Singapore Bienalle 2011

The first day I was in Singapore on 15 May 2011 coincided with the last day of the two-month long Singapore Bienalle 2011 edition. Organised by the Singapore Art Museum, this is the third Bienalle after the first and second ones in 2006 and 2008. The Bienalle is an exhibition of contemporary visual arts from around the world.

The works of arts of 63 artists from 30 countries were showcased at four locations on the island. As it was the last day of the Bienalle, I only managed to visit the exhibitions at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) and its extension  Singapore Art Museum at 8 Queen Street (SAM @ 8Q).

There were many interesting works of arts by the artists involved. I'd like to post them here but to protect intellectual property rights, I've decided against it. By the way, Singapore Art Museum allows non-flash photography on its premises.

Interestingly too, two Malaysian, Ise (Roslisham Ismail) and Shooshie Sulaiman, were among the artists featured. In total 29 of the artists are from Asia. Someday, I hope someday Malaysia would also organise a similar event. In the meantime, I'm planning to be back for the next Singapore Biennale.

Singapore Biennale 2011 Bunting

Singapore Art Museum (SAM), organisers and one of the venues

Singapore Art Museum at 8 Queen Street (SAM @ 8Q)

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Painting Outside, Paintings Inside

A lone workman carrying out painting work on the outside walls of the Singapore Art Museum, housing many paintings inside. Photo taken on 15 May 2011 at 1.27PM.

Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, Singapore

This is a collection of photos of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, Singapore taken on 15 and 16 May 2011.

Built in 1932, the station was designed with Neo-Classical and Art Deco architecture external facades. The station is the southernmost terminus of the KTMB railway line that runs north-south of the Malay Peninsular. On 1 July 2011, however, this will change when the station is handed back to the Singaporean government and ceases to operate as a train station. The southernmost terminus of the KTMB railway line will be Woodlands, on the north part of the island.

Anyway, don't worry they building will be preserved in any development and in fact, the Preservation Monuments Board of Singapore has already declared the building the country's 64th National Monument. I'm sure it will be turned into something useful.

Station's front facade

Another view of the front facade

Platforms and Tracks

 Station waiting area with vault ceiling above

Federated Malay States Railways (FMSR) insignia

Two of the six murals

Another two of the six murals 

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Singapore Trip May 2011

Late last year, I had purchased return tickets  from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur on Firefly Airlines for the middle of May. Right around the time, I read that the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) Tanjong Pagar Railway Station in Singapore would cease operating on 1 July 2011.

The strangest thing about the station is that all immigrations and customs clearance into Malaysia is conducted by Malaysian authorities here at the station and the Singaporean one is done at Woodlands, further north on the island. Well, at least until 1 July. Due to this, I've decided to make a train trip to Singapore to experience the anomaly and also while the building is still functioning as a train station. By the way, the first trip I made to Singapore about 13 years ago was also through here.

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