PLACING HOME: WOODLANDS

Placing Home: Woodlands is a public art project that explores ideas of home and movement within Woodlands. Writer Pico Iyer once remarked that “movement is a fantastic privilege, [but] only has a meaning if you have a home to go back to”. What is home, though, if not only a dwelling place?

While a place is d efined by its historical and cultural identity, and a space can emerge when a physical area is imbued with social meanin gs, home is created when place and space converge – it is a h abitat for humanity associated with a piece of the soul. To experience home in a public domain is thus a way of encountering spaces in between places. Drawing from this concept, Placing Home: Woodlands presents five artworks in the neighbourhood that invite all to look at our surroundings with fresh eyes and ask questions about the world in which we live.

“S TA R D U S T” by late Indonesian architect and artist Eko Prawoto

Bamboo. Dimensions variable @ Admiralty Park, Singapore

“Stardust” consists of a group of bamboo shelter structures that were hand-built by late Indonesian architect and artist Eko Prawoto and his assistants. This artwork creates atmospheric communal spaces that are meant to provide more opportunities for people to come together, participate in shared activities, and engage with one another. Prawoto believes that all humans share a universal connection to nature which defines our existence, and Stardust is also an invitation to appreciate the simple beauty of our environment. Sit awhile inside. Watch rays of sunlight filter through the interwoven bamboo. Pause, to look – think – and feel.

 “THE HIDING PLACE” by artist Chiew Sien Kuan

Mixed media. 3m (L) x 2m (W) x 2.5m (H). @ Woodlands Waterfront Park

“Inspired by the idea of a self-contained and mobile shepherd’s hut, The Hiding Place is a pop-u p shelter that rolls the various spaces of a home (such as the kitchen, dining room and bedroom) all into one. The small cabin is decorated with used local furniture from the 1950s and 60s, evoking the rustic charm of farming communities where such makeshift shelters originated. Chiew likes the idea of shared spaces, and hopes that The Hiding Place will provide a comfortable atmosphere for friends and strangers alike to interact.

“JUST ANOTHER PARALLELED DAY” by artist Kayleigh Goh

Plywood board, cement and acrylic paints. 5.9m (L) x 3. 5m (W) 3.4m (H). @ Blk 823 W oodlands Street 82

Just Another Paralleled Day is a site-specific painting installation exploring Malaysian artist Kayleigh Goh’s personal experience of living in a border city. Though she has n ever lived in Woodlands, it is a t ransitional place for her that is strikingly familiar as she commuted between Johor Bahru and Singapore almost daily from 2014 to 2016 while studying here. The artwork draws inspiration from her journeys – from places to spaces, home to school, and room to studio – and reflects the psychological state of living between cities that often feels akin to living two parallel lives.

“HOW ARE THINGS” by artist Michael Lee

Holographic vinyl stickers. Dimensions variable. @Woodlands Stadium

“How Are Things” is a public art installation that addresses issues of human communication, object relations and visual perception. Using holographic stickers, this artwork transforms the 2000-seater grandstand of Woodlands Stadium facing an MRT track into a colossal text message that can only be viewed from a distance. Most clearly visible from the MRT between Woodlands and Marsiling stations, the artwork poses the casual question ‘How are things?’ in an unexpected manner to commuters. It nudges people to reflect on the status of issues of concern, their personal thoughts, feelings and well-being, or those of objects and the broader community, especially overlooked ones.

“IN THIS SPACE I WILL FIND YOU”  by artist Nhawfal Juma’at

Steel, stainless steel sheets in mirror finish. Dimensions variable. @Woodlands Waterfront Park

In This Space I Will Find You is an outdoor public art installation that draws inspiration from the geometric forms of Singapore’s housing estates. Consisting of mirrored columns that surround a cube-shaped pavilion, the installation has the paradoxical appearance of seeming both monumental yet light and insubstantial: present, yet almost dissolving into its environment. Its fort-like circular layout suggests a psychological stronghold, and acts as an in strument of expression that calls to mind the various prisms through which we view others and ourselves. Having seen the gradual development of Woodlands while growing up here, artist Nhawfal Juma’at wants to playfully remind us that home itself is a work in progress that constantly changes, with improvements and corrections made over time.