This month, Elmich products have popped up once again in the heart of the city as part of an architectural art installation. This imaginative installation is part of the annual i Light festival lighting up the city during the months of January and February.
To mark the two-century anniversary of the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles on the shores of Singapore, a Bicentennial Edition of the annual i Light festival, is on show this year. i Light Singapore – Bicentennial Edition is the leading sustainable light art festival in Asia, showcasing 33 art installations built with energy-saving lighting or environmentally-friendly materials to encourage festival goers and the general public to adopt sustainable habits in their everyday lives.
Elmich is proud to be a sponsor for one of the installations this year, designed and built by 3 architectural students from NUS. As the first prize winners of the i Light Student Award, they were able to make their concept ‘Cenotaph for a Stone” a reality at this year’s festival. Having experienced working within the confines of theoretical projects in an academic setting, this installation marks the first physical product of their collaboration together. Built over the deck at Waterboat House Garden along the Singapore River, the imaginative structure serves as a reinterpretation of the Singapore Stone — what it was, what it is and what it could have been.
In the students’ concept booklet, they describe the idea behind the structure as such:
The Singapore Stone is one of our 11 national treasures, and is associated Singapore’s deeper history before 1819, thus holding significant value in Singapore’s history. Inscribed with 52 lines in an indecipherable language (interpreted as a mix of 14th century Javanese and Sanksrit), speculations on its contents recount the possibilities of Singapore’s ties to the Majapahit era, between the 12th – 14th century. However, due to its destruction in 1843, with only a portion of the inscriptions salvaged and kept, its purpose remains cryptic.
51 “fragments” are used in the installation, referencing to the 52 lines of indecipherable lines of inscriptions. 1 fragment is left out intentionally, with an empty pedestal, hinting to the part of stone that is currently being housed in the National Museum (the only piece where its whereabouts are known).
The “fragments” are arranged from a spread out, conical orientation, emanating from a single point. This is to mimic freeze frame shots of common masonry explosion/ quarry mining, hinting back to its destruction in 1843.
To further accentuate the state of explosion, the fragments will light up in an orchestrated fashion, so that it radiates from the “empty pedestal”, slowly cascading to the rest of the installation, like a pulse. This will hopefully animate the explosive nature of the installation.
Elmich VersiJack® was used in the installation to create a raised platform in order to hide electrical cables and utilities neatly underneath. The adjustable height pedestals proved easy to adjust and was able to fit the students’ requirements as needed. As the structure is only partially sheltered, it was important for the components used to be durable and weather resistant.
Elmich would like to congratulate Bryan Joseph Cadag, Loo Quan Le and Zulkarnain Bin Mohd Zin from National University Singapore for their impressive achievement!
Visit the installation in person at i Light Singapore – Bicentennial Edition, until the 24th of February.