Soft News Story

Bus.Stop.Art. : Hopping off for something new

Usually, one would expect to see works of art at places such as an art gallery or a museum. Singapore Art Week’s Bus.Stop.Art. though, brings the expectation to a screeching halt by showcasing art where one would not normally expect to see it - bus stops.

The pieces range from showcasing the uniqueness of Singaporean culture to showing the beauty of creating something out of nothing, the different art pieces are truly a wonder to look at, with some even including QR codes and instructions to create your own pieces of art.

Lasting between Jan 21 and Feb 3, 2021, Bus.Stop.Art. brings art pieces out of the galleries, each with its own unique meaning, to the bus stops along bus route 175 between Geylang Bahru and Gillman Barracks.

The exhibition’s showcase includes art pieces such as “Jom Draw” by artist Rizman Putra, which seeks to show people the beauty behind the art of drawing and how “drawing things out of nothing”. The art piece also includes an instruction panel, complete with a QR code that links to an instructional video, which encourages people to follow the steps by sketching out lines in a certain pattern, eventually forming a design. “If you commit to your lines, you will eventually find something,” added Mr Rizman.

The piece, which may seem to be random at first glance, reveals the beauty of seemingly random lines coming together to form a work of art. The meaning behind the piece, as explained by Mr Rizman, “expresses his enjoyment of drawing and enjoyment of scribbling”. “I hope that the public will enjoy the piece, whether it be from inside the bus, or while waiting, instead of looking at your own phones, instead looking and appreciating the art that’s at the bus stop,” said Mr Rizman when asked on what he hopes the public perception would be.

Mr Rizman’s “Jom Draw” is simply one of the many eye-catching works of art at the many bus stops along Bus.Stop.Art.’s exhibition route. Another honourable mention would be The Next Most Famous Artist’s “Visitors of Singapore”, combining Western classical oil-based paintings and combining them with uniquely Singaporean scenarios to which Singaporeans could relate to.

“The three works chosen for the Bus.Stop.Art exhibition were everyday experiences I faced during my bus rides such as sleeping at the back of the bus, contemplating about life while I look out of the window, to even forgetting to bring my EZ-link card when boarding the bus,” said The Next Most Famous Artist. He also hopes for the public to get a good laugh at some of the works and also share their own experiences.

The Bus.Stop.Art public exhibition, which runs till Feb 3, has received positive responses from the public. “It made me realise that going to a gallery or museum when you’re mentally prepared for it, is a way different experience than encountering art in public,” said The Next Most Famous Artist.