French Photographer presents Singapore landmarks overrun by nature

SINGAPORE — Picture this: The rooftop Infinity Pool on the 57th floor of Marina Bay Sands filled with flora fauna. A flamingo — wings outstretched — stands at the edge of the pool. In the background is the familiar Singapore skyline — except that lush, green vegetation is climbing up the skyscrapers at the Marina Bay Financial Centre.

This surreal vision of Marina Bay Sands and its surrounding buildings is just one of five images of well-known landmarks in Singapore, as seen through the eyes of French photographer Chris Morin-Eitner.

The renowned photographer’s pieces, which will make their world premiere at the exhibition Once Upon A Time Tomorrow, are part of the Voilah! French Festival Singapore, which opens on Saturday (April 8), at Gardens by the Bay.

“The starting point of my work is a city where one clearly recognises an iconic contemporary building that reflects man’s power over nature,” said Morin-Eitner, who has presented images of structures such as the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty in a similar style. His images typically show landmarks overrun by nature and wildlife, presenting a dystopian view the world if humans were gone.

“This is by no means a pessimistic end-of-the-world type vision. On the contrary, it is a vision of a world that is quite idyllic — a newfound garden of Eden full of life, colours, shapes and poetry, where the freedom and unpredictability of nature has supplanted the hierarchy of angles and organised spaces,” he told TODAY.

For his Singapore pieces, he spent days traversing the city, taking snapshots of landmarks. He also visited the Singapore Zoo and the Jurong Bird Park for shots of animals such as the flamingo depicted in his Marina Bay Sands piece. In another work depicting the Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay, a gibbon swings merrily over the Skyway bridge, and an Orang Utan on the bridge peers at a peacock on the ground.

Morin-Eitner takes the raw footage and reworks the pieces digitally, treating the entire piece as he would a painting. He plays “with colour, shadows, textures, focus, and perspectives. I add trees, animals, plants, industrial wrecks” to create a new world.

The exhibition of his works show a total of 90 pieces, and the jumping-off point for these works were inspired by a visit to the Angkor Wat temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

At the time of their splendour in the 12th Century, the temples were “probably as imposing as today’s gigantic buildings”, said Morin-Eitner. He was struck by how then, as now, “man affirms his domination over nature, reflecting his need to repel and control the natural environment”.

As humanity moves into the future, Morin-Eitner, through his pieces, reflects on how the super-structures of today will evolve in time.

His pieces will be shown at Gardens by the Bay until May 21.

The annual Violah! French Festival will host an unmissable Voilah! Gourmet Picnic at the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage at the Singapore Botanic Gardens on Sunday. There, visitors can purchase and enjoy customised picnic baskets of French delicacies, while enjoying performances by Siong Leng Musical Ensemble. There, performing arts group Mademoiselle Paillette, will feature performers in over-the-top costumes on stilts and in giant bubbles who will entertain with its White Shadows show. Festivities begin at 7pm.

Organised by the French Embassy and Institut Français Singapour, this year’s festival presents more than 40 events and programmes under the theme “France Imagines, France Innovates”.

Marc Abensour, French Ambassador to Singapore, said in a statement that the festival highlights “the creativity expressed by both our French and Singaporean communities in areas such as arts and culture, science, and gastronomy”.

Voilah! 2017 will take place from April 8 to May 21. For programmes and performances, visit www.voilah.sg