Singapore in London – Singapore: Inside Out Installation on Brick Lane

I spent a large part of last night immersed in Singapore – in Brick Lane in the East End of London. When I wasn’t plucking patissiere Janice Wong’s incredible laksa-infused chocolate lollipops from the ceiling, I was drawing with crayons on the walls of an interactive installation by Farizwan Fajari aka Speak Cryptic.

(Can you spot my terrible drawing of Lettice?!)

All these experiences are part of Singapore Inside Out an extraordinary free showcase of Singapore’s contemporary creative talents, designed to celebrate Singapore’s 50th – its Golden Jubilee.

(The beautiful temporary external shell of the Singapore: Inside Out installation.)

As long time readers of LLG will know, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in Singapore. I lived there for some months when I was nineteen, staying in Ang Mo Kio in the centre of the island, as well as visiting countless times as an adult as I travelled through South-East Asia. And then I was lucky enough to attend several seasons at Singapore Fashion Festival as a guest of Singapore.

So, when I was approached to talk about Singapore: Inside Out, both here

and on film, I was thrilled. Curated by the award-winning architect and artist Randy Chan, head of Singapore’s leading architectural studios, Zarch Collaboratives, the interactive experiential installation has been designed to surprise and challenge visitors’ current impressions of Singapore.

Chan has brought together a spectrum of disciplines, including architecture, design, fashion, film, food, music and the literary, performing and visual arts. Of course there is a serious element to the installation, but one of the things I loved most about it is there is something for all age groups here – it’s a great family outing.

(but make sure the children eat Janice Wong’s delicious free kaya-filled chocolates (above left) rather than the chilli ones! (above right) ), as well as one that provides numerous wonderful Instagram opportunities.

As it did for me: here I am wearing a dress I bought in Singapore a few years ago from Singaporean fashion house Raoul, in front of Singapore: Inside Out‘s main carapace.

Of course, once inside, I gravitated to the fashion: Elyn Wong, of Singapore-based womenswear label, Stolen, has collaborated with choreographer Lee Mun Wai (T.H.E Dance Company), architect Chang Yong Ter (CHANG Architects), and audio-visual collective Syndicate – bringing together dance, architecture, music, and fashion design in a sensorial, moving experience. Don’t miss the ravishingly beautiful installation – or the dancers who perform in her clothes.

Janice Wong’s gummy wall inside her installation – you can pick off the sweeties from the wall and eat them. (the green ones are minty.)

In fact there are multiple events happening through Singapore: Inside Out from now until Sunday – do check out the schedule here. There are poetry sessions, acting performances

panels on the music industry, architecture discussions, artists talks, bands and DJs playing in the evening (’till 10pm on Friday and Saturday) and much more.

You can see me talking about Singapore: Inside Out on this little interview and tour of the installation that we did last night:

Singapore: Inside Out’s clever collection of multi-sensory experiences, which have been designed by the country’s creative talents, has already visited Beijing (April), is here in London – on Brick Lane from 24 – 28 June 2015, and moves to New York City in September, before its homecoming finale in Singapore in November.

This post was written in association with Singapore: Inside Out