The former Supreme Court and City Hall of Singapore was recently redesigned as the National Gallery, now housing art exhibitions by South East Asian artists. With its enthralling history as the landmark for the judiciary and government, the National Gallery is a place worth visiting for sure!
Because entrance to the National Gallery is free for Singaporeans (for our overseas friends you can check out the price list here), we certainly took our time and visited the Gallery two days in a row at different times, capturing a plethora of images. We should point out that even though Singaporeans get free entry, one would still need a ticket to walk around the premises (we had to learn it the hard way, albeit from a friendly security guard).
As law students, we are obviously intrigued by the architecture of the Gallery. We were admittedly more interested its historical significance rather than the art galleries and indeed, there was much more to see in the Gallery’s architecture.
We have a picture of how one of the courtrooms in the former Supreme Court looked like. Here’s a lovely image of Sandra in her younger days, pretending to be sombre-looking officials:
Sandra (far left) and her secondary school friends way back before the former Supreme Court was refurbished; back then, there were educational tours about the history of Singapore’s judiciary.
Scroll down to begin our journey through the National Gallery!
Day 1
Adjacent to the Gallery lies the current Supreme Court, a modern building housing the apex court of Singapore. Convenient mirror makes for convenient selfies!The road names, as depicting their locations, captures the prestige of the former Supreme Court and City Hall.Of old and new: juxtaposition of the former and current Supreme Court buildings.
The National Gallery remain a testament to the Neoclassical movement that influenced the British (including its architecture).🙂The floor directory of the National Gallery. It would take one a good few hours to comb through every exhibition and the layout of the Gallery itself!
The National Gallery caters to all age groups; here, an interactive maze puzzle (as played by Sandra).
How Damian got lost in an empty hall, no one knows.
The old Court Library is a beautifully shaped rotunda, with a high ceiling dome.
The hallways leading to the old courtrooms.
At the bottom of this picture lays a foundation stone and a time capsule, slated to be opened in the year 3000 (that’s quite a LONG while away heh).Sandra seems pleased to find the condition of the jail cells satisfactory (haha).Meanwhile, Damian is bemused at the jail cells failing to serve its function in keeping people in.The city skyline, as seen from the National Gallery.
Due to a lack of proper planning, we were chased out close to 7pm which is the closing time of the Gallery. Furthermore we did not manage to walk through the premises, so we decided to come back again the next day!
Day 2
This photo was intended to emulate multiple exposure shots by utilising the reflection of the glass walls; here the foyer surrounding the old Court Library is interposed against the garden walls outdoor.Playing with silhouettes!
Curiously, how did the bird get into an enclosed environment? Hmmmm.
One of the exhibitions (that we went to) that showcased some of the more interesting South East Asian art.
As always, we were creative with our instant films, and you can check out our prints below:
Multiple Exposure: With a well-intentioned dark shot of the Supreme Court Library, this ‘eerie’ photo was taken!An amazing fish-eye induced silhouette with the Court Library in the background!Taken on the rooftop of the National Gallery, we really enjoyed using the fish-eye lens on the Lomo Instant camera! A fun addition to any photographer’s arsenal surely!
The National Gallery is open daily and you can check out their opening hours here; we recommend spending a full day enjoying the architecture, history and the modern exhibitions!
Damian with Sandra 
Hey guys! Loving your blog! And… the new national gallery looks stunning! Hope to see y’all soon! 😀 Cheers.
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Thanks Eugene!!! 😀
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