The last time I was in Singapore, one of my mates suggested a trip to various museums...and so I gladly agreed! We planned our trip...and ended up going to the National Museum of Singapore and the Singapore Art Museum (SAM). Managed to see lots of interesting exhibits, and since it was the Singapore Biennale, there were lots of art exhibits around. Was a great day for us!
The first thing we spotted before entering the museum - an outdoor exhibit with makeshift huts, supposedly to depict life in the village before Singapore became modernised. Pretty cool! I didn't see this exhibit previously.
Singapore's mass media (aka Mediacorp) was celebrating its 50 year anniversary, so there was a special segment going on, in the National Museum of Singapore. Lots of Singaporean dramas across different channels were displayed, and of course, some of the more iconic dramas were put on display...
These costumes were from some of the iconic dramas that were broadcast across the years...these included period dramas like "Return of the Condor Heroes", "The Little Nyonya", as well as more modern dramas like "Phua Chu Kang" (with the iconic bright yellow boots displayed of course!). When growing up, I remembered my grandma watching some of these dramas, and I definitely have watched some of them myself. I can still remember the theme song to the famous "Tofu Street" drama - which was aired in 1990s when I was still a kid...
I like to call this the Evolution of the TV. Well - from what I remember - this depicted how television was becoming increasingly popular and accessible to Singaporeans.
Who could ever forget to put film cameras and filming equipment on display? Everytime I see this, I feel happy...'cause I'm somewhat "in the camera industry" too! I love carrying my camera around!
Oh yes - there were magazine covers on display too! From the beginning of Singaporean mass media till now. Look how these have evolved over the years! I used to be a big fan of 8-Days and iWeekly because of the feature articles and the drama synopses. Nowadays I don't read them much. But this really brings back good memories!
Dining in the National Museum of Singapore was a wonderful experience. We stopped over at a small cafe at the back of the main building, also known as the Concourse. This glass-clad area was designed to be an extension of the original building (which was constructed in 1849).
FOOD!! I made a really good choice - the risotto was so amazing! Not too creamy, not too sticky...just right! Like what Mary Poppins would have said - "practically perfect in every way".
Walked through the chandelier exhibition - I think this was also part of the Singapore Biennale collection. These chandeliers came from many different parts of the world - including European countries like Sweden, Denmark, and were pretty amazing! The lighting was intriguing though - bright green was used to illuminate the chandeliers, and my mate quipped that it looked like some kinda mutated theme was going on in the room!
This culture rich area was so informative, and we were given audio guides too, to allow us to understand more about the cultures. I've chosen some of the exhibits which I found more interesting...and have featured them here. These include prayer altars, woven baskets, woven mats, photographs of historical events, a look at how Singapore was like in the 1950s...and of course, more televisions as part of depicting Singapore's modernisation in the 1970s. Oh - I should also mention - there were a number of exhibits depicting how manufacturing of clothing evolved, and how fashion also changed gradually.
Who could ever forget the Glass Passage - a well-lit area leading us to more live galleries. The iconic dome of the museum can be seen from here...
Passed through the Fashion Living Gallery on the same floor, and was intrigued by how style had evolved over the years. I should also mention - I'm still crazy about the beautiful flared-out skirt from the 1950s. Lots of volume indeed! Here're some snippets from the Fashion Living Gallery...there were also some vintage beauty products featured, including the face powder that my mum used to use when she was a teen! I can't believe that face powder is still popular these days. Looks like it IS really good!
I wouldn't be able to call myself a foodie...if I had skipped the Food Gallery. I just HAD to go through it!
The Food Gallery featured different iconic dishes in Singapore, including laksa, chicken rice, char kway teow, bak kut teh and nasi lemak. Some of the tools used to make these dishes were also featured, and of course, the food gallery featured things like tinkats (used to transport food), a giant wok (in the char kway teow section), dried herbs and recipes in Chinese (in the bak kut teh section)...and many others...
And the Food Gallery also had a new installation - a spice gallery! For some of the spices, we could open the bottles to take a closer look, and for others, we got to sniff the spices. Some of these included star anise, cumin, coriander, cinammon and curry leaves. Spices play an important role in cooking - and without them, we probably wouldn't be famous for our wonderful cuisines.
We moved on to SAM - where more quirky stuff awaited us! Had to leave early as it was threatening to rain, but nevertheless, here're some interesting stuff we saw.
First up - an exhibition featuring lots of skinny sticks carved out to look like exaggerated human silhouettes. We had to use a magnifying glass to get a closer look at some of them.
Sampan at the entrance of the SAM - with lots of empty bottles...
And a hill made ENTIRELY out of red seeds. From what I remember, these are sago seeds.
Spotted this little camera along the way too, and decided to have a pic of it 'cause it was cute!
Quirkiness at its best - in this makeshift clinic. Up till now, I still don't really get the names of the fictional "doctors". The clinic itself was empty, with someone standing in as a "receptionist". There were posters put up, as well as chairs with amazing artwork...
More quirkiness - with these crazy exhibits, including a bubbling cauldron, and a balloon that didn't burst despite two bricks being pressed against it. Really cool!
I really enjoyed this museum-hopping trip, and although I didn't really understand the rationale behind some of the quirky artwork, I was so glad to be able to take pics of 'em! Would like to visit again someday!