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Digital animation brings S'pore’s lush rainforests to life at National Museum

SINGAPORE — Enter a digital rainforest where you will be able to interact with your surroundings, including “capturing” animals living in the forests.

SINGAPORE — Enter a digital rainforest where you will be able to interact with your surroundings, including “capturing” animals living in the forests.

Central to the two new permanent installations at the revamped National Museum’s Glass Rotunda is a lush virtual landscape of flora and fauna.

“Story of the Forest” is a larger-than-life interactive digital-art installation that is created by internationally renowned Japanese digital-art collective teamLab, and the “Singapore, Very Old Tree” is created by acclaimed local photographer and artist Robert Zhao.

Inspired by the National Museum of Singapore’s prized William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings, “Story of the Forest” transforms 69 drawings into digital animated illustrations that come to life and interact with visitors as they make their way down the Glass Rotunda.

A mobile application can be downloaded, with which visitors can “hunt” and “capture” the flora and fauna that reside in the Glass Rotunda.

If you think it sounds a lot like Pokemon Go, that is where the inspiration came from, said the National Museum of Singapore’s assistant curator Iman Ismail, 35. “When you capture these animals, not only do you have the animated image of the creature, but also (the) information about the animal, which is very closely tied to our collection.”

The installation is 15m high and has a 170m passage that stretches down to the base of the Glass Rotunda. “Story of the Forest” will feature a wide range of flora, and visitors will be able to encounter various animals such an animated Malayan Tapir or mousedeer with which they can interact, as well as see various flowers bloom as they walk through the exhibit.

Founder of teamLab, Toshiyuki Inoko, said this digital artwork installation has been the most challenging such project for the team so far due to the massive size of the Glass Rotunda. “Our team was immensely inspired by the intricate drawings from the William Farquhar Collection while conceptualising this groundbreaking installation… We believe that this will be an unforgettable experience for everyone.”

At the bottom of the Glass Rotunda is the “Singapore, Very Old Tree” exhibit by Zhao.

Taking inspiration from one of the oldest postcards found in the National Archives of Singapore, depicting an unspecified tree dating from the year 1904, Zhao’s exhibit showcases 17 images of trees found around Singapore, and also highlights intimate stories of each so as to give a different perspective of Singapore’s history.

Zhao said: “Trees are living markers of history, and are monuments that embody a special meaning in the nation’s collective and individual experiences. We hope this exhibit will spark conversations and stories about home and belonging.”

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