Inspired by Chinatown

SINGAPORE — The heart of Chinatown is not the most likely spot to come across a looming art installation, but for 10 days, there will be one right smack in the middle of Kreta Ayer Square, inspired by the traditional five-foot way and filled with contemporary art works.

The installation, which was put up on Friday (Oct 21) and runs until Oct 30, features interactive art works with improvised open artist jams and experiential theatre performances around the area as part of the 11th edition of 
Pop-Up Noise.

This year’s edition of Pop-Up Noise, an initiative of Noise Singapore — a platform for artists aged 35 and below to showcase their works — sees 31 artists exploring history and memory through experimental, site-specific 
works.

Led by a creative team comprising Jalyn Han, Joseph Nair and Xu Jingyi, the artists explore the ideas of space, memory and time while drawing inspiration from the community. They also focus on the community as its primary audience.

At the side of the square where seniors usually play chess, sometimes through the night, Erin Ng Wen Jie, who is known for her thought-provoking, upbeat and interactive art installations, has created a chess board that encourages participants to play the game and to make art at the same time.

Elaborating on how she came up with this idea, she said: “Speaking with these uncles (who play chess) was entertaining as they would chat with you candidly or even challenge you to a game of chess. I could see them deriving great joy from the games and interacting with other chess players. I wish to portray these otherwise invisible and unknown ‘colours’ to the audience through my work.”

Meanwhile, the amulet served as a starting point for Adeline Thng, 31, as she invites participants to read and receive blessings or wishes from residents that are placed in small cloth pouches that serve as amulets. “Traditionally, an amulet has been related to or involved with religious blessing. But in my work, I’m using the amulet as a form of blessing, which carries the value of humanity between the interviewed residents and 
participants,” she explained.

The young artist, who specialises in silkscreen printing, surface manipulation and paper cutting and has a diploma in fashion textiles from Lasalle College of the Arts, will inform participants about the residents who wrote the blessings and encourage them to write replies. “Sharing life stories is easy, but to share your blessing and words of advice to a stranger can be challenging,” Thng added.

On a similar note of conveying messages through the written word, Alvin Chai’s work is a nod to the long-gone letter-writers of Chinatown. It involves getting participants to write down personal messages to their loved ones on sky lanterns that have decorated Kreta 
Ayer Square.

Chai, 29, a self-described “theatre lighting guy” since 2000, said: “These stories will be ceremoniously displayed and illuminated around the set, which is beautifully designed to resemble a five-foot way, an architectural beauty inherited from the founding of modern Singapore.”

As most heritage enthusiasts know, five-foot ways can be found in traditional shophouses in Singapore and other Asian cities. It is primarily a sheltered walkway in front of each shopfront and, as the name suggests, the walkways are five feet across, providing shelter from the tropical heat and downpours.

For this edition of Pop-Up Noise, this structure seemed like a natural fit to the organisers. “The idea of evolving time, vanishing landscapes and the bridging of generations fits well in a five-foot way and balcony bridge formation, which acts as a versatile space for interactive artwork and performance,” shared Xu, who also designed the set along with designer Lim Xing Yee.

“It naturally weaves in the surrounding communities, residents, tourists and members of the public from all walks of life to become a vibrant, inclusive and intimate living space,” she added.

Pop-Up Noise: Soul Searching will run from now until Oct 30, from 10am to 10pm, at Kreta Ayer Square.