Riding on the success of previous years, sustainable light art festival i Light Marina Bay is taking things up a notch this year—with their conservation efforts. While the festival may have started out as an avenue for companies to do a little CSR (buildings in the surrounding area were tasked to reduce electricity use, and channel it into powering the artworks), it’s come a long way in engaging the public to do their part in living sustainably. Now in its sixth edition, i Light 2018 is extending its efforts beyond just energy-saving lighting.
From Mar 9-Apr 1, the Marina Bay precinct will come alive with installations from local and international artists. In particular, three of the 22 light art installations bring attention to recycling; they will be created using used bottles and containers contributed by the public and various partners.
Transistable Plastic by Luzinterruptus
Chandelier of Spirits by Living Spirits
Milk Bottle Cows by BP Loh
A large-scale work Transistable Plastic by Luzinterruptus from Spain uses approximately 20,000 PET bottles from the public—and traps visitors in their own plastic waste (how snarky). From Thailand, there’s Chandelier of Spirits by art collective Living Spirits, made from coffee bottles donated by Chye Seng Huat.
And the cheeky installation Milk Bottle Cows by Singapore-based artist BP Loh was created with 2,000 plastic milk bottles. Loh was inspired to recreate the cyclical nature of life—cows eat grass, cows produce milk, milk is sold in plastic bottles and cartons; bottles are used to make the cows, cows are placed back on the grass. Honestly, pretty revolutionary; don’t you just love it when there’s thought put into art?
There’s also a new emphasis on nature and sustainability. Light Breeze, an installation by the students of Lasalle College of the Arts, draws inspiration from Singapore’s very own lalang plant, with light structures that sway gently in the night breeze. Also a must-see is Urban Rice Fields, an immersive, sensory walk-through mimicking our densely populated island with no natural resources.
Light Breeze by Lasalle College of the Arts
Prototype of Urban Rice Fields by Raffles College of Higher Education (Singapore)
For the first time, the line-up of installations will extend beyond Marina Bay to Esplanade Park. In addition, four festival hubs will host activities for all to attend—including the Art-Zoo Inflatable Park, which returns to The Float with its life-sized balloon characters; and GastroBeats, a food-and-music festival village on The Promontory. On the final weekend of the festival (Mar 31), The Promontory will host the Illumi Fest Run, a neon extravaganza complete with glow-in-the-dark water guns.
Photo credit: GastroBeats
Art-Zoo Inflatable Park
All that, and the Prudential Marina Bay Carnival will run in tandem with the festival till it ends. Guess you know where to find us this March.
i Light Marina Bay 2018 will run from Mar 9-Apr 1, 7:30pm-11pm daily, around the Marina Bay waterfront and Esplanade Park. Admission is free. More information here.
