Kings of Freedom

Dennis Kaun, Niklas Bo Beckert and students from Temasek Polytechnic

First placed in Singapore: 2010

Bedok Reservoir Park

These murals replace the four pieces of the Berlin Wall originally placed here in 2010, and removed in 2013 when the donor withdrew his "permanent" loan. The wall pieces have been displayed at the University of Virginia since 2014.

Patron: Robert Hefner III and George Yeo

from the Straits Times: “In 2010, four panels donated by friends of then Foreign Minister George Yeo, American oil industry veteran Robert A. Hefner III and his Singapore-born wife MeiLi, were exhibited at Bedok Reservoir Park for three years before they were returned to the couple in April, 2013.” The original wall sections have since been replaced with a new wall with freshly painted graffiti, one side of which resembles the original credited to Dennis Kaun.

The pavilion originally built to house the pieces of the wall cost a reported S$2 million (see "Piece of the Berlin Wall at Bedok Reservoir Park to be removed", Straits Times, April 18, 2013).

built The design of the pavilionwas the result of a design competition won by students Sim Jie Han, Yuen Yu Fen and Ou Ying-Ju. However the final design and building was done by CPG Consultants who say on their website (accessed Dec 18, 2020) that "The detailed project brief and site constraints called for substantial changes to the original scheme in a design competition." The pavilion won a Silver Prize for the Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects, 2009. (but surely that date was wrong? Or was the pavilion built so long before the pieces of the wall actually arrived?)

George Yeo's speech and some photos from the opening of the pavilion are here, marking 20 years since the fall of the Wall. Also here is the information that the Wawawa Bistro located near the pavilion, was conceived as part of the total project.

In 2015 a new scheme was unveiled for the site, which included a freshly built wall with graffiti on one side by artists Niklas Bo Beckert and Dennis Kaun. The other side was to be painted by students from Temasek Polytechnic, and refreshed every year.

In a visit in December 2020, the works look fresh. I can't be 100% sure that the main image, of the Kings, was actually done by Kaun and Beckert in 2015. It looks more like someone else doing an homage to the original image.

Last updated: Jul-20-2021