Why we fell in love with the stunning new exhibition at the ArtScience Museum
By Samantha Francis
A whole galaxy lit up around me as dazzling stars from lightyears away swirled into my sight.
My heart swelled with excitement as the lights dimmed around me. Moments later, a whole galaxy lit up as dazzling stars from lightyears away swirled into my sight. I felt weightless, like I had stepped into a fantastical dreamscape.
This was no ordinary art exhibition where you paced the room trying to make intelligent commentary about a painting you didn’t quite understand, nor was it another museum showcase where it was, in the words of my mother, ‘See, no touch, touch no see. Touch already, pay money’.
I was at Future World: Where Art Meets Science — ArtScience Museum’s new permanent exhibition, where 15 digital art installations come to life through cutting-edge science and technology. Co-curated with teamLab, a globally renowned Japanese group of ultra-technologists and multi-award winning art collective, the exhibition offers a wonderland of interactivity that will keep you fascinated again and again.
Walk Into A Galaxy
Just imagine walking right into the galaxy; that’s the Crystal Universe for you. The immersive artwork enables visitors to experience astrophysical phenomena such as planets, stars, galaxies, and even the very recently detected gravitational waves. With teamLab’s Interactive 4-D Vision technology, you’ll be able to control over 170,000 stars in the form of LED lights!
You can even feed the fish and sea creatures by touching specific images of fish food bags on the screen!
Draw a Fish and Watch It Swim
What looks like a giant water tank is actually the Sketch Aquarium, guaranteed to be loved by kids and adults alike. This installation features a digitally rendered aquatic world where the two-dimensional sea creatures that visitors draw on paper come to life in a virtual ocean. The artwork grows and evolves constantly with the different images added. You can even feed the fish and sea creatures by touching specific images of fish food bags on the screen! Talk about a fuss-free pet rearing experience.
With a touch, the large balls changes the colour and sound of the balls around it, creating a ripple-like effect.
A Ball Pit That Makes Music
If you loved ball pits as a kid, the Light Ball Orchestra will reignite that joy of playing with spherical, colourful objects. These light balls form an electrifying orchestra of sound and colour. With a touch, the large balls changes the colour and sound of the balls around it, creating a ripple-like effect. Movements from other areas send ripples in different directions, creating dynamic and playful interactions throughout the space.
Each block communicates information to each other when they are connected, changing colour in the process.
Building Blocks of Fun
Like lego, but way more life-sized and fun. Consisting of fiberglass light cube chairs, these cubes are the building blocks of the exhibition’s ‘Town’ arena. Adults and children alike are invited to construct high-tech furniture, like chairs and benches, or architectural structures such as walls and partitions. Each block communicates information to each other when they are connected, changing colour in the process. In a nutshell, you can build anything your imagination allows you to!
Right here at Future World, there’s a spectacular eight-metre tall waterfall.
An Eight-Metre Tall Waterfall
You don’t have to travel too far to find a spectacular waterfall. Right here at Future World, there’s a spectacular eight-metre tall waterfall. Titled Universe of Water Particles. Standing before it, I could almost feel the cool water particles. The installation replicates the magnificence of an actual waterfall, inviting visitors to be immersed in a moment of magic as they encounter the grandeur of nature.
The plants and butterflies respond to our presence and subtly change based on our behaviour.
Experience Four Seasons in Singapore
Blooms rise as you meander your way through this forest, a beautiful ecosystem of digital flowers and butterflies. As visitors move through these galleries, the plants and butterflies which have been created algorithmically, respond to their presence and subtly change based on their behaviour. This charming space will likely be the only place where you can experience the four seasons in Singapore.
Tickets for Future World are available at all Marina Bay Sands box offices and online. Tickets for adults start at $14.
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