NLB: NOISE - Bearfruit Documentary Photography Showcase

The last time we heard about NOISE - Bearfruit, they were holding an illustrative exhibit at the National Library, one which we thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated. Naturally we were excited to hear they were holding yet another exhibit at the same location, this time for photography, and made a note to visit it once we were back in Singapore.

NOISE - Bearfruit Documentary Photography Showcase
30 April - 26 June 

National Library Building, Level 7

"(The results of) a four-part workshop organized by documentary photographer Jean Loo in October and November 2010, the exhibition displays the final projects of the 14 workshop participants, each work dealing with topics close to the hearts and minds of their creators, ranging from folklore Taoism to environmental conservation at Singapore's only landfill."

The exhibition looked a lot smaller than the previous illustrative showcase, but I guess that was just due to the layout of the exhibition space. It didn't take too long to go through the entire showcase. Each "wall" had three to six photos on it, and most of the photos were accompanied by the photographer's name and a little caption detailing the respective photos.

One of the photos which caught my attention: "The Japanese Top View Ranchu are commonly displayed in white basins for viewers to admire their beauty and grace." - Photo by Titus Ong

...I hate to say it, but I honestly wasn't very impressed by this exhibit. Maybe I just had higher expectations for exhibitions from NOISE - Bearfruit after their previous illustration showcase, but nothing in the Documentary Photography showcase held my interest for long; many of the shots looked amateurishly-taken and more than anything else looked like pictures you would see pinned to a notice board outside a primary school's art club. The captions for some of the photos, while obviously meant to be insightful, deep and meaningful, merely revealed the opposite. For an exhibit that was meant to showcase "rich narratives through photographic images and words", I wasn't feeling it - most of the photographs were pictures taken at home, of family or relatives, or of mundane aspects of day-to-day life. 

Except maybe these couple of photos, taken by Jamie Chan of the Indian Thaipusam. Body piercing and walking on fire aren't really mudane stuff.

Maybe I'm talking too much since I'm no expert in photography (heck, I just shoot whatever hits my fancy), but I was definitely expecting something more creative or more heartfelt than what I saw. I left the exhibit feeling really disappointed, and by the looks of it Michi wasn't leaving feeling too thrilled either. 

...on a brighter and less critical note, Bearfruit is organizing a couple of workshops that will take place in the National Library! The upcoming ones will be a Pastel Art Workshop organized by Ms Janice Chin (in English) and Mr Siew Hock Meng (in Mandarin), and a Miniatures Creation Workshop organized by Ms Cindy Teh. Make sure to sign up in advance at the NLB website if you're interested because spaces are limited and going fast!  

NLB: Book Exchange 2011

Michi covered this in her previous post, and it's my pleasure to share with you our experience!

 
It's exactly what it sounds like: the Singapore National Library organized (and will continue to organize!) an event where you can exchange your used books for other peoples' used books. I had a bunch of books I never touched anymore sitting around at home, and Michi is an avid reader, so we decided why the heck not. For every book turned in we were issued an exchange coupon, and when April 16 rolled around we went with 9 coupons in hand. We figured since the event only started at 8:30am, getting there by 8:00am wouldn't be too bad--

...just kidding!

...yeah, that's how long the queue in front of (and halfway around) the building was when we got there by 8:10am. According to some of the volunteers at the event, the first people came to queue up as early as 6:00am in the morning! Gotta love the kiasu (afraid to lose) mentality of Singaporeans... In any case, the queue moved quickly enough and we were able to enter the exchange area by 8:45am.

The place was packed.

That's got to be at least a third of the population in there. And this was just the exchange area; there were tons of others still queuing to get in!

It was our first time attending this event and it was surprisingly well organized despite how chaotic it looked. Books were piled moderately neatly in different bins according to their categories - fiction, non-fiction, adult, children, Chinese, English - and despite the amount of people present, it wasn't too loud or pushy.

A lot of folks actually brought their own carriers, tote bags, and even trolleys! to the event. Many seemed to just grab whatever books were within their reach before sifting through their picks on the nearby stairs, and everywhere there were loaded baskets and people struggling with carrying their mounds of books to the checkout counter. And even while we were queuing in the checkout, there were yet more books being unloaded! Just boxes and stacks and cartons of them continuously being brought in. I can't even begin to imagine how many books must have gotten turned in overall.

It's like a warehouse!

We didn't honestly expect to use up all nine of our exchange coupons since we figured there might be not great selections or that the best books would get snatched up quickly, but Michi seemed pleasantly surprised when she found at least four books she'd been searching for within her first minute in. Forty minutes later and she'd gotten all the books she'd wanted, and she was pretty darn happy with her finds.

Her final selections. Well, no, she put back War of the Worlds for Arabian Nights in the end. ...It was a hard decision. Sorry, H.G Wells, we'll pick you up from the library.

I'm not much of a book person, so I'm glad my unloved old books are out there making someone else happy. We even got a free Aloe Vera drink for filling out a satisfaction survey after we turned in our coupons! We've both signed up for the NLB e-newsletter in any case, so if there're any other upcoming book events you can bet we'll be blogging about it.

That's mine! ...hush you, I liked it.

NLB: Garden Walk

The Garden Walk is held by volunteers at the National Library twice every month, on the first and third Saturdays, respectively. It's free of charge and starts at 4pm, all you need to do is show up at the information counter on the first floor and they'll let you know where to stand to wait.

 

The building itself isn't terribly difficult to find and only a short walk from the Bugis MRT station, so location shouldn't be a problem for anyone. However, watch the sky closely before you head out. The walk isn't covered at all and umbrellas are not provided, so if it does start pouring much of the walk will essentially be canceled, the guides will only point things out from inside the building. This was the problem on our trip, as we were lucky enough to have a storm begin only about 15 minutes before we were to head out.

We're going to be pretty honest here and say if you really have nothing to do it's worth the trip just for a day out, but you probably shouldn't go out of your way to make it. The volunteers are obviously very interested in what they're doing and very helpful, but don't expect to see many actually interesting plants or flowers, as most of what you will see can be found outside any government building in the Garden City.

The walk itself takes place both in and around the library building itself, as the 10th floor has a garden space open to the public. Unfortunately, this is an outdoor garden and is also not covered.

 (eventually our party decided to brave the rain)

Though the tour guide was very knowledgeable, we ended up getting bored after only a little while and wandering around to take some photos ourselves. Many of the plants were interesting enough, but we were disappointed at the lack of flowers.

(sour orange tree)

 (banana plant, though there was only one tiny little pre-banana about an inch long)

 

(swiss cheese plant! this one was very cool, there are natural holes in the leaves!)

 (close up)

 (we're not sure what this one is called, but the dual colored leaves were quite pretty)

After we finished doing the rounds on the upper floor we spent a little while exploring the plants outside the building, but overall there weren't many as interesting as those higher up.

(except this one, which somehow looks like each section should be a different plant)

 (the prettiest plant of the whole tour was a potted orchid in the lobby)

Overall, we're glad to have made the trip to see the National Library building if nothing else, but it's probably not something we'd bother taking our friends or family to. The tours run pretty frequently so if you're at a loss for how to spend an hour and a half of your Saturday by all means go for the tour- just don't forget your umbrella.

 

(pris was pretty excited to put her photography skills to work though)

NLB: NOISE - Bearfruit Illustration Showcase

I was pleasantly surprised to come across NOISE - Bearfruit Illustration Showcase when we stopped by the National Library this weekend. Featuring works of creativity from over 20 local talents, the exhibition runs until 27 March Sunday and is worth stopping by to admire.

I've picked out a couple of my favorites from the showcase to share with you. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words, so I'll let these images speak for themselves.

Chase Your Dreams! by Albert Hardy Tanulama
"What if there's a new competition for the new Chinese Zodiac?"

The Forgotten Tea Party by Paula Pang
(Probably one of my favorites out of the entire exhibition!)

Untitled by Hazel Tan
Medium: Table and Plate

Awakening (close up) by Ang Wei Tyng

Top: Cupcakes by Ame
Bottom: Rabbits by... I forgot to take the artist's name for this, sorry

(...yup, that's a toilet seat cover. The seat itself was decorated, too. I want this for my bathroom.)

(I want this rubbish bin, too. Done by the same artist as above!)

Steampunk Tapestry by Huiying and Ashley
(Really love the detail on this one, and the washed look too. Yeah, my biasedness towards steampunk is showing.)

A view of the right wall of the exhibition, which is completely covered with doodles of all kinds.

(And last but not least, one of the artworks from mentor Mas of Wanton Doodle. The Illustration Showcase was formed out of a partnership between Noise Singapore and Bear Fruit Academy.)

Once again, this event runs until 9pm on the 27th of March 2011, Sunday. Art lovers can find this exhibition on the 7th floor (Promenade) of the National Library Building, at 100 Victoria Street (within walking distance of the Bugis MRT station). Admission is free and no registration is required. For further information, visit Noise Singapore or Bear Fruit Academy!