Good Signs in Singapore

Back in September we were lunching in San Anselmo with Doug Woodring our friend from Hong Kong. To say that Doug is a BIG thinker is an understatement. As co-founder of Ocean Recovery Alliance, he travels the world, convening conferences and cleanups. For his latest BIG MOVE — he initiated the travel from Bruges to Singapore of the Skyscraper AKA the Bruges Whale designed by New York-based architecture and design firm StudioKCA for the 2018 Bruges Triennial. 

We were doing as we always do when we get together with Doug — brainstorming about user-friendly ways to message about plastic. To deal with the tragic mess of plastic we talked about how to make the question of plastic — a puzzle? a fun game? a treasure hunt? We told him about the interactive activity we developed for the Oakland Museum asking visitors—"Can you find a piece of plastic (in our installation) and tell a story about it?"

Since writing about what we find is an important part of our art practice, one thing led to another. We ended up selecting some fun and findable items on the Skyscraper Whale then writing the text for the Singapore signs. 

CAN YOU FIND ME? 

This pic from The Straits Times Plastic Whale Breaches for the Sky. 

By the look on that little girls face, clearly the whale is a hit. And we hear from Doug that the signs are doing what they are supposed to do — engaging the public in a fun (and sometimes puzzling) way — causing people to stop and take a closer look. And that is a good sign.

The Whale will be on display in front of the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands until December 19 when it embarks on an Asia Pacific tour.