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This reflective essay explores the key ideologies shaping local design practices in singapore, focusing on the creation of a national identity, public art, fusion of culture and history, relatability to the masses, and multiculturalism. The essay provides examples of artworks that embody these qualities and discusses their impact on social cultural norms.
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Hou Li Xin ( U1830378F) 18 November 2019 DD3016 History of Design Profs. Serena Pang, Desmond Pang, Ash Y.S. Yeo
Q7: Identify characteristic ideologies which define currently local design practices, describe the qualities of design works which define them, that have meaningful impact on social cultural norms of Singapore or International Asia?
As a relatively new and budding nation, a key ideology that defines our local design practices is forging a national identity and building up our national narrative. Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth Ms Grace Fu highlighted this as the mission for the Singapore Arts scene and this has shaped the nature of design work today 1. The first quality of these artworks is its installation as a public artwork. Professor T. C. Chang, a Geography professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS), posits that public art like sculptures can “enhance place identity and foster a sense of belonging” 2. Singaporeans are all familiar with iconic public design works like the Stamford Raffles and the Merlion statues that symbolises our heritage as a fishing village and our colonial rule. These prominent artworks are the pride of Singaporeans and hence as Professor Chang argues, has successfully strengthened our identity with tangible artworks that bind us together under the same heritage. Another quality is the fusion of our culture and history with modern day artworks. Dapunta Hyang: Transmission of Knowledge , is a stylised rattan boat situated at the Esplanade concourse that was created by local artist Zai Kuning 3 (Fig. 1). This unique artwork creatively weaved our history into its design by using rattan, a once common building material used to build furniture and shelter that is hardly ever used today. Rattan symbolises the loss of our heritage like old Kampong villages with economic growth and development and it aimed to capture this fragment of history before it is lost completely. The Bugis-Makassar–style inspired ship, and the bound volumes held together with red string, chronicled Temasek’s ancient heritage as a fishing village and a popular trade hub in the region. Dapunta Hyang is one of many examples of how artists have cleverly interwoven art and history as a medium to preserve our heritage and to further the development of our national narrative. Fig. 1. Dapunta Hyang: Transmission of Knowledge by Zai Kuning. Image taken from dapuntahyang2018.wordpress.com/. (^1) https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/mission-to-build-a-national-identity (^2) https://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/srn/archives/ (^3) https://www.esplanade.com/learn/in-depth/visual-arts/zai-kuning
Ultimately, this is important because if done effectively, this normalises multiculturalism in Singapore. With increasing tensions along racial fault lines all around the world, it is imperative that design works like these continue to emphasise the harmony and respect that is embraced between different races in Singapore. This can help increase tolerance and acceptance of different cultures and practices and this is crucial for Singapore to continue to prosper. Furthermore, with the rapid influx of immigrants, there have been increasing fears of the dilution of our still budding national identity. Singapore must hence capitalise on design works to share the story of our history and to preserve our heritage so that our identity can continue to be shaped in this age of globalisation so that Singaporeans will feel a sense of belonging and pride for the nation. Word count: 728 Bibliography: Yong, Charissa. “Mission: To Build a National Identity.” The Straits Times , 7 Mar. 2016, https:// www.straitstimes.com/singapore/mission-to-build-a-national-identity. “Art and Soul: Powerful and Powerless Art in Singapore.” Singapore Research Nexus , 21 Aug. 2017, https:// www.fas.nus.edu.sg/srn/archives/56408. Lenzi, Lola. Esplanade.com , https://www.esplanade.com/learn/in-depth/visual-arts/zai-kuning. K. Chan, Leong. “Visualizing Multi-racialism in Singapore: Graphic Design as a Tool for Ideology and Policy in Nation Building.” The MIT Press, Design Issues, Vol. 27, No.1 (Winter 2011), pp. 63-69. https://www.jstor.org/ stable/40983244?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents.
