Following from our earlier website entry, the Future World Exhibition, we continue our fascinations with museum! We loooooove going to museums in general, because it gives us a chance to gain knowledge about events and experiences that we normally would not encounter in our daily lives! The ArtScience Museum is one such location which allows us to do so. We attended two exhibitions which is still being hosted there (at the time of this entry): NASA – A Human Adventure and Journey to Infinity: Escher’s World of Wonder. Here, we brought our dependable cameras, namely the the Fujifilm XT-10 and the Mint Instantflex!
Before heading to the museum, we had a chance to capture some quick shots at the nearby Marina Bay Sands shopping mall:
On the ground floor, there is a man-made river that runs through part of the concourse, and can be crossed by small wooden boats!A long exposure shot (slightly overexposed) with the magnificently large shopping mall. One can faintly see the white moving images along the escalators and concourse!
NASA – A Human Adventure
This stunning exhibition tells the tale of man exploring space, since the “Space Race” initiated in the 20th century (notably between USA and the former USSR) until today. There were many relics of the past, such as smaller replicas of the original space shuttles, items of interest that astronauts brought, and even the earlier cameras (such as the Hasselblad 500c)! Most notably, the exhibition demonstrates the persistence and resolve of Man to go beyond the big blue Earth.
The television was ‘broadcasting’ the speech made by President JFK in 1961: “We choose to go to the moon”.The replica Sputnik satellite, made by the USSR in 1957.Memorabilia of the USSR’s astronauts and their space voyages.Capturing the back of a hugeeeeee space shuttle; the exhibition was full of dim lights, so it was a challenge to capture photos with the InstantFlex!The same thrusters, as seen from another angle.The space shuttle is deployed in several stages in order to reach its destination!One of the early space suits worn by astronauts; we certainly don’t remember such suits being used nowadays, so it is clear that technology has evolved quite a bit!Film shots of the Hasselblad which were brought back to Earth!The Hasselblad 500 which went to space was sold for almost US$1 million; the camera had to be modified for use in space!This space of the exhibition featured more interesting items, such as the view atop a makeshift space shuttle!Inside the cockpit of the space shuttle, the lighting, dials and knobs sure confused us!
Journey to Infinity: Escher’s World of Wonder
The other exhibition which we visited showcased the works of M. C. Escher, a renowned Dutch graphic artist who created mathematically-inspired works of art. We recognised many of his artwork even though we did not know the creator, and we were privileged to learn more about Escher, his motivations and life story!
Escher’s work includes patterns, such as the pink shapes which fit into an ever-expanding tessellation. Below, children are having fun by joining the same shapes together.Here, Damian and Sandra’s sister are involved in rolling a DIY music scale with dots punctured on it through a music box, thereby playing music!This picture may have been underexposed, but the sepia tone creates a mysterious vibe!At the exhibition, we also had a chance to be part of the installation: here is the well-known optical illusion, which distorts the mind into thinking that Sandra is smaller than Damian (when it’s not really the case!) due to the proportion of the room.This quote is also present on the dark slide of some Impossible Project films!This installation features thousands of folded paper cranes, which is hung in the air and mimics a flock of birds!
What happens when you put mirrors along all the walls of a room? Near infinity shots!Other visitors enjoying the various works of Escher on display!
Visiting museums allows us to take our minds off ‘reality’ and step into the shoes of other people, places or events being exhibited! Furthermore, we do find inspiration in some of the works (such as Escher’s optical illusions) and it would be interesting to recreate them in our photos! We note that the exhibitions at the ArtScience Museum are ending in a few weeks, so for our readers from Singapore, be sure to catch them before they go!
Damian with Sandra 