THE HAZE HANGS AROUND

It rained for a few days, and there were hopes that the precipitation might mitigate the haze. But no chance, the haze has hung on. Politicians have made some noises in Singapore, and their Indonesian counterparts have shrugged their shoulders, and did what they have been doing for years, nada. Responding to just criticism, they have cut natural gas supply to Singapore, presumably to reduce pollution. Somebody must pay.

So here are more photos (taken on Saturday, 24 October 2026) from Singapore's civic and river district, with historic buildings and skyscrapers silhouetted against grey skies. Now I'm beginning to hear Liszt's Nuages Gris (Grey Clouds) or should it be Unstern. Disastro (Unlucky Star. Disaster)? 

Some unintentional humour here.
Whom are you going to fine?

Some night pics 

(which remain spectacular)

from Esplanade:

PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION + I DON'T GET MODERN ART: PRESENT-TENSE @ ESPLANADE JENDELA GALLERY / Part One

The time just before the doors open at Esplanade Recital Studio is the best time to visit Esplanade's Jendela Gallery and ponder about modern art. Its exhibitions are more often than not interesting, diverse and thought-provoking. The latest one, Present-Tense, representing different 13 visual artists from a number of nations is little different. In fact, it makes a good complement to the photography exhibition in Esplanade Tunnel.  

Here are the photos I took, in two parts. And as before, I have also included some spurious exhibits among the mix. See if you can spot them. 

This exhibition runs till 3 January 2027

PRESENT-TENSE Part Two:

pianomania: PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION + I DON'T GET MODERN ART: PRESENT-TENSE @ ESPLANADE'S JENDELA GALLERY / PART TWO

Present-Tense

PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION + I DON'T GET MODERN ART: PRESENT-TENSE @ ESPLANADE'S JENDELA GALLERY / PART TWO

Continued from Part One:

pianomania: PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION + I DON'T GET MODERN ART: PRESENT-TENSE @ ESPLANADE JENDELA GALLERY / Part One

Present-Tense is the latest modern art exhibition at Esplanade's Jendela Gallery. Spending a few minutes here before attending any concert would have you thinking and pondering about modern art and the world we live in. It can be puzzling, and anything that challenges the mind is a good thing. There are a couple of spurious exhibits among these. See if you can spot them.

Bottled tears - you must be kidding me.

This exhibition runs till 3 January 2027

PRESENT-TENSE

Jendela Gallery, Esplanade

Present-Tense

THE HAZE DESCENDS ON SINGAPORE

A haze has descended on Singapore and decided to stay. Not good. Now the government is becoming genuinely concerned. Blame those hunter gatherers across the sea for slashing and burning, and no one seems to be held accountable. What is the Indonesian government doing? Don't expect those in the volcano-stricken fellows in Java to be able to take care of what happens in Sumatra or Kalimantan. 

What are the lawmakers
going to do about that?

Here are some photos taken around Victoria Concert Hall, Esplanade and Raffles City on Wednesday and Thursday (14 & 15 October 2026), it looks terrible. To quote Tze of TO Ensemble, "Land with No Sun". Indeed. I want to return to Cambodia!

There's so much CO2 the
Tan Kah Tee memorial eucalyptus can take.

With this post, Pianomania has hit 8 million reads, achieved sometime before 4 pm on 17 October 2026.

LAND WITH NO SUN: FROM ESPLANADE TO FUNAN MALL UNDERGROUND

This is what PSI 123
(Unhealthy range) looks like.

Just to borrow a title from Tze Toh's TO Ensemble concerts, Land With No Sun is a photographic survey of Singapore underground. Thanks to a series of subways and tunnels connecting Singapore's major buildings in the civic centre, it is possible to walk long distances without seeing the sun. 

Land With No Sun,
but we have the moon!

The underground trek starts
at Esplanade Car Park (Basement 2).

Given the ongoing haze, it may even be a good idea to stay underground unless one needs to surface to attend a concert or have a meal. Even then, it is still possible to do all this while staying completely indoors.

The art space that is Esplanade Tunnel.

Underground plaza for angsty youths.
Somebody does a handstand.

We decided to take a walk from Esplanade all the way to the Parliament House car park completely underground to escape the haze. It took about 18-20 minutes at moderate walking pace, passing through Citylink Mall, Raffles City, City Hall MRT Station, The Capitol before exiting at Funan Mall. The unusual path includes crossing under the Stamford Tunnel not once but twice, which explains for a couple of unexpected descents to nether reaches just to ascend within a few steps. Interesting. Here are the photos!

Crossing under the Stamford Canal
for the first time.

Citylink Mall

There used to be a staircase here
to go up to War Memorial Park.

Crossing under the Stamford Canal
for the second time.

Citylink Mall leading to
Raffles City & City Hall MRT station.

Art in City Hall MRT station.

Entering the Capitol's
underground complex of restaurants.

The claustrophobic
Capitol-Funan tunnel.

Basement 2 of Funan Mall.

Rock-climbing facilities at Funan Mall.

Funan's complex of escalators.

Coming out to the open at last.

This is the convoluted
underground route we took.