kowloon Park and… I didn’t like it. If you’re looking to go to parks in Hong Kong, I would much highly recommend Hong Kong Park in Admiralty instead.)

| Cover picture: Sarah Choi, Hong Kong Legacy, 2014 |

Arnold Yok Fei Wong, Joyce Yan Ting Chan, Carman Ka Man Lee, The Screen 屏風樓

The Chinese title of this piece 屏風樓 literally translates to ‘Screen Towers,’ referring to Hong Kong’s tightly packed buildings that block air flow, sunlight, and views. The superimposition in the image addresses the need for improvements in Hong Kong’s housing conditions.

ROCCO Design Architects Limited, HKSAR Government Headquarters 香港特別行政區政府總部, 2011

This area is so beautiful. The interlocking building structure looks very cool, and that’s Tamar Park in front of it. The Central Western District Promenade is just ahead, and it’s definitely a great place to hang out and slow down in busy Hong Kong.

Aedas, THR350 and Art Community: Revitalisation Project at Mallory Street/Burrows Street, Wan Chai 灣仔茂蘿街／巴路士街「藝術社區」活化項目

I need to see this for myself. THR350 is a nine-storey private residence building in Wan Chai, and its design is inspired by the idea of barren rock and waterfall. Barren rock is portrayed in the straight-lined glass façade of the building while the idea of a waterfall has been transformed into the form of three stacked ice cubes that contains a sculptural staircase.

MTR Corporation, Connecting Communities

And of course, a classic aerial view of Hong Kong. I’m sure any Hong Konger can see which island this is! (It’s Kowloon with a bit of Hong Kong Island peeking in.)

Check out UABBHK’s website here for more.

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