Singapore is often renowned for her fantastic modern skyline which defines the city and stays lit throughout the night. Blending that urban lighting sprawl together with the love for arts is the i Light show which runs at the Marina promenade for this month.
Show Details
For a limited time, the show runs from 9th March to the 1st April 2018 at the Marina Bay Waterfront. It employs an open concept with exhibits littered throughout the vicinity. It claims to be Asia’s Leading sustainable light art festival.
The light show has an open concept idea. The displays starts off from the Customs house near Clifford pier, running all along the Marina Bay, past the Promontory Carnival and Red Dot museum towards the Marina Bay shops. Here, you can interact with the exhibits either digitally or physically. Additionally, the main event runs daily from 7:30pm to 11:00pm, with extensions to midnight on Fridays & Saturdays.
Moreover, admission is free, with almost all the items on display are free to access. However, the organizers claim that some charges apply for some attractions, with more details on their partner event website. That was not the case during my visit. It was free to use them all.
Let’s have a run through what’s on display.
Meet the Octopoda
Fancy some Amigo and Amigo Drumming? Located in front of Marina Bay Event Square is the Octopoda. It is an interactive Australian light installation that invites audiences to become part of his tentacle percussion ensemble. Moreover, the free standing octopus is suspended up from a jig superstructure.
Also, it features eight independent tentacle drums. Banging on each drum beyond a certain threshold activates a unique display of colour and light. Notably, these lights are animated and can be seen travelling directed into Octopoda head, lighting him up and bringing it to life.
Dreamscape at the Mist Walk
Furthermore, one of the nicer looking exhibits in the show. Brought to by Magdalena Radziszewska from Poland. Dreamscape is a mystical display of gothic looking flowers. Moreover, it is seemingly made with the texture of crushed paper and sets a dark mysterious tone in contrast to the myriad of bright exhibits in the show.
Additionally, Radziszewska, in her display synopsis speaks of supernatural and magical properties being attributed to flowers for centuries. Their delicacy and mysteriousness seem ephemeral and out of this world. Often, you can see people just standing in front of the exhibit, staring and marveling at the sight in front of them.
Tap to the Kloud
An array of white polygons located along the pavements on the Marina Boulevard. This assortment of locally-made interactive light exhibits are brought to you by students from Nanyang Polytechnic (School of Interactive and Digital Media). Also, the interactive light installation claims that it that connects people and the colours of their ever-changing emotions. These emotions are portrayed by the assortment of colours which the box displays in response to how they are.
Here, patrons can tap on the “cloud” (Kloud) shaped boxes, causing them to change and pulse their lights within the boxes to the external disturbance. Moreover, patrons via the web can select and alter the colours on multiple surfaces through the app.
Through the Bay area, you can find the i Light Event map, which serves to show you the entire event map as well as directions to the two next closest exhibit displays.
Moreover, the Kloud exhibit is also situated by the Breeze Shelters. This is where the Chandelier of Spirits display reside. It is brought to you by Living Spirits from Thailand. Furthermore, it is an assortment set of animating light bulbs strung from permanent shelters along the Marina broadwalk by the Promontory. It is located besides a peculiar installation of lit mushrooms titled Whareatua – Field of Dreams by Jamie Boynton, New Zealand.
Located by the Lower Board Walk is Light Play. It is the works by the School of Arts, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University featuring programmable lights.
Tweet to the MailboX
MailboX is probably one of the few most eye catching and interactive digital exhibits on the show. It can read tweets and display the message with a lightshow. The interactive display piece is a joint work by a number of collaborative artists from Australia. This includes artists Christopher Simpson, Isabella Bain, Khanh Nguyen, James Rotanson, Anthony Zeater & Steven Bai.
During the period of the i Light show, participants can send a tweet using the hashtag #ilightmarinabay. Often, you can see crowds gathered around the MailboX as patrons composes tweets to have them displayed. Henceforth, your sent tweets will be read and your message will be automatically displayed on the MailboX light surfaces. Moreover, the lights can pulse, animate and change colours. It engages the sender with the audience around the installation.
Enter The Passage
Canadian Serge Maheu installation is one of the iconic “show boys” of the i Light show. Passage is an immersive, minimalist, contemplative and interactive artwork. Moreover, it explores the emotional connections people develop with the use of light and sound. Structurely, it comprises of a series of lit rings which animates and pulses from the movement of the people walking the passage.
Furthermore, the installation uses a series of light gates to track your movement as you walk along the passage. Light animations will follow your movement through the passage. You got to keep walking to keep the light installation going. Additionally, there will be helpers on standby (especially on weekends) to regulate crowd flow given the installation’s popularity.
Moreover, with its strategic location by the Marina Lower Boardwalk, it offers great photo opportunities being flanked by the skyline of Singapore central business district. The passage just visually stands out in the dark surroundings with its line of concentric lit rings.
Market of Artists and Designers
In addition to the light show, the Market of Artists and Designers is a market place running concurrently with the Light show. The spot hawks a variety of novelty items along the Marina Broadwalk area. Also, the marketplace is distinguished by a line of white canvas tents accentuated with LEDs lights strung between the tent roof. It gives the marketplace a rather dreamy atmosphere.
However, this is definitely no flea market. You can find mostly lifestyle and health products on sale here by independent sellers. Items of trade includes clothing, bags, trinkets, jewelry as well as aroma therapy products. However, most of the items sold are rather, over priced novelty items.
All In all, i Light Marina Bay is a nice and refreshing compliment to the spectacular Marina Bay reservoir area. It adds more energy to the area and serves as an excellent location to showcase the arts, by the Bay. You are good through all the exhibits for an evening. Especially if you were to have a go at interacting with the exhibits.
Definitely a fun evening out!
[…] the temporary street art event typically runs in the middle of the year. The last time we visited the event on 2018. Furthermore, just like the last i-Lights, the exhibitions this year are dotted with independent […]