In anywhere else in the world, Esplanade Tunnel would be a scary place. Leading from Citylink Mall and the MRT stations to the basement of Esplanade, this covered path includes advertisement panels on its first stretch and upon making a sharp turn, visual art displays. Despite its air-conditioned comfort and generally bright illumination, it can still feel claustrophobic. Esplanade's website lists it as an 85-metre stretch, but it gives an impression of being three times as long.
If this were USA or Europe, there would be homeless people, drug addicts and miscreants littering its path. In Singapore, we have art instead, much of which I cannot comprehend, including the latest instalment, entitled Reflections by Ryan Lim Zi Yi. So sparse and stark it is, that it feels like a non-event. Much ado about nothing?
There are lamp-posts, illuminations and silhouetted shadows projected on the long wall, and that's about it. Lim describes "a single flying termite at the end of its lifespan" (which I don't see), "whose final reflections unpack the moments of human existential discomfort, longing and anxiety". In addition, "the swarmer pieces together an understanding of life while confronting the brevity of its own existence". Wow, I never thought a pesky, stinky bug could even empathise with homo sapiens, and vice versa.
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| We thought we had some fun by projecting our own silhouettes on the wall. |
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| That's what I call art. |
REFLECTIONS
by Ryan Lim Zi Yi
runs till 4 October 2026
(lots more time to reflect)
HAPPY NATIONAL DAY!
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