National Museum of Singapore's glass rotunda reopens after two-year renovation

After two years of renovation work the National Museum of Singapore's glass rotunda has reopened, displaying two permanent art installations on the flora and fauna of South East Asia.

The renovation is part of the museum's S$10 million revamp which it announced in 2014, eight years after the glass rotunda first opened.

The refurbishment has seen the rotunda’s 15-metre-high ceiling and 80-metre passage turned into an interactive digital space displaying the region's rich ecological history.

Close to 70 drawings from the museum's prized collection - the William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings at the Goh Seng Choo Gallery - will be brought to life through interactive 3D animation projected on the rotunda.

The work, titled Story of the Forest is a partnership with renowned Japanese creative group teamLab.

Explaining that the inspiration came from Singapore's reputation as a garden city, Museum Assistant Curator Iman Ismail stated “they were sharing with me about what Singapore is and how they felt that Singapore is a very green, clean country.

“So we worked on that idea and we introduced to them the collection that we had - the drawings by (Singapore's first British Resident) William Farquhar.”

The installation proved to be particularly challenging due to its size and because of the need to choose relevant drawings from the hundreds of pieces from the collection.

Iman added “the challenges are having to sift through, firstly, all the 477 drawings from the collection because there are so many flowers, trees, plants, animals to choose from.

“We needed to make it relevant especially with what we can find in Singapore and in the region today, and have that connection and conversation between a past, where the drawings came from, and what it is today.”

Some highlighted works include the frangipani, hibiscus, as well as creatures like the sun bear and the tapir.

The second installation, called Singapore, Very Old Tree sits at the foot of the rotunda as visitors leave the space. It is by local photographer and artist Robert Zhao, and comprises 17 images of Singapore's trees, including personal stories associated with each plant.

The work is inspired by one of the oldest postcards found in the National Archives of Singapore that depicted an unspecified tree from the year 1904.

Story of the Forest and the Singapore, Very Old Tree are the first of what museum officials said are many projects that will provide a dialogue between the historical and the contemporary.

Images: National Museum of Singapore's glass rotunda (top) and its Story of the Forest exhibition (below).

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