Tuesday, March 10, 2020

My favourite Singapore statues - the bowing, smiling figures




I saw wonderful happy bowing statues in a mall in Singapore. Not just the bowing, but the lovely smiles.

You can find samples to buy at Ode to art.

Others are in public places for all to see. Check out Capitaland who run many malls.

Where to see them

Raffles City

How to remember the sculptor's name
The sculptor's name is  Gao Xiao Wu.

If you look it up in Wikipedia, you find somebody of the same name from an earlier era, with the two last names run together. In Chinese the family or clan names comes first.

Gao. I think of it as Gow, rhyming with ow. Wiki gives you pronunciations.

The middle name, which is the first name in Chinese, ends with the same letters, ao.
The middles name starts with Xi, same as Xian where the terracotta warriors were found and can be seen. Xi pronounced Shi or she. Wu is easy to remember. Woo the customer or client. So now looking at Gao Xiao Wu, the sculptor's name is much easier to recognize and remember/

Capitaland also has other amusing sculptures such as
1 Man on a bench, a figure sitting reading a book on the bench where you can sit near a taxi stand.
2 Characters in conversation. Look carefully and you will see that their faces are masks.

Useful Websites
https://www.publicarttrust.sg/Public-Art/Big-Dream-No-4
https://www.odetoart.com/?p=artist&a=62,Gao%20Xiao%20Wu
http://art.capitaland.com
#ArtAtCapitaLand
https://www.capitaland.com/international/en/art-at-capitaland/our-properties/offices/man-on-the-bench.html
https://www.capitaland.com/international/en/art-at-capitaland/our-properties/capitahub/la-conversation.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g294265-d11824838-Reviews-Joseph_Conrad_Korzeniowski-Singapore.html

About the Author
Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

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