Imaginarium: Into the Space of Time
ReadDauntless time travellers! Join us as we examine the concept of time through the tales and theories that have shaped our memories and futures, and discover what time means to different people in different cultures! Here we go!
Two handymen sweep trash for 12 hours, indicating the time as they go. Creating and erasing sections of the clock, minute by minute, they tell the time through a highly physical and labour-intensive process. Their seemingly meaningless effort is actually carefully calculated and precise. This artwork is part of the artist’s ‘Real Time’ series of four 12-hour films, in which people’s actions, rather than traditional clocks, present the passage of time. How would you measure the passing of time?
Is it better to listen or to be heard? Where does your voice go when you lose it? "the megaphone project" is an interactive sound installation that brings together the worlds of private and public broadcast through a game of sound and physical play. Through contributing your gestures and voices, you can help to bring the artwork to life!
Inspired by the imaginative play of childhood where you can be anyone, anywhere, the artist has included references from pop culture and his childhood memories in this detailed and colourful illustration of Singapore’s landscape. Can you recognise some of them?
What is the soundtrack of your childhood? The murals that span three floors in this stairwell are based on childhood songs from the artist’s early years. He views such timeless songs as a form of communication of hopes and prayers from parents to their children, especially in a changing world. The cheerful songs and murals celebrate the joy of childhood innocence, and reflect the different stages of a child’s development as you move from the ground to the top floor.
In a room designed to reference the chamber of a camera obscura, you are invited to peer through peepholes on the walls and crank the mutoscopes to be transported back to the past or be propelled into the future. For the artist, time is a space for memory and illusion, and he has created an immersive installation through the exploration of old and new animation devices. Because of how our brains retain an image within a split second, animation devices make meaning through movement and visual memory.
Is a video a glimpse into the past or a moment captured for the future? This artwork explores the human desire to capture, store and share memories and occurrences. In an age of social and mass media, we question if transient moments and feelings can truly be recorded and immortalised.
Through a field of motion-activated fiber optic lights, the artwork invites visitors to visualise their impact on the environment, and the role they play in determining our future.
Be pleasantly surprised with the reactions you get from this immersive and interactive installation. Raise your hands to bring flowers to bloom in Spring, morph into a mythical creature in Summer, jump to play with forest animals in Autumn, and become a snowman in Winter! The artist shares how Japanese culture and emotions are strongly affected by changes in the seasons, yet how Japanese people co-exist with nature. She encourages visitors to consider how human presence can impact nature and the environment.
Passage (2018) by The GedAze ProjectSingapore Art Museum
In this interactive and immersive installation, the space is filled with memories hidden in comets surrounding the gallery. Imagine yourself as the sun, the moon, a shooting star or a comet. You have a symbolic place in this universe.
Did you know...
'Passage' is constructed entirely out of fabrics and nearly 200 rolls of yarn? That's more than 200,000 feet long – enough to reach space!
Inspired by connect-the-dots books of her childhood, the artist suggests how decisions made at each stage of life can make a difference to the final person. Eventually, the lines on our faces reveal how much wisdom we have gained through experience, time and grace.
We hope you have enjoyed this story!
Singapore Art Museum
