Spot the Blue and Boats and Ships On the Bayfront MRT Mural - and more in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

As you rush into or out of the station you might be tempted to hurry past the long blue mural of boats and ships. I was in a hurry and took a photo of the mural and author's description to read later.

On my mobile phone I could hardly make out that the little blobs were boats. However, the next weekend I showed it to my husband and he blew up my picture on a big desktop screen. He was impressed by the variety of boats shown.

First, he noticed a boat with ice creams. Then a boat with fruit.

Then, different styles of boat, shown by their sails or curved bows. He guessed at or identified several. Can you see them?:

A clipper - with clipped sails, triangular

A schooner - with full sails

The curved up front of an Asian boat

Bay front MRT is underneath the distinctive Marina Bay Sands complex, with its triple towers, connected by a hotel, with an infinity swimming pool. You can buy a ticket for the observation deck, or book a table for a meal at the luxury restaurant with a view for a special occasion.

The Boats on the Mural

Our initial impression was that one artist must have spent hours painting all those little boats. No. Hours organizing the project. That boats were all drawn by children aged 7 to 12. So many families have their own connection to the mural.

Teco Enamel construction

I found a detailed description of the construction of the mural on the website of the company which provided the raw material for the construction. The product they supplied had to be able to deal with graffiti, not have colours which faded. The company is Taiwan Enamel Company Limited, for short their name is condensed to the word Teco.

Interestingly, the Teco company also makes enamel baths and bath accessories such as taps.

More Murals To See

They were also responsible for other murals you can see on the Downtown line (and on websites, and in my blog posts) such as a nearby station, Promenade, and up north in Woodlands South. Also other murals or signs in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Abu Dhabi, UAE which you can see on their websites

Useful Websites

Bayfront station

Mural Construction

https://taiwanenamel.com/projects/graphic/bayfront-mrt-station-singapore/

Singapore International Water Week

https://www.siww.com.sg/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayfront_MRT_station

Youtube  video of Singapore stations' murals

The Thinker by Rodin and thoughts on sitting and standing straight

Sculpture  The Thinker by Rodin in Singapore. One of many sculptures you see around Raffles Place (MRT train station) and Bayfront MRT.

At first sight the traditional sculpture seems a bit incongruous under a modern skyscraper. The whole thing is very odd, the sculpture's position and subject. Sculpture either relects the history and surroundings, such as a sculpture of a king or God or city benefactor associated wtih the specifica location or entire city and coutnry. Or it is an implant, an escape, to contemplate, which takes you out of the hustle and bustle and stops you rushing past, to read the plaque and think about another time and another place.

Whilst looking at The Thinker, you, the onlooker, become the Thinker. The model is thinking about somewhere else, whilst you are thinking about him.

The Pose and Posture
The poor man is hunched over. He will get back trouble. Perched on that backless stone. He needs a proper chair. Whatever was the sculpture thinking. Now, if I were a Health and Safety inspector, I would tell the artist that he has to provide proper back support for his models.

I have neck ache and back ache, as you will if you carry stuff around Singpaore, whether as a resident or a tourist, your shopping, a camera.

I treat this scupture as a reminder to stand up straight. This thinker is in a sorry way. I am reminded of the phrase which a late boss used to say to me, "You think too much". He (the subject of the sculpture) isn't into mindfulness, being in the moment, aware of his surroundings, is he?

Resarching Rodin
I thought that this sculpture was old. It has been around all my life. I have known about it since I was a student and travelled to France and read about art and architecture. I also saw a small version of it inside a gallery in Prague, the capital of the Czech Replublic. However, when I went back to the internet to thcek on the locations, I was surprised to read that it dates back to the unhealthy 1880s.

My Tour Guide Potential
I would go into full details f I were a tour guide. (Any offers or requests?  Actually you probably need a permit, but I could qualify as something else, translator. So I shall leave that for my next life. Meanwhsile, I shall stick to travel writing and photography and blogging.)

Researching The Sculpture
To my amazement, the history of the sculpture is that it was originally called The Poet. Poets are thinkers. They capture the thought of the moment and condense it. A poem is like a sculpture. The words focus on a visual image and the emotions it evokes, the time and the place preserved for the onlooker.

Naked Poet
Now, I am a poet. I write poety, and read aloud poetry. I do not sit in the nude writing poetry. (I sit at a desk beside a window, so my neighbours would not appreciate my sitting by a window or sliding door in the nude. I think it's illegal to sit nakes by doors and windows in Singapore, folowing complaints from families in skyscrapers who overlooked naked ladies advertising short term session in flats in blocks of flats alongside family dwellings.)

Hell
Before the sculpture was to be a poet, it was to be part of a larger work about Hell. Ah - the hell of backache. A sculpture means many things to many people.

If you think you keep seeing The Thinker, and wonder whether one well-travelled sculpture is being shipped about and borrowed for exhibitions, not necessarily. You may have seen it large and then smaller, because several copies were made in bronze from the original cast, in two sizes, so there are ten or twenty altogether, maybe large ones or twenty large and small versions, depending how you count them.

You can also buy a miniature of the sculpture to sit on your desktop or nearby shelf for inspiration, less than $100, maybe for yourself or somebody else as a gift.

The Thinker by Rodin. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Where to see The Thinker:

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Musée Rodin, Paris, France

Singapore near Raffles station, or walk from Bayfront around the waterside to the skyscrapers

Useful Websites

https://www.fishpond.com.sg/Toys/Thinker-By-Rodin-Statue-Bronze-Colour-13cm-Culture-Spot/

singaporeair.com

visitsingapore.com

visittheusa.com

See my posts on sculpture in London, England. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Art Box For Food, Wine and Fun at Bayfront June 1st-3rd

We went to Artbox last year. We liked it so much we went two days running. But the second day it was busier, more crowded, with some things sold out.

Apparently the event started elsewhere in Asia, in Thailand, which explains the large number of Thai food stalls. It has been on at two weekends this year, the end of May and start June. My family are enjoy the wine tasting events. An email from Cellaraid alerted us to the event. Other people are into funky hairslides, clothes, bags and souvenirs. Just a jolly day out.

Thai teas and couple cup, two flavours and two straws. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

The nearby MRT train station is Bayfront. I have been to the station many times without really thinking about the name. However, it's really handy. That station is on the bay front, fabulous view of skyscrapers such as the landmark Marina Bay Sands, like a giant cricket stump of triple towers.

To get to another MRT station, Raffles, names after Singapore's founder, you might decide to call Grab which offers taxis and private cars, if that's what need. If you are laden with purchases, you might not want to walk all the way to Raffles Place. However, we did, and found two other events to watch beside the waterfront.

More information from:
http://www.visitsingapore.com/en/

https://www.grab.com/sg/taxi/

https://www.misstamchiak.com/artbox-singapore-2018/

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.