Pembungaan
First placed in Singapore: 2011
UOE Bayfront
Very site specific! The sculpture wraps around the facade of the building.
Patron: UOE
Kumari’s recent public works have mostly been about manipulating scale and presenting oversized versions of tropical fruit. Their fine execution saves them from being too kitsch (such enlargement is a classic kitsch move). This works better as it abstracts the fruit forms. It also displays the artist's fine control of her medium. It is very well-installed, and looking good when these photos were taken, 11 years after the work was first installed.
Text of the Label:
PEMBUNGAAN
Bronze mural
2011
by
Kumari Nahappan
'Pembungaan' means "blossoming' in Malay. The monumental wall relief is an ode to the lushness of nature and its timeless rhythms. Inspired by the fleshy interior of the chilli pepper and the maze of the nutmeg, the mural's vegetal motifs weave a flowing design that moves like a wind-borne serenade from the facade of the OUE Bayfront into the building's main lobby.
Singapore artist Kumari Nahappan is one of Southeast Asia's leading sculptors in the bronze medium.
Last updated: Aug-7-2022
