Tokyo born artist - Akira Yamaguchi's works are a sight to behold! "Singa-planet" now showing at the Japan Creative Centre till 6 May 2011 is a must see for his creative renditions of various Singapore landscapes and sightings. See how he cleverly juxtaposes Sri-Mariamman temple, the Merlion, Chinatown and many other landmarks of Singapore into one floating planet on water (somewhat reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away's castle). Should this ever be possible to execute in real life, a replica of Singapore's most famous landmarks might be able to dock at neighbouring Asian cities in just a mere couple of days to promote tourism to our sunny city.
What struck me at this exhibition the most was a deceptively simple painting titled "FLOWERS, 2003" . Take a closer look at the flower buds and roots, held together seamlessly with nuts & bolts which is seemingly impossible. "Robotified" gardens in the next millenium perhaps?
Feast your eyes on the fantastic details in other works like "Department Store :Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, 2004" , where you can relish in a voyeur's perspective of all the activity in this multi-level shopping haven. Witness consumer habits in their full glory from its bathhouses to rooftop revelry and basement eateries.
"A Break in Four Seasons,2007" captures the transition from Spring to Winter in seamless fashion. Blink and you might just miss that yawn from a friendly grandma on the streets and a frown from the pedestrians in the hot summer. "Setting up a Thousand Senju Kannon,2009" is another masterpiece that captures the nuances of devotees working on the thousand hand goddess of mercy from start to finish. He has captured every scene from the resting quarters to segmented work stations.
Don't miss out on the smaller portraits that poke a little bit of harmless fun at familiar Singapore scenes like that of a chicken rice seller peddling lunch out of his bicycle in style and modern portable workstations for the office,etc...
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