Visiting the National Gallery

Although the National Gallery has been open for a while now, I'd not had the opportunity to make a visit till recently.  And indeed, I'm sorry that I waited so long!

For it was an insightful and informative afternoon, where I had the opportunity to see artworks by South East Asian artists, and of Singaporean art in particular.

The National Gallery itself is a beautiful building.  The old Supreme Court and City Hall buildings were painstakingly remodelled and a connecting building inserted between the two.  It beautifully preserves the splendour of the old buildings whilst ensuring that they are fit for their new purpose.

I didn't really have the need or opportunity to visit the Supreme Court before (not being a lawyer nor a criminal) but I remember going to City Hall for my first job interview :-) The Public Service Commission (PSC) had its offices there and I have to admit that it was with some trepidation that I entered this imposing building to look for the interview room.  Not much remains that I can see (not that I remember much) of these old PSC offices but visitors to the old Supreme Court building can still view the Chief Justice's Offices, and the old cells where prisoners were held when not required in court.

But back to the paintings.   There are a few exhibitions going on at the National Gallery.  I went to "Reframing Modernism", which was in conjunction with the Pompidou Centre and featured European artists including Matisse and Picasso alongside Singapore and Southeast Asian painters of the same era.  But what I found more engrossing was "Siapa Nama Kamu  - Art in Singapore since the 19th Century".  Siapa Nama Kamu means "What is your name" in Malay, and hence this exhibition explores the Singapore identity through paintings.  These paintings give an insight into Singapore over the years just as much as they reveal the painters' own artistic development over time.  It was really interesting, for example, to see how Chen Wen His, well known for his "gibbons" paintings, painted in such vivid colours and in such "modern" styles!

It was also a great opportunity to view Georgette Chen's work - I hadn't seen many of her paintings till this visit.  She is really Singapore's great "impressionist painter" and her paintings of lotuses really brought to my mind Monet's famous water lilies.  By contrast, the quaint and vivid woodblock prints brought a smile to my face.

Best of all, the National Gallery helps you to bring your favourite paintings back with you!  The "Social Table" (you can see it as you leave the exhibition) allows you to select paintings and put them all together in one big picture.  Here's mine:

Here's to my next visit!

Journey to Pompeii

I have been on leave all this week. Aside from meeting up/having a meal with friends, and clearing my work email, I've taken the opp to do a little bumming around Singapore.  One item on the "to-do" list was visiting the Pompeii exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore - Pompeii : Life in a Roman Town 79CE.

It's been a while since I visited the Museum - in fact, I've not returned since my first visit soon after the Museum re-opened.  Instead, I visited the Peranakan museum a few times in the interim :-)  So it was probably time for another trip.  And the Pompeii exhibition was well worth the time.

The first thing which greets the visitor to the exhibition are casts of people and animals lying on the ground.  When Pompeii was excavated, the forms of those who died during the volcanic eruption were found - the ash had covered them and formed moulds around their dead bodies.  Whilst the bodies decayed over time, the shapes remaind. Particularly poignant (for me) was the cast of the little dog which had been chained up to guard his owner's property, whilst they fled to safety.  He died trying to escape the chain. Another cast was of a man, seated on the floor, with his hand covering his mouth in an attempt to keep the ash out.  But his  efforts, too, were in vain. 

The next stop is a short video, which attempts to reproduce the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on that fateful day in  79CE.  The eruption was actually recorded by the Roman letter writer Pliny the Younger (the Pepys of his day), who describes what happens in some detail - from the early part of the eruption to the subsequent darkening of the sky and the constant raining down of ashes.  Pliny was in Misenum, a nearby town, not in Pompeii itself, but he too had to flee the town in order to escape the volcanic ash and fumes. His uncle, however, had taken a boat out to study the volcano and also to mount some sort of rescue mission and perished in the attempt.

Subsequent rooms contain pottery, coins, weights, religious artefacts, jewellery and other items from the destroyed city. But my favourite room was the one containing the statues and beautiful frescos from the town. Some of the colours were still so rich and fresh, I had difficulties in believing that these were really almost 2000 years old.  According to another short video, the frescos were preserved so well because of the ash they had been buried in, following the eruption.  There was also a beautiful little mosaic fountain.  It is fascinating to think that this is just one small Roman town, not particularly exceptional, yet with people who appreciated beauty, art, and the pleasures of life.

I ended up buying a book on Pompeii, and with a wish to pay a visit to the ruined city one day.  I feel fortunate indeed to live in Singapore, far  away (relatively) from active volcanos. But at the end of it, it is indeed a reminder not to take for granted the blessings which we have, for life as we know it can indeed change overnight.

A somewhat pensive thought to end the year on!

p.s.  a few more photos on my Flickr page.