Singapore Design Festival 2009 - Nature Borne Botanic Gardens

Singapore Botanic Gardens - Swan Lake
It's nice to know that some things never change. Like the Swan Lake at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. We never miss those two love swans.

Killing three birds with one stone at the Singapore Botanic Gardens:
1) Take my overseas cousin sight-seeing
2) Take a long needed nature stroll
3) Check out the Nature Borne Exhibit. Part of the Singapore Design Festival 2009

It turned out to be the most perfect mid-afternoon weather, right after a shower and with a cloudy over cast.

More than 25 sculptures and installations have been created by five Korean and five Singaporean designers and artists specially invited to take part in this unique exhibition. The exhibition, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, unites landscape design and public art.

The sculptures and installations are varied in medium and form with the central theme an interplay between Man and Nature – and the evolution of what is regarded as one’s natural environment.


'Bamboo' by Seo Jung Kug (Korea)




A contrast of real bamboo shoots and Seo's artwork - his Bamboo made of stainless steel and consists of sharp, spear-like sticks bored into the base. Stiff and warrior-like, they seem to act like a fence instead of a path to Nature.


'Planting Shadows' by Vertical Submarine (Singapore)
A bed of grey sunflowers.

“We were inspired by a Chinese poem by local writer Chien Swee-Teng on how a sunflower-plantation owner’s pact with the devil for success came at a price of osing his sight for the colours in his trade.” - Fiona Koh

Kim Hwang-Rok (Korea)
Bridging the divide between conceptual and sculptural form is a work by the Korean artist. His installation uses four delicate steel trees in subtle colors to reflect upon the passing of the four seasons — something not normally experienced in equatorial Singapore.

Other exhibits featured Singapore artists Jason Lim, Michael Le and Jason Wee. The beauty of the exhibits is how non intrusive they are in the midst of so much nature. So much so that many exhibits blended so well we couldn't tell them apart from the usual garden sculptures.


And before we left the gardens, I had to introduce my cousin to our Vanda Miss Joachim.

Read:
Singapore Design Festival 2007

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