Flight of The Night Owls
Last friday, 25th July, Jan and I attended this event rather aptly named "Flight of The Night Owl" which was part of the Night Festival. First got wind of it from a postcard and I even thought of assembling some team to join the night race (me and my sudden outbursts of spontaneity) but thank god it didn't materialize in the end. I saw the various teams racing here and there between the museums that night and it dawned upon me that I just wanted to have a placid, relaxing night in the company of someone who has the same appreciation for museums etc. and the other reason being, I'm just lacking in that sort of exuberance. So how did it go? All the museums were opened for free admission to the public from 6pm to 2am that night. My initial idea was to visit all of them but we ended up going to 3. In the end, I went to explore the Singapore Philatelic Museum on my own when waiting for Jan to end class. I've never been there before and I thought, I just had to. Its quite a small place where you get to learn about the history and meaning behind stamps and well, if you are an avid stamp collector, you'll get to see some nifty collection of stamps from all over the world! There is a section of the exhibition room whereby you can view stamp collections country by country and its interesting to see the ideas each nationality comes up with. Come to think of it, I think there was a period of time during my childhood when I did collect stamps but the sticker phase outlasted the former. I didn't particularly enjoy this visit because there were the fast and furious teams looking for clues here and there and it was distracting. Love the pretty ceiling decorations though and got some lovely Vietnamese bookmarks for souvenirs. You'll thought I should get stamps but nah..nothing caught my fancy.
The Peranakan Museum, which was a stone throw away, was bustling with people as well. There was an English tour going on. Well, you could actually sign up for the hourly tours conducted in the various museums but we decided to go free and easy. The galleries and exhibitions, which span three storeys of the former Tao Nao School, took us through the history of Peranakan people and their way of life. The collection gave us glimpses of their origins, marriage practices, textiles, cuisine and dining ware, religion etc. The interesting part for me was getting acquainted with their culture (the lavish wedding ceremony!) and glimpsing the dedication of their tradition embodied in their intricately designed porcelains, jewellery and furniture. Besides the permanent exhibitions, there is another highlight going on called Junk to Jewels: The things that Peranakans value. We didn't really browse as meticulously for this section but basically its just some of the artefacts that tell a story of being a Peranakan.
Our next stop was The National Museum of Singapore where we were greeted by a night bazaar hawking lovingly made beaded toys to snacks served by the Rendevous Hotel. Just across the road, some electro-rock fusion music reveberated from the stage set up at the SMU compound for The Beatnik Picnic by Zouk. We agreed bossa nova or acid chill out would have been a better choice. Met my primary school friend while browsing the stalls at the bazaar and I thought it was pretty incredible that she recognized me. Its been more than a decade since we last saw each other? But once she came up to me...I sort of knew who she might be. Jan was awe-strucked by the white light projection that was part of a light installation exhibit by The Electric Canvas, a lighting specialist company from Sydney. They did a marvellous, unprecedented job I would say, transforming our dear Nat Mus into a willing canvas for a kaleidoscopic array of visual spectacular. Thanks to the inspiring perseverance of Jan, we managed to get all the different facades on camera!
Inside the museum, another spectacular (of some sorts) greeted us. Well, this Greek inspired sculpture (I later learnt its Surrounding David by Titarubi), in a striking hue of pink and purple bits, was standing tall and huge in all his naked glory. Even non-shutterbugs could not resist as people whipped out their digital, mobile phones and some tried to squeeze into the picture as well. Amidst the throngs of people. I must really emphasized the word throngs. It is the first time I actually seen the museum, any museum, this crowded and it was like 11pm. It was actually quite a refreshing sight. Families big and small. Non-sleepy kids. Couples. The elderly. After work professionals. Girly cliques. Avid photographers. Some even brought their pet dogs and for a moment, I really thought they allowed dogs free admission too. I honestly didn't think this event would be such a hit but it was.
Anyway, back to the interior exhibits which I have to say was pretty disappointing for me. Granted that this is not Tate or Lourve...I did expect something more other than the usual suspects. Something electic and more than what people would expect. There are the 5 main galleries showing Singapore's history, film, food, photography and fashion. A photography exhibition going on at the back but too many people to really gawk and let the images sink in. We decided to give this visiting exhibition about electronic or was it digital arts a miss so I dont know if we missed out. Back outside, it was the people that once again captivated me. The idea that art or heritage or culture has that ability to bring people together and in flocks they came. We had missed the photo opportunity for the white canvas projection so we decided to just sit and wait and take in the atmosphere.
Once again, it was about the people. Earlier on, as I tried to manoeuver a tricky steep little incline on a muddy patch, I was trying to maintain my balance and not fall backwards. It was just that moment. You lose your balance and you die...of embarrassment. And thank god some good Samaritan...seeing me teetering in the mud decided to offer me his hand and of course, I grabbed it. In my fluster, I forgot if I actually thank him properly but I was really grateful. Like I was going woah woah woah in my head and he actually could sense it or see it and saved me from a potentially disgraceful fall.
Later, while I was happily chomping on a fish burger and Jan nibbling on a chicken wing, a caucasian walked by...caught my eye and smiled with a twinkle in his eye. Subsequently, he actually came up to offer his help while we were trying to take a shot of ourselves rather unsuccessfully. Jim, as he introduced himself, is a Maths teacher and a visitor from Hawaii. You know the thing that never fails to amaze me about Westerners is how friendly and warm they can be, even if they are not in their own country. We chatted awhile and he told us we should visit the Garden Festival happening at Suntec. "You girls should go" he encouraged and it was just super ironic that he was telling it to us when it should be the other way round. He left with a smile and a "I'll see you again" firm handshake.
It just made me wonder, will our paths ever cross again? Is this world really that small and fate such a big part to play? Why did we meet Jim from Hawaii and not Javier from Peru? Because for that moment, I got acquainted with a total stranger who surprised us with his friendliness and maybe it was all that made the difference. As the majestic neo-classical building stood with its usual stoic white walls bathed in magical multi-faceted colours, I realized it was a different beautiful picture, of heritage standing majestic and proud from the attention of the adoring crowds.
