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16// Arts & Fashion// "I'm selfish, impatient & a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control & at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best" -Marilyn Monroe YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NicoleSingstar Twitter: @NicoleSingstar Instagram: FashionSingstar

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Art exhibitions to visit this August!

It’s finally the weekend and you’re wondering, what exhibition should I visit? Well look no further, you’ve come to the right place!

1) Lim Cheng Hoe: Painting Singapore

View the newly opened exhibition, Lim Cheng Hoe: Painting Singapore, which features self-taught artist Lim Cheng Hoe’s works at the National Gallery Singapore.

Though the exhibition presented his career as an artist in…

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My Go-To City: Hong Kong

I first visited Hong Kong when I was 9, after which my next 2 visits were last year in March (for Art Central) and December (for family vacation). Through the last 3 trips, it is safe to say that I enjoy visiting Hong Kong, and will definitely be making more trips there. The main thing I love about Hong Kong is the environment there; the bustling city with skyscrapers but still retaining the “old…

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Hong Kong is a haven of food and delicacies. In today’s post, I will share some of my favourite food/dishes from Hong Kong that you should try if you visit Hong Kong!

1. Dim Sum （点心）

Never enough dim sum!

Siew Mai

Spring Roll

Chee Cheong Fun

There’s something authentic about eating dim sum in Hong Kong, especially dim sum from family restaurants. I haven’t found a dim sum place I didn’t like in Hong Kong!

2. Crispy bread with condensed milk

Crispy bread with condensed milk, paired with warm lemon tea

Hands down this is the best bread I have eaten in my whole life!

Aside from Hong Kong’s famous pork chop bun, French baguette, and others like wholemeal or cheese bread, nothing will ever replace my love for bread with condensed milk – and the sad thing is, it is difficult to find a shop selling tasty bread with condensed milk outside of Hong Kong! 

I especially love this bread from Tsui Wah Restaurant（翠華餐廳）. The great thing is that Tsui Wah is very popular in Hong Kong, and hence, easy to find. I enjoy eating this bread so much that I can have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

3. Yee Shun Dairy Company （義顺牛奶公司）

From Left: Red bean with milk, coffee steamed milk, steamed milk & ginger steamed milk

Coffee Steamed Milk

Now I’m sure that everyone has either heard or tried this when you think about Hong Kong/Macau. To jump on that bandwagon, after my friend brought me to Yee Shun, I just keep going back for more! My personal favourite is the coffee steamed milk, and I usually go to Yee Shun branch at Causeway Bay.

Here’s the address: G/F 506 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay

(Take Exit C from Causeway Bay MTR | Landmark: Yee Shun is pretty close to SOGO)

4. Wonton Noodles

Dry Wonton Noodles (with separate soup), paired with Milk Tea

I love wonton mee because of the noodles. There’s this unique taste (or seasoning) to the noodles that I never find in Singapore. The wonton (pork and prawn wrapped with dumpling skin) served in Hong Kong is also to die for; Hong Kong’s wonton are usually big in size! I could barely finish mine haha.

5. Egglets

My favourite snack to have in Hong Kong is the egglets, especially when it’s during the winter. Having something warm whilst in the cold, perfect!

There are still so many things I enjoy eating in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a diverse city, hence it is easy to find a huge variety of delicacies!

Till my next post, have a great Sunday!

What to eat in Hong Kong! Hong Kong is a haven of food and delicacies. In today's post, I will share some of my favourite food/dishes from Hong Kong that you should try if you visit Hong Kong!

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One of my highlights of SAW has always been Art Stage.

Having attended the past 4 editions of the fair since 2014, I have always looked forward to January every year so that I can be immersed in a variety of art ranging from Southeast Asia, Asia and even Europe/America.

Azul y Blanco II, 2017, Alabaster and aluminium, MANOLO VALDES

ART STAGE Singapore 2018

  Art Stage has always been breaking barriers by bringing in current and top contemporary artists.

Although the fair is smaller in the number of galleries this year, there are artists such as Fernando Botero (Honorary Invited Artist), Manolo Valdes, Leslie de Chavez, Eko Nugroho & Fang Lijun featured (if you don’t know who they are, now will be a good time to visit the fair, learn about them, and see their works!).

Here are my favourite pieces:

Girl Falling from a Horse, 2015, Oil on Canvas, FERNANDO BOTERO

Break Through, 2018, CHANG CHING

Donald Fuck (Silver Chrome), 2017, Sculpture in aluminium, varnish and resin, FIDIA FALASCHETTI

Here are the details of the fair:

Public Fair Dates: 26 – 28 January 2018

Time: 12pm – 9pm (26 January 2018) 11am – 7pm (27 January 2018) 11am – 6pm (28 January 2018)

Venue: Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre Level 1, Halls A – C

Artwork: Hysteria, 2011 Oil on canvas, framed mirror, embroidery, and cow skull with tatting lace, JAVIER GERALDINE

Featured Image (Artwork): 2005.1.10, 2005, Goldleaf on Iron, FANG LIJUN (B. 1963)

Singapore Art Week 2018: Art Stage Singapore One of my highlights of SAW has always been Art Stage. Having attended the past 4 editions of the fair since 2014, I have always looked forward to January every year so that I can be immersed in a variety of art ranging from Southeast Asia, Asia and even Europe/America.

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Singapore Art Week 2018: Forest Weft, City Warp

It’s my favourite time of the year again; Singapore Art Week (SAW)! And the first visual arts event that I would recommend visiting is Forest Weft, City Warp, presented by One East Asia. I visited this exhibition last November when it opened. However, specially for SAW 2018, artist, Nandita Mukand, has created an installation resembling corals under the sea. Image courtesy of One East Asia The…

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Macau is known as the Asian Las Vegas, the city of dreams. However, if gambling isn’t your thing or if you are still underage, here’s a list of what to do IF you don’t gamble, and still enjoy Macau!

Picture of the Macau Tower taken by my aunt

1. If you’re physically up for it, spend the day walking around Macau

Macau is pretty small. Despite my planning & Google mapping of the places I wanted to visit, I was shocked to find out that I could easily walk to the next destination within minutes! By walking, you can also find the cutest little corners to have your Instagram-worthy moments.

Fa Vong Tong Street

Penha Lane

With walking, I found exploring Macau much more fun! I could find the cutest local shops. I also had THE BEST hot dog sausage bun sold by a local bakery (sadly, I forgot to take a photo of it- couldn’t resist munching it down immediately).

2. Eat, eat, and eat…

Speaking of food, other than Macau’s famous Portuguese egg tarts, I love Macau for the variety of food they have!

Sofitel at Ponte 16, the hotel I stayed at, had a pretty good Christmas afternoon tea spread. Although we had to wait quite a bit for the food to be served, the chill ambience in the cafe was a pretty sweet place to relax for the holidays.

Breakfast

Afternoon Tea at Sofitel

Green curry chicken

Fishball

You can also hit up the various bakeries, particularly Koi Kei Bakery, to try the famous almond biscuits and 老婆饼 – all of which are handmade! Here’s a picture of the man making peanut sweets (which are delicious!):

3. See the whole of Macau with the Open Top Happy Bus

Organised by Goldspark Macau Tours Ltd., there is an “open-top” tour bus which brings you to key sites in Macau, including Taipa (an island connected to Macau by bridge). You can pay 150 Pataca/HKD (which converts to about 30SGD) for a 1 day pass, that allows you to hop on the bus at any of the drop-off/pick-up points at the key sites (such as The Venetian, Macau Tower & the Grand Lisboa).

I really enjoyed taking this bus because you can have a free-and-easy schedule, yet have a guided tour all at once! My family and I would get off at various stops to walk around the place of interest for about an hour, before getting up the bus again. The bus typically travels in an hour or hour-and-a-half loop, so it is easy to catch the bus at each interval.

While riding on the bus, here are some of the shots I took:

4. Visit beautiful Churches (with amazing architecture)

You don’t need to be religious to visit the amazing Churches in Macau. Even if you just walk pass by the Churches, you can snap a picture or two because of the architecture of the church!

Here are some of the Churches that I visited:

And last but not least, the famous Ruins of St. Paul!

I actually visited the Ruins twice. The first time was a coincidental passing in the evening as the Ruins is pretty near my hotel, probably just a 10-15 minute walk. I decided to go again the next morning as I wanted to take more pictures, in hopes that there would be a lesser crowd. However, when I reached the Ruins at 9am the next day, it was already flooded with tourists!

Thankfully, I could still get a pretty decent shot just in front of the Ruins.

To conclude…

I spent only a day and a half in Macau before heading off to Hong Kong, but as Macau is pretty small, it is pretty easy to visit most of the places of interest in Macau.

However, I really wouldn’t mind going back to visit Macau again!

What to do in Macau if you don’t gamble Macau is known as the Asian Las Vegas, the city of dreams. However, if gambling isn't your thing or if you are still underage, here's a list of what to do IF you don't gamble, and still enjoy Macau!

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Unexpected architecture & photography spot in Shenzhen, China!

When you think about Shenzhen, you would probably recognise Shenzhen as a rapidly developing manufacturing/IT hub in China. However, during my latest trip to Shenzhen in December 2017, I came across the Dapeng Peninsula National Geopark (深圳大鹏半岛国家地mao公园), located in the Longgang district of Shenzhen. Designed by leeMundwiler Architects, a husband and wife duo based in Los Angeles & Basel,…

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So I went to Shenzhen, China for 5 days during the Lunar New Year and went sightseeing with my parents. I basically pulled them to the cultural sites and museums. My favourite art centre I visited is the OCT Art & Design Gallery!

OCT Art Town

Exterior of the Gallery

To get there, you’ll need to get off OCT stop on the green line, and walk to the gallery (which takes less than 5 minutes from the station).

The exterior of the gallery is pretty cool, there were so many people taking photos outside!

Interior of the gallery

The Deutscher Werkbund

The exhibition that was going on during my visit was The Deutsche Werkbund, in collaboration with the Goethe Institute.

The Deutsche Werkbund is a German association of artists, architects, designers and industrialists. Having heard of the association before, I was intrigued to learn more about what the association did and contributed to society in the 1900s till present day. The exhibition took up all 3 floors of the gallery, running through the entire timeline of The Deutsche Werkbund.

It was interesting to see this exhibition in Shenzhen, as the content they were exhibiting is very different from the Chinese culture, particularly the architectural and furniture design aspect. I’m sure the Chinese must have thought of this exhibition as very cutting edge and contemporary.

My parents were pretty interested in the exhibition as well. However, after walking through the large space, they were exhausted- while I spent another good 30 minutes viewing the exhibit haha.

Overall the exhibition was pretty interesting! I loved the layout and the curatorial design of the exhibition. This gallery is a place art lovers must visit if you do go to Shenzhen!

OCT Art & Design Gallery – Shenzhen So I went to Shenzhen, China for 5 days during the Lunar New Year and went sightseeing with my parents.

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FINALLY writing a post after months of hibernation (and my first post in 2017!) because I have had a serious case of a writer’s block and university has been time consuming.

ANYWHO, I am feeling very excited while writing this post because this event is one of, if not, THE most anticipated art exhibition of the Singapore Art Week 2017- Greetings from Singapore. Greetings from Singapore is Singaporean artist Sam Lo’s second solo exhibition, and first ever photography exhibition, featuring her documentaries of her public installations since 2012. (In case anyone doesn’t know who Sam Lo is, she is dubbed by the media and public as the ‘Sticker Lady’.)

I had the opportunity of meeting and working with Sam and One East Asia for this exhibition. Listening to Sam and her thought process behind the photos taken and the stickers/installations in each photograph was inspiring to say the least. Despite her relatively young age, hearing and understanding her thought process definitely showed me a different side of her. I’ve learnt so much from her!

  Panic at the Crossing, Sam Lo, 42 x 27.9cm, 2012. Image Courtesy of One East Asia.

  One of my favourite works of her’s, “Panic at the Crossing”, features her sticker Panic Button opposite Singapore’s governing arts organization, MCCY.  In my interpretation, I thought that Sam was trying to emphasise MCCY’s efforts about the arts- how artists and art managers in Singapore constantly have to worry and take MCCY’s rules into consideration. However, Sam placed the sticker there because the road in front of MCCY is one of the busiest junctions in town! So Sam also stated that this shows that every single piece of art she does is for the people- the interpretations are left to all of us.

Greetings from Singapore acts as a voice for Singaporeans, and even non-Singaporeans alike! Unlike most of the high art being exhibited during Singapore Art Week, Greetings from Singapore certainly takes a different approach by speaking and reaching out to the masses. The exhibition is also pretty much interactive, based on Sam’s curation herself. So this visual arts exhibition wouldn’t only be a static exhibition! :) Also, Sam will also be launching her postcard book during this exhibition.

I’ve included some more pictures of her works below for ya’ll to get a teaser of the exhibition.

Hope to see ya’ll there this Tuesday at 7pm in One East Asia Gallery (information below). :)

Stomp Works Better

Everyday is a Photo Opportunity

A Cautionary Tale

  Information:

Venue: One East Asia 15 Scotts Road, #09-­03 Thong Teck Building Singapore 228218

OPENING RECEPTION & BOOK LAUNCH (Meet the Artist) Tuesday 10th January 2017 Time: 6:30pm – 9pm

Artist’s Talk Wednesday 18th January 2017 Time: 7pm

Exhibition Dates and Hours: 10th – 31st January 2017

PUBLIC VIEWING Monday through Friday: 12pm – 7 pm Saturday (14th & 21st January): 12pm – 5 pm Sunday & Public Holidays: Closed

RSVP at [email protected]

  Greetings from Singapore FINALLY writing a post after months of hibernation (and my first post in 2017!) because I have had a serious case of a writer's block and university has been time consuming.

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Andres Barrioquinto in London

Andres Barrioquinto in London

For the first time ever, Filipino artist Andres Barrioquinto will be having his solo exhibition, titled “It Will All End in Tears”, in START Art Fair, held in the Saatchi Gallery, London. Brought to London by Singapore-based art gallery One East Asia, Andres will be showing 9 of his most recent works, created for this art fair. I had the opportunity to be able to view 3 of his works before they…

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I've started dieting?!

I’ve started dieting?!

So recently I have started dieting, cutting down on food and eating just one meal a day… HA! Who am I kidding? I love food too much to actually not eat. However I have actually started on a diet. For about a month now, I’ve been on Herbalife. For those who have not heard of Herbalife, Herbalife is a nutrition and weight management company that has been around for years and they have over millions…

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During our trip, we spent the third day in Taiwan going on a day trip! We packed water and tidbits we bought in Taiwan and brought it along with us. As no one has a drivers license, we hired a full-day taxi driver to bring us around.

The driver uncle picked us from our place at around 8:30am, and he even prepared bananas for us! This uncle was the sweetest ever! Not only did he drive us to the places we mentioned to him, he planned the route carefully so that we would waste the least time travelling. Also, during the drive, he would tell us about the history of Taiwan and the places we were going to visit. What better way to learn more about the country than to speak to a person native of that land himself! I always enjoy speaking to the citizens of the countries I visit, as you would not only get the “tourist” side of it.

Jiufen

Shifen Waterfall

During this day trip, we visited a total of 7 places. The places consist of Yehliu Geopark, Ruifang District, Houtong Cat Village, Jiufen, Shifen Waterfall, Shifen Station and Pingxi Station. 

Our first stop was Yehliu Geopark! We have not heard of Yehliu Geopark, and it was the uncle who told us about it, and said that we should visit it soon as some of the rocks were breaking.

It was pretty crowded with many tour buses ferrying tourists.

Walkways

Cute Princess Rock

You would need to take a nice 10 minutes stroll to the sea and where majority of the rocks are. However, along the way, you can get to see some rocks and beautiful nature!

Natural holes formed in the sea (to be honest I don’t know what it’s called haha)

The sea breeze was so cooling that we actually felt cold, it was like winter!

All the natural rock formations

To be honest, if you aren’t the “sight-seeing” and scenery kind of tourist, then this place would not be for you because its all scenery. (You can get a lot of pretty good shots though haha) The main attraction here would be the natural formed rocks which appeared after the sea levels went down (I suppose…). It was pretty amazing because there aren’t rocks like these in Singapore and very few around the world too. The star attraction in this geopark would be the Queen’s Rock, which is a rock that looks like the head of a queen. It looks smaller in person so don’t be disappointed haha.

Even at the end of walking around the place, there was a hill you could climb up to see more of the surrounding islands in Taiwan!

Hill at the end of Yehliu Geopark

So after the Geopark, we headed to Ruifang District and Houtong Cat Village. We were really excited for this place because of the cats! Well…at least 2 of us did haha.

But before heading there, we stopped by a small town in Ruifang District for a short 15 minute toilet break.

Houses 

Street

Food Stalls

It was a quaint little town with small eateries around. We did not eat anything as we were saving our empty stomachs for the food in Jiufen!

Houtong Cat Village

After that we headed to the cat village! It was not crowded at all, and once we reached, we could see several cats lying around or some even playing! This place is a must-go for cat lovers! There is even a small shop near the Houtong Station that sells cat food, so that you can feed the cats around.

Houtong Station

There were several dogs around the area too, so if you’re not a cat fanatic but rather a dog lover, then this place could be for you as well.

Another place of attraction in the cat village is also the old railway station that used to be in use. You can also see a river nearby  as well!

Old Railway Station

The old railway tracks

Although it is not well-maintained and looks really old, the old railway station does have its own charms to it.

Next up, we finally made our way to Jiufen! It was crowded! Filled with tourists of many different countries. There are shops upon shops selling delicacies like Taiwanese desserts, snacks and food! If you would like to bring home Taiwanese snacks at a good price, Jiufen is the place to get it.

We spent about 2 hours in Jiufen, and ate so much that we were full by the time we finished walking around Jiufen. One of my most favourite snack I had was the Taro Balls! I had mine cold and it was delicious! They also have hot Taro Balls with Green/Red/Mixed beans.

Eating with a view

We went halfway up Jiufen just to eat the Taro Balls from this shop, with an amazing view while we were at it. We even bought 4 packets home to eat. :) Along our way up, we spotted this creepy yet interesting shop that makes masks of peoples faces! It was a bit eerie but it is definitely not common to see such shops anywhere!

Mask shop

There are also several cat cafes and tea houses for you to relax and take a breather if you want to explore Jiufen and walk to the top.

Overall, Jiufen would be a place I would go back to if I ever go back to Taiwan!

Beautiful view at the top of Jiufen

After Jiufen, we rushed to Shifen Waterfalls as the last entry into the waterfalls is at 4:30pm. We spent about 30-40 minutes at the waterfalls because it is quite a walk to the waterfalls from the drop-off point. Along the way you can see the streams that lead to the waterfalls! Apart from viewing the scenery, there really isn’t much to do here.

The waterfall was pretty amazing because it was strong! Though we were not standing close to the waterfall at all, we got pretty wet because we were taking photos.

.

It is really cooling after a 10-15 minute walk though, so it was worth it. While we were there, we even spotted some young Singaporeans like us!

With Ori

With Gabby

Mandatory Group Photo 

After the waterfall, we were exhausted. We had been walking around the whole day and to be honest, none of us are into exercising so we had already reached our limit haha.

However, we had 2 more places to visit, which were Shifen and Pingxi Station. We wanted to visit those 2 places so that we could put the lantern with our wishes! The uncle said that Shifen was more lively, so we decided to go there first.

We decided to get 2 lanterns and share them so that we could save costs. I shared with Gabriel, whilst Naomi and Oriana shared one!

It was a delightful experience, writing our wishes and thoughts in the little Chinese that we remembered how to write in (haha!), and actually doing something heartfelt with each other.

Shifen Station

After we let go of our lanterns, we spent some time taking photographs around the station.

Right after the train left

Shine Station: Touristy shot with the camera focus on the rocks

Although we were tired, we decided to continue and visit our last stop, which was Pingxi Station!

We reached Pingxi around 6pm, and it was a ghost town, very quiet with hardly anyone around. We wandered around the train tracks and were just in time to actually experience the train going past us. We were standing less than 1 meter away from the train when it came! After the train went past, Gabriel and I rushed to stand on the tracks to get a photo, because it seems as though the train was coming at us hahah! (Good memories :) )

Overall, after spending the whole day visiting these 7 places, we were exhausted. We slept till 10am the next day to recuperate! But we were really lucky to have had a really good driver who ferried us around safely, and we were even more lucky to have been able to view so many beautiful places together as close friends.

I believe that this Taiwan trip will be a beautiful memory in our hearts, and we will always remember it till we’re old and greying.

And of course, we are thankful to our parents who trusted us and gave us a wonderful grad trip, to celebrate the end of one part of our lives, and the start to a new chapter in our lives! <3

Till next time Taiwan!

Taken at Pingxi Station

        Day Trip in Taiwan! (Beautiful Memories) During our trip, we spent the third day in Taiwan going on a day trip! We packed water and tidbits we bought in Taiwan and brought it along with us.

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During our 9 days in Taiwan, we visited many places, and being art students, we obviously visited many museums. We went to the National Palace Museum, Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the National Taiwan Museum. Though it is only 3, we spent at least half a day in each. Each museum has it’s own beauty and speciality to them, and visiting these museums was such an eye-opener!

National Palace Museum

The first museum we visited was the National Palace Museum.

We spent half a day there, and even that is not enough time to view all the galleries, and appreciate the works in the museum itself. (Hence it is an excuse to go back to Taiwan again hehe) It was easy to travel there by train (stop at Jiannan Road Station), then we took a bus that was only 2 stops away. Along the short walk to the museum, we took some photos of the scenery around.

Once we arrived at the museum, it was very crowded although it was a Tuesday. Compared to the National Museum of Singapore, the crowd was probably 50 times as much people in the museum. It was amazing to see that many people of all ages, young or old, visit the museum.

Steps leading up to the Museum

Sadly, there is no photography allowed in the museum, and I was asked to keep my camera in the locker rooms.

Walking around the galleries can be quite intimidating. The Palace Museum has numerous gallery seaters walking around, ensuring that the noise level will be kept low, and that people would not touch the artefacts. However, if you want to find out information, they are actually really friendly. :)

There are three floors in total, with more than 10 large galleries. Within the galleries, there would be sub-galleries. (It can be very tiring to walk through so many galleries, so the museum placed several benches around for you to rest your legs and absorb the information- Thank God haha) The galleries are categorised by the type of artefact held there. So there would be jade, ceramics, scrolls etc. Looking and admiring most of the works, I am surprised that many of the works, at least 70% of them, are really well conserved.

The galleries and artefacts were presented in a very clean manner. Most of the artefacts would not have an individual summary about it, unless they were the star artefacts of the gallery. However, if you are interested to find out more on the other works, you can purchase the museum guide in the bookshop for about 500NTD. The book is pretty worth it as it tells the history of the museum, and the works as well.

By the end of our visit to the Palace Museum, although we were mentally exhausted, it was amazing to have seen the rich history behind Taiwan, and how the artefacts make up the history and lives of people.

The next museum we visited was the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. The Taipei Fine Arts Museum is located in a cultural district, where the Taipei Expo Park is also at. (Train station stop is Yuan Shan Station)

Taipei Expo Park

We had a quick lunch at the quaint and pretty foodcourt at the Expo Park, where we had 卤肉饭. Albeit being a bit salty, it was still delicious.

卤肉饭 at Taipei Expo Park

To be honest, seeing the museum in person was a bit of a disappointment. The building is not as white, clean and modern like we saw in photographs. However, the exhibition inside was what mattered, as it was our luck to have been able to view it.

Taipei Fine Arts Museum

Before talking about the exhibition, a little bit about the building.

The building of the museum is shared with the Taiwan Excellence Pavilion, an organization that awards people or groups that has the highest Innovation Value. “The products that receive the ‘Taiwan Excellence Award’ are authorized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to use the “Taiwan Excellence” mark. The “Taiwan Excellence Mark” is made up of six interwoven curves, and the overall design is inspired by the spirit of “fulfillment” in traditional Taiwanese culture.” It is great to see that government is pushing the contemporary arts and culture in Taiwan!

Walking through the building, it was very quiet and there were not as many people around. (They were revamping the permanent galleries so we could only visit one exhibition that was showing) However, once we arrived at the third level, where the exhibition is held at, there were many people. However, compared the the National Palace Museum, most of the visitors were young adults. I think that is because the exhibition features the London-based design firm, the Heatherwick Studio. 

Inside Heatherwick Studio exhibition

In case you’re wondering why the name Heatherwick sounds familiar, Heatherwick Studios designed constructed the new teaching facility and learning hub, known as “The Hive”, in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore! Hence to be able to see more of Heatherwick’s other designs and the processes behind it was fascinating, and we were lucky that we caught the exhibition while we were till in Taipei!

The Hive in NTU

Models of the Hive

Heatherwick studios, and the founder Thomas Heatherwick, has done countless of urban infrastructure and architectural designs.

One of my favourite buildings designed by the Heatherwick Studio would be the sculpture structure: the UK Pavilion in the Shanghai World Expo, opened and held in 2010 (picture below).

  I love how sleek the design is. Sadly the structure is now dismantled.

We spent about 2 hours in the museum. We could even sit on “Spun”, a form which works as a chair no matter which way you rotate it.

(Read more on Spun here: http://www.heatherwick.com/magis-spun-chair/)

Metal Spun chair

Sitting on it was really scary because although it is proven to balance either way you spin it, the human heart is still weak haha.

Overall, I feel that the Fine Arts Museum was interesting because of the exhibition, but it is not a must see (if you really don’t have time) in Taipei.

The last museum we visited was the National Taiwan Museum. 

National Taiwan Museum

The National Taiwan Museum is the oldest museum in Taiwan, built by the colonial government of Japan.

We took the train to the NTU Hospital Station, and took a short walk through the 228 Peace Park to the museum. (The museum is located amongst many points of interest. I will elaborate at the end of the post later)

Entrance from the park to the museum

228 Peace Park

Greenery everywhere in Taiwan

The museum focuses on five aspects, namely anthropology, earth sciences, zoology, botany and education. The curatorial direction of the museum is somewhat similar to that of the National Museum of Singapore (NMS). The permanent galleries show the indigenous animals and tribes, as well as the cultural artefacts of Taiwan. Though the permanent exhibitions in NMS is based on a chronological order, the exhibitions in the National Taiwan Museum brings the chronology of Taiwans’ history through the various themes.

Thankfully we were allowed to take photos of the exhibitions, so I took some photographs of the exhibitions to document the way they presented the artefacts.

In the zoology exhibition, the most interesting part of it was the floor, in which they built an “underwater sea” right below our feet. So we could see the various “fishes and water plants” beneath us!

Here’s a a bad photo of it.

After going around the permanent exhibitions, we went to see a special exhibition called “Musemble City”.

The exhibition shows the history of prominent buildings built throughout the years in Taipei, including the museum itself.

The design of this exhibition is very interesting, with each “mini-house” representing one district in Taipei. To show that the city will continue to develop in this contemporary and modern society, the structure is built as a simple and clean structure, whilst keeping the idea of “home” and coming back to our roots, with the shape of a house.

The mini-houses

Our visit to the National Taiwan Museum was definitely a fruitful and knowledgable visit, and I have definitely gained more exposure on how to curate and design an exhibition!

Also, the museum was just so beautiful that I just could not stop taking photos of it! (Yes I was that obnoxious tourist taking snaps of every single thing haha)

Walkway on the second floor of the museum

The view when you enter the museum

Columns

Beautiful ceiling! (My favourite part of the museum architecture)

After our visit to the museum, we walked through the 228 Peace Park and enjoyed the nice breeze and cute animals running around. The animals like squirrels in the parks are pretty tame. We even saw a squirrel taking a peanut out of a grandma’s hand when she was feeding it. It was the cutest sight ever!

Squirrel eating a peanut

Also, the Presidential Office Building is located within walking distance. So we walked from the museum to the building just to take a look at it.

As they were preparing for the inauguration of the new president (we visited the museum 8 days before the inauguration ceremony), security around the area was tight. They were also preparing a setup in front of the building, hence we could not get a clear shot of the building. :( However, many other government buildings are located around this area, and they were pretty nice to take photos of too!

Government building with a neat row of motorcycles

After spending about 15 minutes trying to get the unsuccessful shot of the Presidential Building, we decided to just explore around the area. To our pleasant surprise, Ximending is located a few roads down!

Since we had nothing planned in our itinerary for that day, we spent the rest of the late afternoon and evening going around Ximending and the neighbouring department stores. :)

Museum hopping in Taipei, Taiwan During our 9 days in Taiwan, we visited many places, and being art students, we obviously visited many museums.

[nicolesingstar]

After studying for 2.5 years in NAFA, my close friends and I decided that after all our hard work, we should treat ourselves by going for a graduation trip, and also spend some time together, because after graduating, we won’t get to see each other as much anymore.

Before deciding on Taiwan, we thought of so many places; Bali, Shanghai, Australia. However, we decided on Taiwan because of the vibrant culture and community there! (Also the fact that it is one of the safest countries, and has easy commute systems around)

In Taiwan, we stayed in an AirBnB apartment in the central part of Taipei, Xinyi District. There was a train station just one road down, and the bus stop right in front of our apartment building. It was easy to travel anywhere we wanted to.

Road in front of our apartment building

We visited many night markets (Shilin and Shida for instance), and the food there was delicious! Not only delicious, it was cheap and affordable. We tried everything, and bought everything in small portions to share. The street food from the night markets are really clean as well.

Our first dinner in Ximending

Street food from the night markets

One of our most favourite Taiwan dish would be 卤肉饭 (lu rou fan), basically pork with rice and it is amazing! We tried 卤肉饭 everywhere we went, and found most of it delicious.

卤肉饭 at Ximending

卤肉饭 at Taipei Expo Park

Another place where we had one of our most memorable meals is Dazzling Cafe!

We had a late lunch (around 2pm) at the DC Pink outlet at Zhong Xiao Dong Lu. It was crowded and we had to wait about 20 minutes but honestly, the wait is worth it. The food is definitely cheaper than SG’s price, and the setting is just cute with the decor! We each ordered our own mains, mine being the Spicy seafood pasta. We ordered and shared 2 different desserts; the Toast and Waffles (I can’t remember the exact names oops). The desserts were filling and we nearly could not finish our meal. However, thinking about it, the waffles has GOT to be my personal favourite because there was a mochi filling inside which made it even more sweet and chewy! Not to mention that they don’t have this special mochi in Singapore, sigh…

Spicy Seafood Pasta

Toast

Waffles

So basically, we’ve concluded that Taiwan is food haven, so if you are looking to lose your weight, going to Taiwan for a holiday wouldn’t be for you..

Other than buying food, we decided to cook breakfast for ourselves to save cost too. We went to Carrefour (at No. 1 Gueilin Rd- 10 mins walk from Ximending) more than 5 times to buy groceries.

Carrefour had everything. We had so much fun in Carrefour (one of my friend’s top favourite place in Taiwan) that we had a mini photoshoot there too..

@gabrielchingay

@oriana39

At the check out counter (Obviously shows how happy we are in carrefour)

We would wake up at 7am everyday (well, the first 5 days till we were exhausted from sightseeing) and prepare for breakfast then head out and explore. We walked a lot and took mostly the public transport like buses and trains. We did visit many arts and cultural sites like museums, and we even had a day trip (which I will write in another post).

Walkway beside the Presidential Building

Government building

Walking around, even when we lost our way and had to ask people for directions, everyone was so friendly and always helped us. Almost 90% of the Taiwanese we met on the road, while taking the cab, or even shopkeepers started conversations with us. Taiwan, or Taipei at least, is very polite and welcoming to tourists and foreigners.

Some of the places we frequented the most were Ximending and Zhong Xiao Dong Lu, major food and shopping places. Some of the other malls that we dropped by were ATT 4 FUN, Taipei 101, Breeze Centre Mall, Miramar Entertainment Park (where the large ferris wheel is), and Bellavita (where we just took photos because of the beautiful architecture).

Taipei 101

Miramar Mall

“Orchard Road” of Taipei

Around Breeze Centre Mall

  Bellavita

On Sunday, our third last day, we went to Tamsui, where we saw the Fishermen’s Wharf. As it was a Sunday, it was relatively crowded. Students were dancing to raise money for their school projects, families were having picnics and tourists (like us) were there for the scenery and food.

Tamsui Station

Tamsui Old Street

It was enjoyable to just walk through Tamsui Old street and watch the lively atmosphere. Of course you get to try various types of food again. However, amongst all the shops, there was a “Freak museum” along the row of shops.

Freak museum

The museum had some weird creatures outside so we decided to just take a look at those things, and it was creepy. There was a two headed turtle, and a creature made up of a pig, crab, and rabbit. It was weird seeing creatures like these and we had goosebumps up our arms. The ticket was 87 NTD to go in and see more weird creatures, but we decided that we had seen enough weird things for a day, and did not pay to go in.

Continuing our walk to the Fishermen’s Wharf, we were exhausted by the time we saw it, that we just sat there to rest and enjoy the evening breeze.

Families

Nature everywhere

Bluest of skies

By the end of the 9 days, although it went by so quickly, we enjoyed ourselves in Taiwan.

Praise the Lord that we were also safe throughout the whole trip because on the fourth day (Thursday), we had actually experienced an earthquake of about 5+ magnitude in the morning when we were preparing breakfast. As we stayed on the highest floor of the apartment building, we were worried and stunned into silence (well, not me cause I was laughing). As Singapore has no earthquakes that occur daily, we were not taught what to do in an earthquake, and the only thing we knew was to hide below a table. It was a very interesting experience for us on a whole; to be able to experience something that could be potentially life-changing together.

This trip will always be a memory in our hearts, and we hope to tell this to our grandchildren in the future (hahaha).

Till then, peace out Taiwan. :)

Missing that Taipei snapchat filter

Lift selfie in our apartment building

Ps. I will have 2 more posts on my Taiwan trip coming up soon!

Grad trip in beautiful Taiwan After studying for 2.5 years in NAFA, my close friends and I decided that after all our hard work, we should treat ourselves by going for a graduation trip, and also spend some time together, because after graduating, we won't get to see each other as much anymore.

[nicolesingstar]

What would most people think of when they see Southeast Asian art?

Colourful, expensive, culture, emotions, traditions.

However, not many people would think of friendship when you look at a collection of art.

Overview of “A Traveller’s Diary” exhibition in One East Asia ArtSpace

Chang Fee Ming and Daniel Komala, both leading art practitioners in the art scene in Southeast Asia, are showing friendship in the upcoming exhibition “A Traveller’s Diary”. Friendship is something that is intangible, and was initially difficult to understand how friendship, such a broad term, can be seen shown in art. After having the chance to interview Mr. Chang and Mr. Komala, it was then that I understood how this connection of friendship came about.

Meeting Mr. Chang for the first time was intimidating, he is a self-taught artist and an established artist, especially in Southeast Asia and Asia. However, he was friendly and definitely shared many things about how his artworks came about. Now Mr. Komala is someone that I have already met countless times due to work; and every single time I meet him, there is always something new to learn about art.

We started off talking about manga, comic figures and cosplay because Mr. Chang and Mr. Komala was sharing their views on young people nowadays, and the type of art (Contemporary, traditional, modern etc) that take place in the current times now. To Mr. Chang, he felt that young people nowadays are very much into manga and even collectibles of Japanese figurines.

As times are always changing and the types of technology and art is always evolving, we talked about the type of art that is made into today’s society. It was then that Mr. Komala said that the most contemporary painting in the collection would be ‘September 27th’, painted in 2007.

September 27th

Close-up of the bullet holes

Looking at the painting from afar, you might not catch the “contemporary” side to it, however, looking closely, you can see the bullet holes in the frames. This significantly makes the frame part of the artwork as well! This work refers to Mr. Chang’s take on the Saffron Revolution which happened in September 2007. Hence, although many of Mr. Chang’s works might seem more “traditional”, there are many side hints in his works, which show that his works are very much connected to today’s current times and news.

So how did Mr. Komala amass quite a substantial amount of Mr. Chang’s works? And how did they meet?

They met when Mr. Komala wanted to buy ‘The Undying Spirit’ in a gallery (The Bamboo Gallery) in Bali. It was from then, where their friendship was made and grew till today. After Mr. Komala had made more money from his business, he could collect more of the works he felt he had a connection to. Each of the works he collected, has a different back story to it. Each work has a different connection and memory. That was how he grew his collection of Mr. Chang’s paintings.

And as his collection grew, so did their friendship.

The Undying Spirit (1992)

Mr. Chang shared that he would paint in Mr. Komala’s villa in Bali. He likes painting nature and earth, and the garden Mr. Komala has is quiet and serene. Hence, a few of the works he painted actually features parts of Mr. Komala’s massive garden.

Many of these works are inspiration from Mr. Komala’s garden

So, from all that, what is the purpose of the exhibition of a single private collection “A Traveller’s Diary”?

They want to show that down to it all, putting aside them being an artist and an art collector, they are friends. In Bali, wearing simple clothes and just sharing and enjoying life. They want to show a book and collaboration of friendship that grew from art, to be visible now, when they are still alive, before it is too late.

Through art, it can make anything grow, friendship, happiness, unity. Through the one hour long sharing, one quote (out of many) which touched me was:

“I want to celebrate life.”- Mr. Daniel Komala 

We should always live in the moment, treasure what we have now, live each day like it is the last, because we never know what will happen tomorrow or even the next second.

 Peace x Love, Nicole Angelina

  “A Traveller’s Diary”: Friendship in Art What would most people think of when they see Southeast Asian art? Colourful, expensive, culture, emotions, traditions.

[nicolesingstar]

A Mother.

Someone who bore you in their womb for 9 months. Someone who loves you the moment they carried you in their arms after labour. Someone who promises to give you a better life than she had. Someone who stays up late taking care of you. Someone who cooks and prepares the best for you. Someone who does everything unconditionally and expects no returns. That someone, is a mother. A person who scolds…

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[nicolesingstar]

During my 2nd day in Kanyakumari, we visited the Padmanabhapuram Palace. It was beautiful! It is personally one of my favourite sites in India which I have visited during this trip. This was the palace is located in Padmanabhapuram, where Padmanabhapuram was the capital city of the former Hindu kingdom of Travancore.

Sign outside the Palace

Entrance to the Palace

Padmanabhapuram Palace

We had to remove our shoes before entering and visiting the Palace. There were not many people as we had rushed in just before they closed the doors for final visitors. The Palace was very simple, they had kept it bare of furniture in most rooms, only keeping some for display. However, the architecture was amazing.

Gable roof

Close up of the gable

One of the images carved in the architecture

Gabled roof and ceiling works are typical of Kerala architectural style. Kerala architecture is divided into Religious architecture & domestic architecture. Palaces like this would be under domestic architecture, where intricately carved gables would be used to decorate the palaces, and bring prosperity and happiness to the people who live there.

Gabled roof and ceilings in the palace

Carved Ceilings

Not only does the facade of the palace have beautiful architectural design, the inside of the palace is also decorated beautifully. The ceilings were carved with flowers and different patterns too!

Windows with a purpose

However, the architecture was built not only for aesthetic purposes, but all the architecture has a functional purpose as well. Like the windows shown in the picture above, people inside the palace can see everything going on outside, however, people cannot see what is inside. This was to protect the royal members who were residing in the palace.

Many of the architecture used inside the palace was made from stone, hence, many of the original architecture were preserved, and can still be kept and shown.

Kitchen

King’s Toilet

The queen’s bed (with any intricate carvings)

Inner Courtyard

Like all palaces, there are always courtyards and gardens. The courtyard was kept very simple. However, walking through the palace was cooling and refreshing! It was nice to experience the peace and tranquility.

More images of the palace

Of course the palace needs to refurbish and preserve the facade of the palace, as it is quite old.

Windows with a purpose

However, despite that, speed walking through the palace within an hour was amazing and breathtaking. There are always different styles and types of architecture. Like the windows in the picture above, it is meant to allow ventilation in the palace, as the palace could get quite humid during the summer.

In the palace, there is also a Heritage Museum, which has replicas of the life of the people at that time.

Heritage Museum

Living room

I personally feel that this museum was the most boring (so to speak) part of visiting the museum, because there was no interaction with the visitors. Just walking through the small museum was pretty dry.

Storage

Kitchen

If there were mannequins showing the people at that time, what they wore and the activities they were doing, it would have made the visit more interesting.

However not to end the post on a bad note, the visit to the palace was still an amazing time spent there. It was different from museums/royal historical sites I have visited in other countries, where most of the palaces would be very grand with much gold architecture. However, the primary material used in the Padmanabhapuram Palace is wood, hence, it was more “down-to-earth”, but also grand at the same time.

More pictures:

Ceiling Carvings

Indian Columns

Hindu Temple/Prayer Hall

Stone carvings at Prayer Hall

Lamp

Mum & I in the Padmanabhapuram Palace

Thanks for reading! (More posts to come stay tuned!)

Peace x Love,

Nicole Angelina

Kanyakumari (Part 2), Tamil Nadu, India During my 2nd day in Kanyakumari, we visited the Padmanabhapuram Palace. It was beautiful! It is personally one of my favourite sites in India which I have visited during this trip.