The Oort Cloud and the Blue Mountain: Edition Tanjong Pagar Distripark is an installation work that refers both to Blue Mountain, an early 20th century painting by Wassily Kandinsky and the Oort Cloud, an astronomical phenomenon described as an extended shell of icy objects that exist on the outer reaches of our solar system. These references signify the dual notions of tangibility (a landscape depicted) and intangibility (a phenomenon inaccessible and distant from our senses). The work thus refers to this broader idea of senses and/or the limit of sensing. It is also a reflection on the increasingly digitalised world where technology has become a key mediator of human experiences – the printed abstract image of the Blue Mountain is generated by a computer program, animated by a series of light fixtures and a set of QR codes extend the physical experience of the work into a virtual space. 

 

Viewers can scan the QR codes for 3D micro-experiences and to explore and interact with the relief objects. They can then capture these virtual experiences with their mobile camera and post them online. The virtual contents are refreshed quarterly by other local artists invited to collaborate with the work. 

 

The Oort Cloud and the Blue Mountain: Edition Tanjong Pagar Distripark is commissioned by Singapore Art Museum (SAM) with the support of Mapletree. The first edition of the work was commissioned by the National Gallery Singapore for The Children’s Biennale 2019.

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Short film about The Oort Cloud and the Blue Mountain: Edition Tanjong Pagar Distripark with SAM Curator Ong Puay Khim

 

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Photo credit: Singapore Art Museum

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