Tension by House of VSE

The key themes of “Tension”, “Expose”, “Pull”, and “Skin Deep”, what comes to your mind? From a personal daily perspective, work or artistic perspective, what does each word means to you? A truly amazing art experience and exhibition that is at the highest level of international Biennale arts standard, invoking an inner spirit inside us, challenging our human perception, and connections, with life, living, society, culture, arts and many other areas.

On a personal. professional and creative (as a photographer, visual storyteller, writer myself) note, I had a (almost personalised) very immersive, interactive, experimental hands on experience with the “artworks” and in-depth chats with the artists Wei and Karolina, as well as with Gary. 

“Tension” and “Expose”

My first phase of my experiences were getting to know about “Tension”, something that I am facing in multiple facades across various front, from personal, to the running of my photography business, as a creative in a judgemental, digital/social media world, against people who judge me and like to tell me what to do/what I must do, and many more. 

Have I “Expose” myself to my own vulnerabilities that I faced from my exposure to other people, society, from my own personal and professional challenges to improve and breakthrough my limitations, capabilities and boundaries? Where can I go from here? How can I move on to the next few levels while facing the onslaught of “Tension” from the outside world?

Beginning of Something Experiential? 

While I was immersing myself, exploring into the various arts experiences, I slowly returned back to the real world. It’s not over yet, this is just the beginning of something experiential (and maybe something more of an artistic/creative enlightenment), I would explore further and deeper into the key themes of “Tension”, “Expose”, “Pull”, and “Skin deep”, sharing more in-depth thoughts, feelings and emotions from myself, as well as getting artists Wei and Karolina thoughts and views on those key themes, in an upcoming article sometime down the road.

Tension is brought to you by House of VSE (@houseofvse), featuring artists Wei (@weidoesntmatter) and Karolina (@karolinaprom). If you like to experience this immersive, thought provoking, mind opening and interactive artistic world of Tension by House of VSE, please reach out to them!

* A TGH Photography x Canon EOS R6 Mark II Explorer Series Production * 

The post Tension by House of VSE appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Photographer/Creative profile questions

1) Can you give us a short introduction on yourself and your creative fields of expertise?

Hello, my name is Agan Harahap. Photographer and artist based in Jogja, Indonesia. My base artistic expertise is photography and digital manipulation. And recently I’m using AI for my latest artworks.

2) What is the inspiration and the stories behind your creative work?

I always get my inspiration from my timeline in social media. Mostly is about politic, religion and history. I offer some silly solution for many problems that appear in society.

3) Do you have a piece of creative artwork or photograph that means a lot to you? Can you share more about this artwork?

The artwork that means a lot for me is my series ‘Mardijker Photo Studio’. I’m talking about nation identity and cultural originality and it’s connections with our society today.

4) Can you share about your journey as a creative/artist? What were some of the challenges, difficulties and setbacks that you faced in your creative journey? 

Well, it’s start in early 2000s at the beginning of digital transitions from manual. When suddenly we can almost create anything with digital software. At that time I already work as a photographer in music magazine. And I always challenged my self to dig more about other possibilities with digital photography. Asking my self is photography still can believed as a medium that can represent the reality. 

5) I read that you started off as an illustrator and digital imaging artist, what are the stories behind these experiences and how did you transition to photography?

As a graphic designer student, I have also learn photography. At that time, I don’t like photography because its expensive and don’t make sense to me. Because at that time I think photography is only for the people who cannot make a proper drawing or painting to express their ideas. And photography is their solution to cover up their inability to make art. Hahaha. But I have to pass the photography test in my study. So I learn how to manipulate photo with digital software. And I pass the test with success. And after graduate, I worked as a freelance illustrator and then become a digital imaging artist in some photography company before I become photographer in Trax Magazine. A music based magazine in Jakarta from 2006 – 2012. 

Generative AI Interview Questions

6) A topic of intense discussion currently is Artificial Intelligence (AI), what are your personal views and thoughts on AI? What is the potential positive and negative impact on the creative industry?

Based on my experienced in early 2000s when digital suddenly takeover many part in creative industry, So for me this is the new era when we have to preparing our self to this new kind of technology. For me, the main impact is the people’s way of thinking and behavior about things will change. And it will become a problem for people who cannot adapt their selves to this AI. So, like it or not, after more than 2 years we stayed at home because of covid, now suddenly we have to face this kind of technology and we have to adapt and adjust our self with it.

7) Do you think Generative AI can actually help us creatives, artists and photographers in ways that we may not see due to our personal bias or blind spots? Or do you think the onslaught of Generative AI will be detrimental for creatives? 

Before AI can help us in creativity, we first have to adapt and adjust ourself. Because at first, we have to positioning ourself between this new technology and our personal and social interest. For me, it’s quite similar like digital photography at the beginning, at the first we may think ‘Oh, with this tools, we don’t need dark room process anymore and we can save more time to create photography. But in the reality, there are many other problems arise due to this digital technology. Like for example, people start to questioning the reality behind photography ect. And after social media era, there is much more problems. We can see the rapid change in many aspects of our live. And that’s exactly will going to happen in our society with this AI technology.

Generative AI will be detrimental for creatives? It’s depend on how you adapt yourself. 

8) Which segments of the creative and arts industry would be most impacted by Generative AI? Artists? Photographers? Filmmakers?

All.

9) Is Generative AI is going to take away the livelihood of the art and creative industries? What are your personal thoughts and views on this point?

At the beginning, the answer is yes. But along with that, the emergence of AI technology, it will open up many new opportunities that may have never been thought of.

10) How do you envision the future for creatives in a new digital and social media world, powered by AI?

Hahaha I can’t imagine it yet. But I believe, sooner or later this AI will change people’s mindset and behavior.

Thank you Agan!  

I would like to say a big thank you to Agan Harahap for putting aside his precious time and agreeing to be interviewed for my article! From a fellow photographer/visual storyteller myself to another fellow photographer/visual storyteller, it’s always an interesting, enriching and enlightening experience to hear about creative/artist/photographer different perspectives, ideas and views, on photography and creative industries, their stories and journeys. 

Agan’s views and perspectives on generative AI would be part of my ongoing TGH Technology AI research/learning series, with an upcoming special article coverage on the impacts of AI on photography and creative industries that would be published on my TGH Photography and Travel portal/blog. 

This special interview with Agan also marks the start of my new personal project series that I mentioned earlier in my earlier article “Reflecting H1 2023 & Q2 2023 (Photography and Travel)”, on interviewing and featuring creatives from various disciplines.

When you visit Singapore, let’s catch up and have a chat over coffee over everything and anything about photography!

Have you visit Living Pictures – Photography in Southeast Asia exhibition?

Have you visit Living Pictures – Photography in Southeast Asia exhibition? If you haven’t visit this amazing photography exhibition, you have to plan a visit to National Gallery Singapore and check out this exhibition! 

The exhibition size, magnitude, and diversity of photography works on display, some 300 of them would blow you away, ranging from colonial archival images, studio portraits, and documentary photography to photo albums, social media photos and modern photography in both offline and online formats.

Living Pictures – Photography in Southeast Asia at National Gallery Singapore

Date and Time 

• 2nd December 2022 to 20th August 2023
• 10am to 7pm daily

Location 

• City Hall Wing, Level 3, Singtel Special Exhibition Gallery 

Admission Fees: (General Admission)

• Free for Singaporeans and PRs

Standard

• $20 
• Non-Singaporeans/PRs aged 13 to 59

Concession

• $15 
• Non-Singaporeans/PRs seniors (aged 65 & above) and children (aged 7 to 12)
• Overseas students and teachers

*I would like to thank National Gallery Singapore and Ogilvy for liaising and facilitating the interview with Agan Harahap.*  

The post A Special Visual Storyteller/Creative Artist Interview with Agan Harahap appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Who is Very Small Exhibition?

Artist Wei, the creative mind and soul behind Very Small Exhibition. You might have seen, heard or interacted with his colourful pop-up artworks display. My first experience with Very Small Exhibition was the Malay Heritage Centre x Very Small Exhibition supporting World Mental Health Day in 2021, followed by Bring LOVE Everywhere in Singapore at East Coast Park, the prelude to his huge personal project bringing LOVE around Singapore. 

As I continued to follow and document Very Small Exhibition through their Bring LOVE Everywhere in Singapore, I began a new artistic visual storytelling journey. If you to know more in detail on this, this story “How I Met/Follow/Support Very Small Exhibition & Bring LOVE Everywhere” would reveal more. 

Oh yes, you might have heard of this pretty recent viral contemporary arts exhibition that they worked and collaborated with Japanese artist Yui Ozaki, where they explored and discovered your inner “Chin-Chin” world.

Your Artist Neighbour Exhibition

“Your Artist Neighbour Exhibition” is a new series of public space art exhibition by Artist Wei from Very Small Exhibition. They are going around Singapore at different neighbourhoods, collaborating with different artists at the respective neighbourhoods that they lived in. This is a pop-up artworks exhibition, just one night only each time. 

Just one night only, just a few hours, catch it if you can! With this “Your Artist Neighbour Exhibition”, it marks the start of another creative arts visual storytelling journey for me, I just hope that I am able to document and photograph all (if not most of them) of this ongoing Your Artist Neighbour Exhibition series artistic journeys by Very Small Exhibition. 

Your Artist Neighbour Exhibition 1

Your Artist Neighbour Exhibition 1 took place in the Mountbatten heartlands, at a small alley walkway in a private residential estate. A series of different coloured illuminated stones placed together in a wavy form, lighted up by the light emitting umbrellas, formed by artist Wei vision and feel. 

When you view the wavy colourful artworks, what could be story behind it? What does it mean to you? How does the various colours and artworks join from one to the other? Is it therapeutic for you to feel and connect with, by placing yourselves in between the two artworks and connect them together with you?

Your Artist Neighbour Exhibition 2

Your Artist Neighbour Exhibition 2 took place in the Simei HDB heartlands, with artist Joanne Lim from Joanne Lim Studio collaborating with artist Wei. 

The light emitting umbrellas came into play again, lighting up the drawings with chalk on the floor. This is Arts in Your Neighbourhood, it’s fun, interactive, letting people (from young and old) unleash their creativity and artistic talent in drawing with chalk. For some of us, it’s back to school days, for a younger generation, this might be the first time playing with chalk. 

Drawing and painting, whether with chalk, not only is it fun for the children, it’s also fun for the adults, that we saw when we were there. Arts can be a form of therapy, something that we might need it more than we ever know, in our stressful and pressure cooker living environment, swarmed by digital media and social media sharing.

It was more than just fun drawing, we met new people, make new friends, chatting and sharing a common interest in interactive arts and craft.

Since I am pretty bad at drawing, I will use my photography and visual storytelling talents instead, to bring out my creative arts visuals stories to the world. 

Is Your Artist Neighbour Exhibition coming to my neighbourhood?

That’s a very good question! I don’t have an answer to this question, I am just as curious as you, on when and where would Your Artist Neighbour Exhibition is going to visit, and is there any artist that is going to collaborate with Very Small Exhibition? 

Do remember to follow Very Small Exhibition on Instagram and Facebook Page, for their updates, where they are going to pop up with their bright, colourful and interactive artworks. 

Collaborate with Very Small Exhibition in my neighbourhood?

Should I collaborate with Very Small Exhibition as a collaborating artist, combining my photography + light painting with artist Wei’s bright and colourful artworks?

* A TGH Photography x Canon EOS R6 Mark II Explorer Series Production *

The post Your Artist Neighbour Exhibition by Very Small Exhibition appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Who is Yui Ozaki? 

Yui Ozaki is a Prague-based Japanese artist, her artworks express her playful and curious personality.

Yui-san loves to explore gender, sexuality and comedy through her artworks and in the form of various mediums. Her colourful visual artworks contain and deliver hidden meanings, allowing her to express her artistic vision and challenging the societal norms in the world of art. 

Yui-san uses her superpower humour to raise awareness about gender stereotypes, breaking down barriers to create a timeless and uninhibited connection with her audience of all ages. Her artworks serve as a form of commentary on the taboos that we see and feel in society today. She hopes to inspire people through her artworks to let it go, the inhibitions holding them back and embracing the inner creativity, inner playfulness, bringing out the fun and joy trapped inside them.

Through her contemporary and colourful artworks, she strives to spark meaningful conversations with her audience, encouraging viewers to question the status quo. 

Explore, Interact, Discover and Engage with Your Inner “Chin-Chin” World

The world we live in, the human race and we human beings have our own set of stereotypes, thinking, biases and mentality, from gender, culture to societal. How much do we know ourselves the biases that we have inside our heart, mind and soul without us really knowing or understanding the meanings behind it?

Through the contemporary art medium platform, this is the time for you to explore. We can learn and unlearn about our stereotypes, thinking and biases. Probably in everyone of us, we all have our own inner “Chin-Chin” world, that we may not have known or realised. Would you like to explore, interact and discover your inner “Chin-Chin” world? Once done, how would you like to engage with your inner “Chin-Chin” world?

Touch the cute piece of artwork hanging in the gallery, unzip it and discover for yourself, what is the message for you inside that artwork? 

When you enter into 7879 Gallery and Clayworks, you can’t miss this tall and big colourful rainbow artwork on the right side of the entrance. This is a hallmark of artist Wei from Very Small Exhibition, whose Bring LOVE Everywhere artwork attracted heartwarming support and fanfare (Check out my story on how I met/follow/support Very Small Exhibition and Bring LOVE Everywhere). 

Artists Yui and Wei combined their artistic talents and strengths together, to produce this iconic artwork symbol, bright, colourful, friendly and huggable. 

While you are reading the write-ups on the various contemporary artworks on display, I would like you to engage and interact with them. What are some of the societal thinking, biases, mentality and challenges in relation to gender and its stereotypes? 

How do you feel about the issues, the stereotypes and biases that are entrenched inside us? How can we take the steps to change for the better of ourselves, the society and the world?

Breaking through our own biases and stereotypes

Whether you are viewing Chin-Chin ちんちん – Yui Ozaki 2023 Art Exhibition in person at the gallery, or on social media platforms, when you are viewing the artworks for the very first time, there will be something that comes into your mind immediately, you know it yourself and I would let you decide for yourself how you want to describe your thoughts and experiences. 

We all have our own stereotypes and biases entrenched deeply inside us. We need to break through our own biases and stereotypes. Therefore when you are viewing Yui-san thought provoking artworks, tell yourself to put aside those stereotypes and biases inside you, approach the artworks deeper and further into the stories behind them, understanding and discovering the issues that the society is still facing today.

From gender issues, inequality and challenges, societal expectations on arts, work, how we live, the world might have changed and transformed over the centuries. The world is still far from perfect, each one of us still can play our part to be the change, to make the change, break the barriers, stereotypes, biases and mentality.

In a modern digital world swamped with internet and social media consumption, arts and culture could be one of our key elements that the world needs as we navigate into a new future.

I met Artist Yui Ozaki!

I met artist Yui-san at the official opening event, she was very friendly, more than willing to share about her stories, thoughts, feelings and experiences on what goes on behind her various artworks on display. 

Thanks to Wei and Gary from House of VSE, it was a great experience chatting with creative artists from other creative genres across from my photography and visual storytelling.

Personally, I appreciate exchanges with artists from other creative disciplines, as maybe some day, I might be inspired to embark on my own cross/inter-disciplinary artwork production along with my photography and visual storytelling.

Chin-Chin ちんちん – Yui Ozaki 2023 ART EXHIBITION

Exhibition Details

• Dates: 7th April to 2nd May 2023
• Hours: 1pm to 8pm (Closed on Mondays)
• Venue: 105 Desker Road #01-01

“Chin-Chin” is brought to you by House of VSE and 7879 Gallery and Clayworks. Yui Ozaki is represented by House of VSE, if you have any enquiries, please contact House of VSE.

* A TGH Photography x Canon EOS R50 Explorer Series Production *

The post Explore and Discover Your Inner “Chin-Chin” World appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

At NHB inaugural Craft X Design showcase held at the National Museum of Singapore, visitors can get up close and personal with four prototypes of contemporary and creative amalgamation of tradition, heritage and culture, combined with modern contemporary living and design through the world, eyes, craft and skillsets of the cultural and heritage practitioners and contemporary modern designers coming together in a unique and eye opening experience.

Craft X Design was introduced by NHB, part of their efforts under Our SG Heritage Plan to cultivate stronger public awareness and appreciation of Singapore’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. This helps to create platforms to showcase Singapore’s rich and diverse trades and crafts. 

Mr Yeo Kirk Siang, Director, Heritage Research & Assessment, NHB, said, “By actively nurturing partnerships between crafts persons and local designers to produce contemporary products using traditional craft techniques or materials, we aim to revitalise local traditional crafts, by opening up new markets and new customer bases, and thus ensuring their long-term sustainability and commercial viability. The result of the pilot edition of Craft X Design conveys the important message that traditional crafts continue to have a place and relevance in our society today through innovation.” 

Traditional Chinese Lanterns | Harmony Spheres 

Practitioner: Jimm Wong

Designers: Melvin Ong, Xu Xiao (NextOfKin Creatives)

Traditional Chinese lanterns have a long tradition and history dating back to the Han Dynasty (206BC to 220AD). In Singapore, they are traditionally hung in places of worship and clan associations, and during festivities or special occasions such as deities’ birthdays, weddings and Mid-Autumn Festival. 

Traditional Chinese lanterns are made of bamboo frames, the bamboo splints are cut to the required length and thickness, followed by soaking in water before being heated over a fire and the bamboo strips can be Ben for the lantern frame. This would followed by gluing the oil-coated silk paper onto the lantern frame, before they can be painted with traditional characters, motifs and/or family surnames. 

In a modern reinterpretation of the traditional Chinese lantern by NextOfKin Creatives, they designed it to be an elegant dining lamp, titled “Harmony Spheres”. This symbolises a nice and good mix of tradition and contemporary, by preserving the lighting function and the bamboo strips of a traditional Chinese lantern, while adding a contemporary spin through its unique multi-spherical structure.

This Harmony Spheres lamp is further inspired by the Chinese ivory puzzle ball, they have intricately carved layers that can rotate individually. With its open-ended spheres further producing a layered and textured lighting effect. The translucent exterior design produces a graceful arc of the bamboo ribs, held together by 3D-printed rims.

In order to see, feel and experience this Harmony Spheres lamp, get up close and personal (without touching it) at this exhibition. You will be able to feel the tradition and contemporary combining together as one.  

Ketupat Weaving | Raya Furniture

Practitioner: MDM Anita Tompang 

Designer: Mr Andrew Loh

Whenever I see a Ketupat, the first thing that comes to my mind is delicious Malay cuisine. Ketupat is a rice cake wrapped in a pouch, traditionally woven with coconut leaves, used in religious ceremonies throughout the Malay world as form of food offering. In Singapore, it’s usually prepared as a festive food by the Malay-Muslim community during Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji. 

Ketupat weaving is often a family activity that brings together generations together in a celebratory spirit of Hari Ray festivities. More than just weaving ketupat for rice cakes, ketupat pouches are also woven from colourful ribbons to decorate Malay homes during festive periods, they can be woven into a variety of shapes and sizes, including the ketupat raya, the most common ketupat from seen during the Hari Raya festive celebrations. 

How do you transform the ketupat into something contemporary? Through Raya, a celebration of the ketupat raya. It’s being transposed from ketupat raya to contemporary furniture, paying tribute to the sophistication and versatility of the weaving techniques. 

How is Raya Furniture produced? They are woven around foams of different densities instead of coconut leaves and rice cakes, inspired by the function of ketupats as containers. Each module is woven or riveted together with other modules, stacked in different combinations to create the bench and stool on display. 

The modular nature of Raya furniture is a respond to the growing nature of creative designed spaces and encourages users to experiment with modifying/re-transforming their Raya modules into a variety of functional everyday uses.

Peranakan Beadwork and Embroidery | Rejuvenation Gown

Practitioner: Raymond Wong

Designers: Joanna Lim, Joanne Quak (Aller Row)

Peranakan beadwork and embroidery are exquisitely beautiful and intricate crafts, marked with a rich repertoire of motifs and techniques that weave together diverse Chinese, Malay, Indian, and European influences, reflecting Peranakan culture. Two iconic examples of Peranakan beadwork and embroidery are the beaded slippers (kasut manek) and the Peranakan kebaya dress. 

Peranakan beadwork uses glass and metal seed beads, individually stitched in place onto the cloth. The Peranakan kebaya featured two triangular front panels (lapik) that fall gently over the hips. Combining lacework as well as satin, zigzag and buttonhole stitches are employed to outline floral or geometric motifs on the kebaya. 

Rejuvenation Gown is a contemporary take on the traditional Peranakan kebaya, adapting and incorporating elements of Peranakan kebaya onto a cape-sleeved couture gown, fusing Lim and Quak’s joint vision of creating fashion wear tailored for the modern women, as well as showcasing Wong’s interest in Peranakan culture and expertise in traditional Peranakan beadwork and embroidery techniques. 

Rangoli | Refined Rangoli

Practitioner: Ms Vijaya Mohan

Designer: Jarrod Lim (Jarrod Lim Design)

Rangoli, is a traditional Indian art form dating a long wat back in time to pre-Aryan India. It is a multi-coloured floor decoration, using rice flour or other natural substances such as grains, seeds, vermillion and/or turmeric powder, to create motifs that symbolise joy, prosperity, and/or thanksgiving to the deities. 

They are traditionally drawn on the ground at the entrance of households and are commonly seen during Indian festivals such as Deepavali. Their shapes may range from geometric shapes, to auspicious animals and floral designs, to symbols of Hindu deities. Some of the popular motifs include circular designs that signify the continuity of time, the lotus flower with Goddess Lakshmi in the middle, that represents prosperity and fertility in Hinduism. 

From a 2D art form to a 3D art form, giving rise to Refined Rangoli, widening the possibilities and diversities of Rangoli art form into a modern contemporary design of 3D metalware, including a lampshade and a bowl, a combination of decorative art form with new practical applications. 

Refined Rangoli metalware preserves Rangoli’s artistic flavours and cultural expressions, bringing them to life via laser cutting technology, producing intricate Rangoli motifs carved out onto slices of stainless steel. The thin and flexible metal slices were then folded by hand into the form of the lampshade and bowl.

In order to see, feel and experience the Refined Rangoli, get up close and personal (without touching it) at this exhibition. You will be able to feel the tradition and contemporary combining together as one.  

NHB Craft X Design showcase – A Must Visit 

The inaugural NHB Craft X Design showcase is amazing, a real eye opener into how we can merge the world of heritage, culture and traditions together with modern contemporary inputs from design and applications to everyday living. 

This showcase is an inspiration to all, it’s also a modern contemporary method of continuing heritage, culture and traditions from the older generations to the younger generations. Highly recommended for extended families to bring their children/grandchildren to visit, learn and appreciate about Singapore’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, preserving, conserving and passing on our heritage, culture and traditions to the future generations.

Craft X Design Showcase Information

Venue: National Museum of Singapore, Longer Concourse, Level 1, 93 Stamford Road, S178897

Date: 2nd July 2022 to 31st July 2022

Time: Opens daily 10am to 7pm

Admission: Free

The post National Heritage Board Craft X Design Showcase appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Off / On: Everyday Technology that Changed Our Lives, 1970s-2000s is the second edition of the Collecting Contemporary Singapore initiative that is aimed at growing the museum’s contemporary collection to better reflect Singapore’s ever-evolving national identity. From 1970s onwards, Singapore experienced rapid transformation and economic growth, technology plays a big part in transforming not just how we work, also how we live as well, paving the way for the modern technological driven and gadgets galore life we are living today.

Chung May Khuen, Director of the National Museum of Singapore, said, “We were heartened by the encouraging response from our first edition of the Collecting Contemporary Singapore initiative on documenting COVID-19 in Singapore, which saw contributions of diverse stories and objects from residents here. We are returning with the second edition of the initiative – focusing on the theme of technology – to continue engaging the public in contributing and co-creating with the National Museum. As technology evolves rapidly through the years, and with the pandemic further highlighting the significant role of technology in our daily lives, we hope to broaden and update our collection in this area which would enrich our documentation of the lived experiences of the people of Singapore.”

Priscilla Chua, Senior Curator, National Museum of Singapore added, “Through the Off / On showcase, we invite visitors to reconnect with these technologies, while inspiring conversations and curiosity among the younger generations unfamiliar with them. As we are more ‘switched on’ now than ever before, the indispensable role of technology continues to shape and change the way we live, work and play, and we hope visitors will share their unique stories and experiences with us.”

Are you ready to go back in time to Singapore from 1970s to 2000s? For the younger generation, you can enter and immerse into the everyday technology world that your parents and grandparents lived in,  learn and experience them before returning back to the future (today). For the young at heart (older) adults, this will be a nostalgia journey back in time to the good old days as some might coined it.

Let’s start to go back in time by entering into this “time machine” zone!

Room 1: Work In Progress

The workforce of today talks about hybrid working, co-working spaces, what was the office like in those days? Enter into the Work In Progress section, where typewriters and bulky computers were the tools of the workplace, a reminiscent of an office from the past. 

Have you ever used a typewriter before? Why not give it a go and type away on the typewriter? Have you seen the early computer models by IBM and Apple? How does it compare to the modern desktops and laptops of today?

Room 2: Hello Mobile

“Hello, siang ka pager?”, an iconic local phrase that only some will know, heard and used it regularly. The younger generation would probably feel weird and amused by this. If you owned a pager before, you would know what I am talking about. Using today’s lingo, IYKYK. 

Most of us in today’s world owned a smartphone like an everyday essential, we are kind of glued to the modern smartphone everyday, have you ever wonder what was life back then without smartphones? 

Post-war Singapore had a telephone density of just 1.6 telephones for every hundred individuals. In the late 1980s, telephones and other personal devices such as pagers became more accessible, allowing Singaporeans to contact one another more conveniently. Who remembered waiting line at the payphone to return a call?

For the young at heart adults, do you still remember those land line telephones, the payphone at the kopitiam (a.k.a. coffeeshop) or telephone inside a hair salon, making a phone call or receiving a phone call inside those locations? The younger generation might be thinking, “What is that old thing? I have never seen it before!”

How about trying out, engaging with larger-than-life interactive that is modelled after a handphone or pager, sending personalised messages that will be displayed on running LED bars?

Room 3: The Art of Living 

Entering this room might invoke a lot of nostalgic memories for the young at heart adults, as for the younger generation, welcome to the art of living, your maiden experience of life in Singapore from 70s onwards till late 90s and early 00s.

How has consumer technology transform the lifestyle of Singaporeans over the decades? Do you remember your first home entertainment gadgets such as colour television sets and radio cassette players? How about the first film camera?

As you stepped back into your home again, do you feel the warmth and familiarity? What do you see inside there? Which old school consumer technology products did you grow up with? 

Moving on to the next section inside this room, step into an old-school interactive photo studio to interact with a TLR camera replica that allows you to take black-and-white photos against a backdrop with various props that help to create the preferred ambience. Once your photo has been taken, you can enter into the adjacent dark room and observe your photos being “Developed”. 

Next up, is television time! Do you remember the old Teletext messages? Do you still remember the local television programmes, commercials? Now is the time to reminisce nostalgic memories by toggling and viewing them again on those old television sets. 

Which TV commercial of those days is your favourite? Myojo mee? Or Duracell bunny batteries?

Room 4: Game On

If you are into e-sports, online gaming or mobile gaming, what was the gaming world like before that? 

Video games became increasingly popular especially in the 1980s. They were a great source of entertainment for teenagers and young adults of that era. The once-popular handheld series of games such as the Tomy Pocketeer, where players are required to guide a ball bearing in and around obstacles, provides the inspiration to this digital game that will pit you against one another for a chance to be featured on the leader board.

Have fun and play games through a digital companion

When you visit Off / On, you can have fun and play games through a digital companion on your mobile devices. You can visit https://go.gov.sg/offon to find out how they can sign up for an account and generate a unique QR code, which they then scan with their personal mobile devices.

Activities include exclusive digital games such as the ‘Fastest Typist’ game, as well as a pop quiz that challenges players to decode numerical pager messages. Visitors can also access bonus educational content that is unique to the digital companion, which will complement their learning experience at the showcase. 

Players who successfully complete all the assigned activities in the digital companion can stand a chance to win prizes through a lucky draw that will be conducted at the end of the showcase period. Details on the draw and the list of prizes to be won will be announced soon.

Keen on an Escape Room adventure? 

Anyone keen on a Night at the Museum fun adventure? Off / On also transforms into an escape room at night. Visitors can pre-register in groups of minimally 3 and up to 10 participants each time, to

explore the showcase space through the popular and interactive format of an escape room game. Participants will “journey” through time in the gallery to decipher clues that will help uncover a secret technological device that can help prevent a mass shutdown of the world’s technology. 

Public call for contributions of technological objects and related stories

Off / On featured contributions not only from the National Museum’s collection, they also feature contributions and loans of technological objects from individuals and corporate organisations. 

This includes homegrown company Creative Technologies, which has loaned the museum its revolutionary Sound Blaster 1.0, launched in 1989, as well as the 2004 edition of the Zen Micro. The Sound Blaster 1.0 was the world’s first sound card ever made that significantly improved the audio quality of personal computers. Creative Technologies was also a pioneer producer of MP3 players, and the 2004 edition of the Zen Micro displayed in this showcase, is among its most popular models of MP3 players. 

In addition, local contributors, Professor Tan Tiong Gie, loaned an Apple IIe personal computer, while Gerald Tan, from local gaming collective, Retro DNA, loaned a Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld gaming console.

In line with Collecting Contemporary Singapore initiative, the National Museum of Singapore is inviting residents in Singapore to share their technology gadgets/objects from the 2000s onwards up to the present day, along with your related experiences and stories of the objects that have shaped their lives in the areas of work, communications, home living and play. 

All these contributions would help to enrich the National’s Museum collection in the area of technology as they seek to broaden the scope of its contemporary collection. The public can visit https://go.gov.sg/ccstechopencall to submit stories and photos of the objects. The public call runs until 31 December 2022.

Personal Thoughts 

It’s very nostalgic experiencing this experiential showcase at the National Museum of Singapore, it brought back so much memories for me, from using film SLR camera, using a pager, the TV commercials that were catchy in tune and style. 

I highly and strongly encourage you to visit Off / On: Everyday Technology that Changed Our Lives, 1970s-2000s. This is excellent for parents with young children to visit and check out together, grandparents should join along, they would be able to share so much more stories to the younger generation. 

A wonderful exhibition that connects with us on a personal basis, our very own Contemporary Singapore culture in both tangible and intangible aspects. For the young at heart adults (we are not old, ok!), you might shed tears of joy, or smile happily at those days that you once lived through when technology was very different from today’s technologically advanced, highly connected internet and social media world. For the younger generation, you might feel and think, what kind of world was that, did you really live through that era?

Those were the good old days, some might say. Having said that, we also need to look forward into the future too, while preserving our very own unique Contemporary Singapore culture and heritage.

I realised I wrote quite a lengthy story on this experiential showcase “Off / On: Everyday Technology that Changed Our Lives, 1970s-2000s”. The exhibitions that I attended at the National Museum of Singapore and wrote about them had always been interesting, informative and engaging. This particular Off / On is special, has huge significance for me and it has invoked a lot of personal nostalgic memories inside me, growing up in this period of Everyday Technology that Changed My life. 

Such nostalgic memories are priceless, intangible and unforgettable, as they formed the foundations for transforming me into a photographer and tech geek I am today.

For the record, I am not old, I am just young at heart. 

Visitor information and ticketing details 

Off / On: Everyday Technology that Changed Our Lives, 1970s–2000s

10 June – 30 October 2022

Exhibition Gallery, Basement Level

Opening Hours: 10am–7pm daily*

Last admission is at 6.30pm

*The gallery will be closed at 6pm for the escape room game on selected dates, with the last admission at 5.30pm. Please refer to the National Museum’s website for the list of dates where early closure of the showcase is expected.

Admission

Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents and Children 6 years and below (any nationality) will enjoy free admission to the showcase.

Tourists & Foreign Residents

Standard Adult – $18

Concession [Senior (60 years and above), student and special access] – $14

Admission to the escape room experience*

The escape room experience is available on selected Friday and Saturday evenings from 17th June 2022. Participants will be given 30 minutes to complete the game. Please refer to the National Museum’s website for the list of dates where the escape room experience will take place.

** Information courtesy of the National Museum of Singapore and Tate Anzur **

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