50 Bridges
50 Bridges
50 Bridges
SG50 was an important milestone for Singapore. It was an opportunity to reflect on our nation-building journey 2015 was a special year for Singapore. The 50th anniversary of its emergence of a nation, and a celebration of
and to remind ourselves of the beliefs and values on which the foundations of our nation were built. It was a time all that had been achieved by this remarkable group of people. Appropriately, plans were made to celebrate in
for Singaporeans to come together as one people and for our friends around the world to celebrate this significant style, with the opening of iconic buildings, the South East Asian Games, and an outsized national day.
year with us.
For Australians in Singapore, the year was special too. While Singapore’s success is hers alone, Australians have watched her achievements with
We were delighted when the Australian High Commission embarked on the ’50 Bridges’ initiative to introduce a slice of Australian life to our admiration. And, since Australia was the first country to open diplomatic relations with the fledgling Singapore in 1965, 2015 was also the 50th
heartlands. Vibrant, creative and characteristically Australian, ’50 Bridges’ reached out to many in Singapore through street art, public performances, anniversary of our bilateral relationship.
and even barbeques. These activities resonated strongly with the spirit of SG50 - strengthening community bonds and bringing people of different
backgrounds together in their shared appreciation for arts and culture. The collaborations between Singaporean and Australian artists have also It seemed appropriate for Australia to make some contribution to mark these milestones. But how to do that in a way that would make an impact in
deepened ties among the arts and culture communities in both countries. a year of dizzying celebration? And how to leave a mark which was both authentic to Australia and valued by our Singaporean friends?
At the same time, ’50 Bridges’ highlights the strong relations and long-standing friendship that Australia and Singapore share. Our bilateral relationship Over a bottle of Tasmanian whiskey, in a memorable night at the Australian Residence, we hatched ’50 Bridges’. Our plan was three-fold:
is underpinned by the warmth of our people-to-people ties. An important aspect of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) announced by our
leaders last year is the strengthening of people-to-people ties through cultural exchanges. The Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in • First, to mount our contribution to the 50th in Singapore’s ‘heartlands’, away from the steel and glass towers of the city, and closer to the human
the Field of Arts and Culture, signed last year in conjunction with the CSP, will further enhance our linkages with Australia by facilitating more artist centre of Singapore;
exchanges and cultural collaborations.
• Second, to do something that was eye-catching, contemporary and ‘edgy’;
On behalf of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, I would like to express my appreciation to the Australian High Commission for
their thoughtful contribution to Singapore’s SG50 celebrations. The ’50 Bridges’ initiative was a meaningful way to mark the 50th anniversary • Third, to ensure our contribution was both characteristically Australian, and something that would endure as a memory of the 50th celebrations and
of Singapore-Australia bilateral relations, and leaves a lasting legacy to the friendship between Singapore and Australia. I look forward to more Australia’s part in it.
opportunities for cultural cooperation between Australia and Singapore as we continue our journey into the next 50 years.
We planned three elements to ’50 Bridges’ – 50 works of street art, 50 performances in non-traditional performance spaces and, on one special
night, 50 simultaneous BBQs.
This book focusses on the street art component. It depicts each of the 50 artworks, how they relate to their heartlands environment, and it gives
some clues to how it felt “behind the scenes”. It highlights, I think, the quality of the artworks, and the enduring character of the contribution that
they constitute.
The fulfilment of this large project was a genuine ‘Team Australia’ effort. It owes much to the Artistic Director, Gabrielle Cummins, whose vision and
commitment were vital to the project’s success. I am grateful to the artists for sharing their talent with us. I am indebted to the Australian business
community, which added massively to the Australian Government’s seed funding for the project. To the many Singapore Government agencies, led
by MCCY, who supported us, thank you so much. For my own team at the High Commission, led by Deputy High Commissioner Adrian Lochrin, I
have nothing but praise and deep appreciation.
I hope that you enjoy the presentation of this Australian contribution to Singapore’s 50th, and that this volume continues to tell the story of our
warm friendship and strengthening partnership.
East
James Cook University 16 (external wall facing side entrance) 36 Depot Heights Shopping Centre
1 (high wall facing expressway) “Gotong Royong” - TR853-1 “The Canopy” - Zero
“Take Time” - Adnate
Singapore Zoo (Australian Outback exhibit) 37 Dawson Place (entrance)
’
2 (student recreation area) 17 “2 Koalas” - Regan Tamanui (HA-HA) “Singapore Turtle” - Mike Makatron
ithiss iiss ges “Counter Colours” - TR853-1 18 “Australian Animals” - Regan Tamanui (HA-HA)
38 Rail Corridor Art Space
th
Brid 3 (back wall)
Central
“Ned x4” - Regan Tamanui (HA-HA)
‘50
“Dreamland Figures” - Regan Tamanui (HA-HA)
19 Kampong Glam (Rear of 36 Kandahar Street) 39 Kent Ridge Secondary School
15 13 to
4 Circuit Road Hawker Centre “Dream Voyager” - Zero 41 “Wildlife” - Regan Tamanui (HA-HA)
12 “Smiles for Miles” - Yok & Sheryo
Tekka Centre Market (pillars facing Buffalo Road) 42 Gek Poh Shopping Centre (beside #01-322)
5 East Coast Lagoon Food Centre 20 “Cricket 1” - Regan Tamanui (HA-HA) “Silent Shout” - Adnate
17 “Baskets” - Yok & Sheryo 21 “Cricket 2” - Regan Tamanui (HA-HA)
22 “Cricket 3” - Regan Tamanui (HA-HA) Pioneer Mall (high wall next to main road)
6
23 “Tekka Trio” - TR853-1 43 “This Is Now” - Adnate
8 North
Rivervale Plaza
24
25
“Tekka Trio” - TR853-1
“Tekka Trio” - TR853-1 Taman Jurong Shopping Centre
42 6 (high wall facing main entrance) 44 (beside #01-42 facing Blk 178)
“Double Flowers” - Mike Makatron Australian High Commission “West Side Story” - Zero
43 44
4 26 “Australian Animals 2” - Regan Tamanui (HA-HA)
26 20 19 1
5 7 (in front of #01-41) 27 “Through The Vortex” (with animation) - Vexta 45 (beside POSB ATM facing market)
39 30
38 “Trials and Tribulations” - Zero 28 “Guestbook” - TR853-1 “Line” - TR853-1
37 Map
50 31 rail 29 “Digeridude” - TR853-1
36 32 ork T Australian International School 46 (near ATM facing market)
34 Artw 8 “The Magic Watering Can” - TR853-1 30 Bras Basah Complex “Gatherings” - Tom Civil
9 “Merlion” - Mike Makatron (beside public toilet at level 1)
10 “Dance of Transformation” - Vexta “Rainbow Lands” - Yok & Sheryo 47 (facing Community Club)
“Sequence” - TR853-1
11 (high wall visible from CTE) 31 Chinatown Complex
“A Different Way” - Adnate (external yellow wall facing Smith Street) 48 (opposite vehicle drop off point)
“The Path” - Tom Civil “Lion Glitch” - Yok & Sheryo
12 Vista Point (near Kopitiam)
“Waters Edge” - Tom Civil 49 (adjacent to NTUC)
Woodlands Mart
West
Tiong Bahru Market (Both sides of stairwell)
“Jurong Smiles” - Yok & Sheryo
13 (level 1 near toilets) 32 “Peacock” - Mike Makatron 50 HDB Block 728, Clementi West Street 2
“Flow” - TR853-1 33 “Peacock Feather” - Mike Makatron (external lift well facing West Coast Road)
“Light” - Adnate
14 (high wall near spiral staircase) Telok Blangah Rise Market
“Community” - Tom Civil 34 (Roof of market)
“Full Moon Rising” - Tom Civil
Woodlands North Plaza
15 (level 1 near security counter) 35 (Back of market)
1 “The Bridge” - Zero “The Lion City” - Zero, Yok & Sheryo 2
ADNATE
“Take Time”
James Cook
University
3 4
5 6
TR853-1
“Counter Colours”
James Cook
University
7 8
Regan
Tamanui
(HA-HA)
“Dreamland Figures”
James Cook
University
9 10
YOK
&
SHERYO
11
T
his piece uses patterns and motifs we have encountered from hopping around Singapore
and South East Asia. The patterns work together to form a giant smiley face.
12
YOK
&
SHERYO
“Baskets”
East Coast Lagoon
Food Centre
T
his wall depicts a favourite pastime in the surrounding parks and courts of the East Coast
Park area. Using patterns inspired by batik basket weaving and local tapestries it’s a great
merger of east and west.
13 14
Mike
Makatron
“Double Flowers”
Rivervale Plaza
15 16
17 18
Zero
“Trials
and Tribulations”
Rivervale Plaza
S
engkang’s history as a bustling fishing port is depicted in this mural. Its tributaries feed
the main river, as our unique and diverse culture and background, as people create their
own unique Singaporean narrative.
19 20
TR853-1
“The Magic
Watering Can”
Australian
International School
21 22
Mike
Makatron
“Merlion”
Australian
International School
23 24
Vexta
10
“Dance Of
Transformation”
Australian
International School
A
pair of glossy starlings spar as they transition from youth to adulthood, fighting, dancing
are rituals we all dance in life. The diamond shape stage they appear in front of is made
of shards, symbolically representing the substance particles that make up all matter.
25 26
ADNATE
11
“A Different Way”
Australian
International School
27 28
29 30
TOM
CIVIL
12
“Waters Edge”
Vista Point
T
his mural shows a story of ‘Stick Folk’ exploring and playing at the water’s edge. Like
fairies, guardian angels, or sprites, ‘Stick Folk’ are ancestral spirits of a new folklore. The
mural shows sticks, leaves, frangipani (Plumeria) flowers, a crab claw and shells washed up
on the water’s edge at different tide lines. As a dragonfly hovers over head, representing our
connection to water, as it metamorphosis’s from nymphs in water to land.
31 32
33 34
TR853-1
13
“Flow”
Woodlands Mart
35 36
TOM
CIVIL
14
“Community”
Woodlands Mart
T
his mural shows the simple concept of people coming together. This wall hopes to
communicate, without language, this simple concept of people, the environment and
nothing more, which shows our connections to each other and to land. The red, yellow
and orange colours hope to warm the space with the aim to make a nice entrance to the
neighbourhood mall. Also, I like that people can make up their own story of the mural and it
can also act to spark conversations.
37 38
Zero
15
“The Bridge”
Woodlands North
Plaza
A
s we look into our heritage and past, the north reminds us of our associative links within
our history. As the gateway to our neighbours, we always look back at our past as a
lesson towards our progression for a better future.
39 40
TR853-1
16
“Gotong Royong”
Woodlands North
Plaza
41 42
Regan
Tamanui
(HA-HA)
17
“2 Koalas”
Singapore Zoo
43 44
Regan
Tamanui
(HA-HA)
18
“Australian Animals”
Singapore Zoo
45 46
Zero
19
“Dream Voyager”
Haji Lane
47 48
49 50
Regan
Tamanui
(HA-HA)
20
“Cricket 1”
Tekka Centre Market
51 52
Regan
Tamanui
(HA-HA)
21
“Cricket 2”
Tekka Centre Market
53 54
Regan
Tamanui
(HA-HA)
22
“Cricket 3”
Tekka Centre Market
55 56
57 58
TR853-1
23
“Tekka Trio”
Tekka Centre Market
59 60
61 62
TR853-1
24
“Tekka Trio”
Tekka Centre Market
63 64
TR853-1
25
“Tekka Trio”
Tekka Centre Market
65 66
67 68
Regan
Tamanui
(HA-HA)
26
“Australian Animals
2”
Australian High
Commission
69 70
Vexta
27
“Through the
Vortex”
Australian High
Commission
A meditation on our ability to transcend space and time within our subconscious and
connect with all matter surrounding us.
71 72
TR853-1
28
“Guestbook”
Australian High
Commission
73 74
TR853-1
29
“Digeridude”
Australian High
Commission
75 76
77 78
YOK
&
SHERYO
30
“Rainbow Lands”
Bras Basah Complex
T
his work reminisces about the older Singapore by utilising retro colours, references to 80’s
playground equipment, and a homage to the old Singapore phone boxes. The work is completed
in a playful way and flows from left to right, finishing off with pattern work inspired by Batik motifs.
79 80
81 82
TOM
CIVIL
31
“The Path”
Chinatown Complex
T
his mural shows the path of life and how we find ourselves within it. I hope people can maybe identify with a
character in the story of the mural. I also like that people can make their own story of what the mural is trying
to say – is it a parade, a race, a migration, or just a path with people walking in the same direction? I chose the
red, yellow and gold to link into the colours of Chinatown. There is also the lone ‘spirit’ within the mural with the
circle of dots around them. I have my own story connected to this character, but again I like that the viewer can
make their own story around this symbology. Is this character meant to represent the viewer or artist telling the
story, a spirit ancestor, an aura, a leader, or something else?
83 84
85 86
Mike
Makatron
32
“Peacock”
Tiong Bahru Market
87 88
89 90
Mike
Makatron
33
“Peacock Feather”
Tiong Bahru Market
91 92
TOM
CIVIL
34
T
his painting is in the tradition of the ‘tree of life’ concept, with a full moon behind framing the
story. This mural shows the story of a single ‘stick folk’ sitting on the branch of a tree. Like
fairies, guardian angels, or sprites, to me, ‘stick folk’ are ancestral spirits of a new folklore.
93 94
95 96
YOK
&
Zero SHERYO
35
T
his work references the folklore that states that Sang Nila Utama allegedly saw a lion
when he founded Singapura in 1299. We have used colour, shape and pattern to depict
this well-known story in a contemporary way.
97 98
Zero
36
“The Canopy”
Depot Heights
T he canopy provides shade and protects, it houses and absorbs, it envelops and engages.
It is a roof over our heads, eases our bodies in rest. It is home, it is life.
99 100
Mike
Makatron
37
“Singapore Turtle”
Dawson Place
101 102
Regan
Tamanui
(HA-HA)
38
“Ned x 4”
Rail Corridor Art
Space
103 104
105 106
Regan
Tamanui
(HA-HA)
39 to 41
“Wildlife”
Kent Ridge Secondary
School
107 108
ADNATE
42
“Silent Shout”
Gek Poh Shopping
Centre
109 110
ADNATE
43
“This Is Now”
Pioneer Mall
111 112
113 114
Zero
44
T
he West Side Story is a homage to Jurong as the bastion and the point of reference as the forerunner of the
start of Singapore’s industrialisation period. Jurong paved the way for Singapore as an establishment that
lauds itself as the purveyor of productivity and skilled labour. The vibrancy of the mural depicts Jurong in its
modern current state, not only as an industrial giant but its surrounding residential area or as Singaporeans call it,
115 “the heartlands”. Welcome to the Jurong Heartland! 116
TR853-1
45
“Line”
Taman Jurong
Shopping Centre
117 118
TOM
CIVIL
46
“Gatherings”
Taman Jurong
Shopping Centre
T
his mural shows the simple concept of people coming together. The wall hopes to
communicate, without language, this simple concept of people and the environment and
nothing more, which show our connections to each other and to land. The red, yellow
and orange colours hope to warm the space with the aim to make a nice local hang-out area
where people can sit, chat and play, while making up their own story of the mural.
119 120
TR853-1
47
“Sequence”
Taman Jurong
Shopping Centre
121 122
123 124
YOK
&
SHERYO
48
“Lion Glitch”
Taman Jurong
Shopping Centre
S ingapore is loosely translated to mean ‘lion city’. The Tamon Jurong piece depicts a lion
entering the Singapore river, perhaps as part of its transformation into a merlion.
125 126
YOK
&
SHERYO
49
“Jurong Smiles”
Taman Jurong
Shopping Centre
T he local smiles we have received have inspired us to create this positive piece.
127 128
ADNATE
50
“Light”
HDB Block 728,
Clementi West St 2
129 130
131 132
Artist profiles
The scale and unique delivery of his works amplify his amazing ability to transmit the An active member of Everfresh studio since 2006, Mike has exhibited extensively
emotions of his subjects. through Australia as well as group shows in Brazil, Japan, Miami and New York, and has
works in private and public collections locally and abroad, including acquisitions by the
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
133 134
Regan Tamanui (HAHA) Sheryo
T S
amanui’s work explores the idea of collective consciousness, and ‘the power of mass heryo is a Brooklyn based artist from Singapore who started painting in the streets in
media within popular culture. 2005. In 2008, she started her travels and moved to Cambodia in 2011.
He examines how the reality TV phenomena, the religion of sport, criminal lifestyles, get Working from a home studio in the red light district of Phnom Penh, she delved deeper
rich quick and instant fame become the obsessions of the new virtues of the 21st century. into her twisted world of exquisite lines and murky mythology. Her art seeks to investigate,
analyse and document the human psyche and frustrations towards contemporary lifestyles
By using multi-layered stencils, HA-HA works with images sourced directly from media to and its mercurial nature.
tell a story of the here and now’.
She works across mediums, from 2D painting to 3D sculptures, installations and moving
The irony of the commentary on myth-making is not lost on Tamanui; he is well images.
aware that the act of commenting on myth creates more myth. Indeed his repetitive
Kelly images in public places are perpetuating on book covers (Peter Carey’s Kelly She exhibited and painted murals around the world. Since moving to New York, she
Novel) and public walls (Melbourne, San Francisco, Berlin), feeding imaginations in has been painting her way to the Burgeoning street art scene.
surprising places.
Like Nolan, Tamanui has, and is, redefining and creating an icon with his Kelly
series.
135 136
Tom Civil Tr853-1
T S
om Civil is interested in how street art, graffiti and murals create community, mark ufian Hamri is an interdisciplinary artist with knowledge deeply rooted in graffiti and
space, build a sense of place and act as a human-scaled form of urban architecture. street art.
His street work and murals have been featured in various publications including Melbourne More affectionately known as TR853-1 (Pronounced TraseOne), he first made his mark
Stencil Art Capital, Street/Studio, Space Invaders (NGA), Street Art Now, the film ‘Rash’, on the streets in 1999, painting street murals and creating illustrations for shops, festivals
the ABC TV series and NotQuiteArt, as a feature artist in the Melbourne Stencil Festival and ad hoc advertisements on commission.
2004/05/09 and the Cans festival in London 2008.
Sufian has had his work exhibited in numerous commissioned art projects as well as
He has also exhibited walk through installations and worked closely with his brother gallery exhibitions on both local and global platform.
Ned, who died from cancer in late 2010.
With a string of heavy weight clientele under his belt, namely OCBC bank, Facebook,
Tom has given workshops and talks in different communities about murals and the Singapore GP and PUMA, Sufian has built a decent following of collectors in his art
political nature of street art. works.
He is also the cofounder of a small Melbourne based publisher, Breakdown Press. Sufian is interested in social/cultural behaviour and current affairs, and very
often engages the viewer to identify underlying issues hidden beneath his
subversively playful and conceptually witty intervention works.
His paintings are not merely visuals on surface; they interact with the canvas or
its space to create a more intimate relationship between subject and surface.
137 138
Vexta Yok
V I
exta is a self-taught street artist from Sydney, Australia, living in Brooklyn, New f the artwork produced by Yok ever came to life, it would be a fantastic army of
York. eccentric, moustached, bike riding Gargoyle-esque creatures who may or may not have
connections with Australian bushrangers.
Vexta is recognized in the street art scene as one of the leading artists. She was recently
named one of the important women artists, who are redefining street art by The Guardian The character-based works of this Australian-born artist have been spotted on streets of
(2015). countries near and far from as early on as 2000 as he’s been making his way around the
world.
Integral to Vexta’s practice is bringing art to the people on the streets.
A yearning to see and do more elsewhere saw him spend time and exhibit in places
Known by her quintessential use of florescent colours and unique use of stencils like Melbourne, Sydney, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Berlin, New York, Tokyo and
in a painterly fashion within her self-taught aesthetic, vexta reinterprets the sacred London. Since 2011 The Yok together with Sheryo share a studio in Brooklyn, New
elements within cosmology, mythology, life/death and the feminine, navigating York where they collaborate on walls, paintings and sculptural pieces.
these themes through the common threads that bind our experiences. Juxtaposing
animals and human forms amid her symbolic, geometric shapes, she provides an
insight into our fundamental engagement with the human condition.
She has exhibited extensively across Australia, Europe and North America,
including The National Gallery of Australia and has her work held in numerous
public, academic and private collections globally.
139 140
ZERO
A
recipient of the National Arts Council Young Artists Award for the year 2013,
Mohammed Zulkarnaen Othman, commonly known by the artist moniker ZERO has
been a practising artist since late 2003.
He is an unconventional practice, opting to delve into the subculture norms of street art
and graffiti.
His notions of a street artist being a pseudo documentarist of contemporary urban life
is reflected in his growth as an artist throughout the years.
His artistic research and works revolve around contemporary issues on urban social
life and space, current affairs and adverse effects of pop culture.
141 142
ArtisTic Director
Gabrielle Cummins
W
hen stories are told, bridges of understanding are built - connecting one to the
other, artist to audience, country to country, past to future. Stories are the gifts
of innovative ideas, of entertainment, of cultural engagement.
Some of the most thought provoking and enduring stories come from artists on
unexpected platforms, called to their craft in interesting points in time. 2015, the year
of Singapore’s Golden Jubilee and the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between
Singapore and Australia, provided a rich artistic opportunity in an important historic
moment. We wanted to celebrate with Singaporeans at this time, whilst showing a little
of ourselves, in a way that Singaporeans would be engaged.
And so, 50 Bridges was born – a contemporary, playful, innovative arts and culture
campaign, by Australian and Singaporean artists, for the people of Singapore,
delivered in heartland communities. 50 Bridges provided many delightfully
unexpected interactions in places such as hawkers’ markets, HDB hubs and
train stations, for an eclectic collection of artists expressing a multitude of new
ideas. We had film-makers, puppeteers and street artists not only offering their
art, but creating stories with the participation of their audience, in everyday
venues designed to capture people’s imagination. With 50 street paintings and
50 performances and screenings of an animated history of Singapore, artist and
audience came together to weave a strange magic, and create a living chapter of
this 50-year-old story.
We hope that 50 Bridges with its vibrant mix of momentary, semi-permanent and
permanent art, has and will continue to provide enjoyment for Singaporeans in a way that
transcends culture, language and time, in a continual personal process with each and every
encounter.
143 144
Our Partners
O
n behalf of all sponsors
The 50 Bridges celebration was a gift of Australian community self expression to the heartlands of
Singapore for her 50th birthday. I lived in Collingwood Melbourne from the early 1990s when street and stencil
art was called graffiti and the artist deemed unlawful. Over the course of the next 15 years the merit, technique
and ideology of the art itself became an excepted part of Australian inner city life, replacing modern homogeneity.
It was with a wry smile that during 2013 I entered the Singapore High Commissioner’s residence emblazoned in
Street art and saw the seeds of this movement transported to South East Asia for the first time. When Visy was
requested to sponsor street art for the 50 Bridges celebration, it did cross my mind, that sponsoring such an anti-
establishment phenomenon would by its very nature quell the freedom of expression that is at the root of the art
form and produce a watered down form of the art itself. Actually, I believe the effect, was the opposite in that the
quality of the art Australia gifted Singapore, delivered 50 small rallying points for community engagement. The art
itself illicited the communal discussion and critique at the heart of modern creativity; while the South East Asian
context, the artform and corporate sponsorship delivered the type of chemistry to propel the Singapore Australian
relationship for the next 50 years.
Jonathan Glickfield
Managing Director
Visy - Foundation Sponsor
Many Singapore Government agencies helped us to find walls, and eased our way through the necessary
processes. Without the support of the Housing Development Board, the National Environment Agency, and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we could not have brought the project to fruition.
Special thanks to the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth for their support from day one of the project.
Deputy Secretary Rosa Daniel was a particular source of inspiration. And Zheng Yuepeng deserves some sort of
medal for his efficiency, sound judgement and good humour in navigating us through potential obstacles.
Within the High Commission, a large number of colleagues made key contributions. Estrellita Boskovic, Chua Hwa
Chiwn, Natalie Dollard, Eddie Lim, Elissa Maloney, Brett Moseley, Daniel Ross, Ruth Spence, Anne Witheford and
Clele White deserve special mention.
Finally, the design of this book, and all of the artwork for ‘50 Bridges’ is the work - indeed the genius - of the
multi-talented Ethan Guo. Brilliant Ethan!
147 148