SINGAPORE – The hum of forklifts and moving containers around Tanjong Pagar Distripark, home to the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), was replaced by the buzz of creativity on a Friday, as nine teams competed to design imaginative rest spaces.
Called Pockets of Rest, the competition Oct 3 saw participants responding to the challenge of finding “rest” in a 1.5m-by-2m rectangle – or roughly the size of a queen-size mattress – within the bustling industrial grounds of Tanjong Pagar Distripark.
Teams comprising up to five members aged between 15 and 40 – students and creatives who responded to an open call on social media – were given an hour to build their spaces.
A collage showing the nine different teams participating in the competition.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Three prizes were given out, and the winners of the Programmer’s Choice Award will have their work displayed at SAM. Entries were judged on restfulness, creativity and aesthetic appeal.
The competition was created in response to an ongoing art installation called Insomniac States by local artist Daniel Chong. The work consists of a series of sculptures modelled after objects of rest and placed around the building SAM occupies, responding to the “restlessness” of Tanjong Pagar Distripark.
Artist Daniel Chong posing with one of his sculptures at Tanjong Pagar Distripark.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
The event was co-organised by SAM’s public art initiative, The Everyday Museum, and Mr Chong.
“We really want the participants to be active participants in reflecting about their own spaces of rest, thinking about the material and also spatial politics of rest as well.” said Ms Estella Ng, manager of public art at SAM’s The Everyday Museum.
Mr Raihan Syahmi, 26, and Mr Timothy Ho, 27, preparing their space called Head In The Clouds.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Using discarded materials like bubble wrap, plywood, fastening straps and raffia strings collected from Tanjong Pagar Distripark, Mr Hans Chew, 28, a ceramic technician, and Ms Jun Tan, 39, a technical consultant, created Dara Dara, a “living room” that included a modular L-shaped sofa, to show how such items can have a second life.
The work by the two friends was a response to the site that is both a logistics hub and an emerging arts space, where a lot of materials and labour go into setting up exhibitions.
Ms Jun Tan, 39, and Mr Hans Chew, 28, creating Dara Dara with materials they found on three site visits to Tanjong Pagar Distripark.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
For an hour, they moved, wrapped, strapped and secured the materials, echoing the site’s logistical operations and paying homage to the often invisible labour behind every successful exhibition.
The duo won the Programmer’s Choice Award, earning a showcase for their work at SAM.
“I hope the work can invigorate a sense of curiosity about materials in our everyday life. I think this really permeates our everyday consciousness, whether we are aware of it,” said Mr Chew, who explained that Dara Dara means being sloppy and lazy in Japanese.
Another group found rest in a different way – by finding solace in the toilet.
Team Jaga Design, led by Edwin Fong, 29, an industrial designer, created a restroom with a toilet bowl, a side table with a lamp, and “relaxing” posters about resting at work as well as those with funny memes.
The team sought to show how toilets offer pockets of respite from work in a fast-paced world.
Team Jaga setting up Restroom with materials that were largely borrowed from family and friends.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
“Alone in a cubicle, I am my only boss. I have the freedom to distract myself, take a power nap, have a power cry, or just enjoy some lovely peace and quiet,” Mr Fong said on behalf of the five-member team. “The toilet, to me, is to seek refuge. It’s the only place where I’m honest with myself.”
They clinched the Juror’s Choice Award and won a $350 gift card from local lifestyle brand Sojao.
All participants will be given a zine with pictures and documentation about the event, as well as writings and notes related to Mr Chong’s Insomniac States.
“We are quite grateful that the competition has morphed into something very personal for each participant and each participating group as well,” said Ms Ng.
Mr Chong, who was one of the three judges, said it was “surreal” to see such creative responses.
“Even though this was part of responding to my work, I quite enjoyed that we didn’t see another pillow or bolster. Many of the works didn’t just touch upon rest. They came from a far deeper, personal space, and it made me rethink what rest could be.
Comic lovers Ho See Kum, 48, and Oscar Ng, 54, designed a space filled with comics to express how reading comics is “restful” for them.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
“I used to think rest meant a bed or something to lie down on, but today opened my mind to the fact that rest can be very diverse.”
Insomniac States is on display at various outdoor locations around Tanjong Pagar Distripark at Block 39 Keppel Road, where SAM is located.
Visual artsSingapore Art MuseumContests
