ART INSPIRES ART - Mythological Remix
The iconic Merlion plays a role as nation branding and is one of Singapore's main landmarks.
Its head represents the country's original name, Singapura, or "Lion City" in Malay, named after Sang Nila Utama, a prince from Palembang, while hunting spotted an unidentifiable creature believed to be a lion.
Its body symbolizes Singapore's humble beginnings as a fishing village, when it was called Temasek – “Sea Town” in Javanese.
The emblem of a fish with a lion’s head was designed by Fraser Brunner in 1964 and used as the logo of the Singapore Tourism Board. Years later a statue of the Merlion was conceptualized by Kwan Sai Kheong. Lim Nang Seng, a pioneer Singaporean sculptor was responsible for building the monumental cement version with a height of 8.6 meters and weighting 70 tones. The final sculpture was unveiled on September 15th, 1972 by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, to welcome all visitors to Singapore.
Although the Merlion lacks a genuine bond with locals due to the story's marketable origins, it’s unarguably a potential and ownable country asset, which triggers the admiration of many "ang mohs" like me, who were inspired to pay homage to the "Lion City".
This mixed media collection is part of ART INSPIRES ART series and it was presented at The Starving Artists second exhibition held in Singapore on April 2021.
Its head represents the country's original name, Singapura, or "Lion City" in Malay, named after Sang Nila Utama, a prince from Palembang, while hunting spotted an unidentifiable creature believed to be a lion.
Its body symbolizes Singapore's humble beginnings as a fishing village, when it was called Temasek – “Sea Town” in Javanese.
The emblem of a fish with a lion’s head was designed by Fraser Brunner in 1964 and used as the logo of the Singapore Tourism Board. Years later a statue of the Merlion was conceptualized by Kwan Sai Kheong. Lim Nang Seng, a pioneer Singaporean sculptor was responsible for building the monumental cement version with a height of 8.6 meters and weighting 70 tones. The final sculpture was unveiled on September 15th, 1972 by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, to welcome all visitors to Singapore.
Although the Merlion lacks a genuine bond with locals due to the story's marketable origins, it’s unarguably a potential and ownable country asset, which triggers the admiration of many "ang mohs" like me, who were inspired to pay homage to the "Lion City".
This mixed media collection is part of ART INSPIRES ART series and it was presented at The Starving Artists second exhibition held in Singapore on April 2021.
