Marina Bay Sands' ArtScience Museum springs back to life as the kaleidoscopic hues from its permanent exhibition Future World, and special exhibition 2219: Futures Imagined deck its walls once again. The stunning lotus-shaped institution reopened during the first few weeks of Phase 2 for Sands Rewards members, in which they can also enjoy a 30% discount off admission tickets to both exhibitions. Today, the museum has welcomed back its guests both Sands Rewards members and non-Sands Rewards members with five new digital artworks in Future World.
The permanent exhibition is a mind-bender – it takes visitors on an interactive journey of lights, digital art, and magic. Featuring a plethora of works by award-winning Japanese art collective teamLab, Future World is a visual feast filled with high-tech, immersive art installations. Transport to another world with highlight pieces including Transcending Boundaries, where you can meander through the digitally-rendered garden featuring waterfalls that log in accordance with the laws of physics, butterflies that fly away upon touch, cherry blossoms that scatter like they would in the wind and more.
First introduced on March 14, prior to its temporary closure due to the circuit breaker, the five new digital artworks were added as part of the exhibition's update, where artworks are rotated over the years. The artworks have then been featured in ArtScience Museum's online series, ArtScience at Home, which takes viewers on a virtual tour around its exhibitions. If you've missed the artworks back in March, here's your chance to see them IRL.
Out of the five artworks, four are part of the opening gallery City in a Garden. Feast your eyes on the Southeast Asia debut of Proliferating Immense Life, A Whole Year per Year, a giant interactive mural of blooming flowers, and Enso - Cold Light, which shows a digital drawing of an enso (a symbol of enlightenment, the universe and equality) gliding into existence before slowly dissolving into nothingness. Presenting climate change through attention-grabbing video work, 100 Years Sea combines the elegance and beauty of traditional Japanese art with contemporary scientific data to illustrate the rising sea levels in real-time. As part of Transcending Boundaries, follow the cherry blossoms of Impermanent Life, at the Confluence of Spacetime New Space and Time is Born as they bloom and scatter, portraying the cycle of life against a backdrop that features circles of light and darkness.
The Sanctuary gallery, which doubles as a quiet haven for visitors to reflect and meditate, also welcomes a new addition. The Way of Birds shows a movement of a flock of birds that respond to the visitors' presence as they fly. The birds leave behind a trail of light as they fly through the space, dissolving the boundaries between the artwork and visitor. While most of the Future World displays are opened for an immersive experience, the artwork Sliding through the Fruit Field is only available for viewing and not for public interaction due to safety management measures.
While you're at it, check out 2219: Futures Imagined exhibition next door before it wraps up on August 10. The futuristic exhibition invites us to peer into the imaginary worlds – neither a utopian or dystopian view of the distant future – hatched by various artists, architects, filmmakers, writers and theatre companies from Singapore and beyond, while resisting the clichés of science fiction.
Take your curious mind – and up to five more – to ArtScience Museum to relive the digital magic of art and science. Admission tickets are available for Singapore residents from $16, and $19 for non-Singapore residents. Sands Rewards members can enjoy a 30% discount. Do note that the museum is running on limited capacity, so it's encouraged for visitors to purchase their tickets online to avoid any disappointment. For more information, visit marinabaysands.com/museum.