Narrative
Photo credits: http://www.mopsg.com/forim.glogster.com/media/5/1
The National Stadium as a physical building does not hold much meaning to people, however, as a vessel of memories and experiences, it becomes charged with nostalgia and other sentimental feelings. The physical vessel becomes symbolic of these intangible feelings and memories. The memories in the old stadium, memories of the old stadium; somehow they begin to merge and become to mean the same.
And with the demolition of the stadium, it evoked a fear that these memories will disappear along with its physical anchor.
And with the demolition of the stadium, it evoked a fear that these memories will disappear along with its physical anchor.
Photo credits: http://singaporesportsfan.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/national-stadium-2.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.im.glogster.com/media/5/1
http://im.glogster.com/media/5/1
http://farm1.static.flickr.im.glogster.com/media/5/1
http://im.glogster.com/media/5/1
In the same way, what makes the wooden benches special to Singaporeans is not its physical qualities, but because it has been a integral part of how many Singaporeans experience the stadium. In this, it finds its value and respect, now treated as a rarity and a national treasure because of its strong symbolism of the old Kallang Stadium that has now ceased to exist.
The benches that have been saved from the demolition of the National Stadium, is not unlike the souvenirs, images and stories we have saved for ourselves; these are all things we save in bid extend the life of our memories. In response to the death of the stadium and the fear of forgetting their experiences in it, people create their own ways of remembering.
The benches that have been saved from the demolition of the National Stadium, is not unlike the souvenirs, images and stories we have saved for ourselves; these are all things we save in bid extend the life of our memories. In response to the death of the stadium and the fear of forgetting their experiences in it, people create their own ways of remembering.
Final Result
^ Vessel to Remember: Remembering the old vessel (the National Stadium) by creating our own handmade and personal vessels through the fragments of what we have left of it.
By finding our own ways to hold on to these memories, we create for our own vessel to remember our National Stadium experiences by. We piece together fragments of what reminds us of it, reflected by the rough exterior made by wood shavings which are held together by glue. The inner surface is smooth, inviting us to keep something within the empty space of the vessel.
Process
My initial wood exploration started with looking into the wood properties and testing the limits of the wood. After a number of explorations, I came up with a few categories to group them into certain themes, and subsequently selected one theme for further development. I called it the chip vessel series, because I had used wood chips compressed into a mould and held together by an adhesive to form different kinds of wood vessels.
My initial wood exploration started with looking into the wood properties and testing the limits of the wood. After a number of explorations, I came up with a few categories to group them into certain themes, and subsequently selected one theme for further development. I called it the chip vessel series, because I had used wood chips compressed into a mould and held together by an adhesive to form different kinds of wood vessels.
^ These were the considerations I had when exploring the chip vessel series.
^ My explorations for the chip vessel series that eventually led me to my final piece.
The following pictures show more detail of what the final piece looks like:
