Exploring the National Gallery

Kooling (Beads & Blossoms) visited Singapore a couple of weeks ago, and her schedule was so packed that I was extremely lucky to have met her twice in the span of two weeks. I’ve missed that girl and her pervy humour.Â We decided to make our virgin trip to the National Gallery one drizzly afternoon. It was fun exploring facets of the building while checking out some of the exhibits along the way.

No heelys.

Since it claimed to be a good photo spot, why not? Dancing Mutants by Hernando R. Ocampo, oil on canvas, 1965.

Drying Salted Fish by Cheong Soo Pieng, 1978.

I actually like the smell of salted fish. This image is printed on the back of the Singapore $50 note by the way!

Lush interior of one of the courtrooms, which now house artworks. The staff stationed there were so enthusiastic about explaining its previous life as a court room; pretty interesting how the judge could just walk in from the doorway joiningÂ their office.

Grande tenue de la cour d’Annam (Official Dress of the Court of Annam) by Nguyen Van Nhan, watercolour on paper, bound into linen-covered album, 1902.Â Appreciated the ability to flip through the book via digital scans on the tablet next to this albumÂ – the paintings were so pretty!

A Paddy Field in Burmah by U Ba Nyan, lithograph. Loved how this stood out from all the other paintings in the room. Loved the use of purple in the shadows too.