Extra Ordinary is a collaboration with LIVELYYY by Guillaumit. This project comprises of AR murals and workshops with schools - St Hilda’s Primary School and International French School.
This programme was part of the National Arts Council’s Arts in Your Neighbourhood November 2021, supported by the Embassy of France in Singapore and Institut Francois, as part of vOilah! France Singapore Festival 2021.
Curiosity and imagination is the alchemy in our approach to give prominence to the fascinating natural terrain in our neighbourhood. The murals attempts to re-imagine a visionary ecological landscape where it underscores the obscured richness of life nestled in the neighbourhoods, Tampines in Singapore and in France.
We believe our relationship with living things and the environment is a world beyond our imagination and more. Natural beauty is also eclipsed by the hustle of daily life and we do not realise the luxuriance of an ecosystem living amongst us. This vibrant ecosystem also draws a parallel to the tenacity of relationships we share with one another within a community; strong, steadfast and resilient.
Interactivity with viewers is at the heart of this installation where the public is invited to engage with the art through augmented reality where they will be immediately immersed into another dimensional and experiential facet of nature & art. The augmented reality animation will offer a passage from the flat surface of the murals to a teeming 3D universe, populated by a multiplicity of interdependent imagined living organisms.
The collaborative workshop between St Hilda’s Primary School and International French School saw the students write letters and draw postcards to each other. The exchange of information and stories among themselves mimics the collaboration between Guilluamit and Mary, which is a quality we hoped that they will continue into the future. It is important to establish and nurture relationships just like how we take care of a flourishing garden.
The students also worked on customising a mask, which Guillaumit and I collaborated on where the motifs-designs on the masks were further developed from the murals. Guillaumit worked closely with his team, Electroni[k] in France who designed and programmed an Augmented Reality experience with the masks.
Photo credits: Marvin Tang