SINGAPORE – Original art pieces by local artists will be featured at seven train stations along Stage 4 of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), which opens on June 23.

The art installations, which recall memories of the histories and communities in which they are situated, are part of the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) Art in Transit programme. 

Launched in 1997, the programme aims to celebrate local history and community by incorporating art into the architecture of train stations. The LTA invites artists to submit their portfolios and be considered for commissioning for new rail lines.

To date, more than 440 art pieces are housed at 103 train stations across Singapore under the programme. 

The Straits Times got a first look at the stations and their respective art installations at a media preview on May 2.

1. Tanjong Rhu 

At Tanjong Rhu station, acoustic panels shaped like honeycombs and circles are fixed on the station walls in a piece that explores Singapore’s colonial past.

Titled Telinga Ekologi Kita, which loosely translates to Our Ecology’s Ears, the artwork’s aluminium panels evoke the image of the ears of plants that are able to listen to everything and everyone.

Created by musician and artist Bani Haykal, 38, the piece draws inspiration from an abandoned colonial project by the British to construct acoustic mirrors in Singapore. Such devices were used in World War I to detect enemy aircraft.

As no proof has been found of acoustic mirrors being constructed here, the piece also imagines Tanjong Rhu as a possible site where some of these mirrors may have been built.

The artwork took about six years to complete from the point of conceptualisation till completion, said Mr Haykal. 

2. Katong Park 

The photo series Time After Time brings the past and present of Katong Park together.

For each image in the series, artists Sit Weng San, 43, and Tania De Rozario photographed present-day Katong Park with archival images projected onto it.

The artwork draws inspiration from outdoor movie screenings in the 1960s and the rich history of Katong Park.

The park was formerly a military fort in the 19th century (1879-1901), a popular swimming spot from the 1930s until its closure in the 1960s, and a place with tales of survival and near-escape. 

The piece aims to take commuters on a journey through time by letting them experience the history and stories surrounding the park in a vivid and relatable way. 

Skylights are installed on the ceiling above each photograph, allowing natural light to illuminate the artwork during the day. 

3. Tanjong Katong 

An 11.3m collage titled The Waters Are Blue, Yet I Pine For You by research-based artist Sim Chi Yin, 45, reflects memories tied to the Tanjong Katong area.

The piece blends old archival pictures from the past with images of the present photographed by Ms Sim, layered over a base image of the iconic Big Splash water park by retired ST photographer Tan Suan Ann. 

“I was interested in the hidden histories of the place, in the stories that are sediments in that land which is totally reclaimed. Using visual motifs to get at the absences in the archive, the gaps in the official stories, is what I do in my work, so that was my approach here as well,” said Ms Sim, a former ST journalist whose works focus on history, memory, conflict and extraction. 

Spanning three storeys, the collage occupies part of a wall beside an escalator that stretches across the station’s concourse and upper and lower platforms.

4. Marine Parade 

Inspired by fond childhood memories of growing up in Marine Parade, Walk is a 2.2m bronze structure resembling a block of kneadable plasticine.

For multidisciplinary artist Ang Sookoon, 47, whose works explore the relationship between physical and metaphysical realms, the plasticine block recalls the innocence of childhood and the joy of playful activities.

The structure also serves as a whimsical homage to the history of Marine Parade and the lives of the people who have walked through the area. It stands outside of Marine Parade station so that people passing by may interact with it.  

LTA said the station’s unique interior also draws inspiration from the area’s heritage as a historical seafront.

The walls and ceiling of the train platform are lined with green panels to resemble foliage and waves, while star-shaped lighting features on the ceiling recall sunlight shining through the leaves of trees. 

5. Marine Terrace

Family tree portraits engraved into granite line the walls of Marine Terrace station, in an artwork that deals with familial lines, histories and entanglements. 

Visual artist Moses Tan, 37, created A Seat At The End Of The Long, Long, Long Table based on the family histories and stories of residents living in the East Coast. Mr Tan is also the founder of independent art space starch.

The artwork includes two portraits of family trees where each member is represented by a chair, and aims to celebrate the diverse cultures and generations within families.

“I was interested in how different family members have different parts of the house that they enjoyed,” said Mr Tan, who worked with four families to create the piece. 

6. Siglap

For her artwork, visual artist Melissa Tan, 35, took inspiration from the name Siglap, which means “darkness that conceals” and is derived from the Malay word “gelap”. 

Her piece for Siglap station, titled The Darkness Which Reveals, features a series of fragmented metal pieces. When conceptualising the artwork, she used Google Maps to explore the moon’s terrain and discovered that the shadows on its surface revealed hidden information about its uneven land. 

The piece thus aims to convey how darkness can reveal rather than conceal, and uses perforations in the metal to represent the shadows on the surface of the moon.

It also draws on the story of how the chieftain of Kampung Siglap, Tok Lasam, arrived in Siglap in the 19th century during a solar eclipse, which influenced the naming of the place. 

7. Bayshore

Farther Shores by artist Bruce Quek, 37, is a speculative photo series showcasing images of present-day Bayshore combined with imagined depictions of its future development. 

Inspired by the transformation of the Bayshore area due to land reclamation, the piece combines images of Bayshore with elements taken from elsewhere to form composite images. 

By presenting a speculative vision of what the area could look like in the future, it aims to give commuters a unique perspective on how Bayshore might evolve in years to come. 

“With such dramatic shifts in Bayshore’s sense of place, I adopted an approach to placemaking that would include not just Bayshore’s present and recent past, but also speculative, distant pasts and futures, as well as other places which share its name,” said Mr Quek.