Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Funderland Exhibition | Singapore

To celebrate Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s (SCCC) fifth anniversary in the Year of the Tiger, One Bite Design Studio, in collaboration with artist collective Vertical Submarine, has transformed the centre’s key spaces into a mythical Tiger Mountain, a seven-month exhibition.

This project is inspired by the Chinese idiom “despite knowing the presence of tigers, we still insist on going up the mountain” (明知山有虎，偏向虎山行), and tells the story of intrepid explorers in a quest to uncover the mystery behind Tiger Mountain. In the process of doing so, they dispel misconceptions of tigers’ carnivorous nature and learn how endangered tigers in Asia are protected and cared for.

Utilising the centre’s key architectural elements, namely the building facade, the concourse, and the rooftop, onebite’s installations bring visitors through a three-part adventure through the building.

The first installation, a LED light installation on the building facades facing Straits Bouvelard, draws inspiration from the Chinese character for “tiger” to create a mountainscape visible in the day. At night, patterns of the hilly terrain overlay onto silhouettes of two tigers, transforming into strips on these majestic creatures’ backs to beckon curious visitors towards the concourse to interact with the second installation.

Taking advantage of the concourse’s tall free-standing columns, onebite has designed four “animated” scenes wrapped around each column. Blinking feline eyes, tiger crawling silently, and the whipping movement of the creature’s tail, were all made possible using an optical illusion known as moire effect. A signature tree-like canopy structure in the middle of the concourse guides visitors towards the lift lobby where more artworks await them on the rooftop.

Tigers in various guises welcome visitors to the building’s top floor. They are found on four artworks contributed by students from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, a tertiary-level art college. They could also be found on a light installation on the lawn. Shaped like an undulating mountain range, the installation features the Malayan tiger, the Bengal tiger, and the South China tiger striking different poses inspired by famous tiger paintings. Camouflaged during the day, these nocturnal creatures spring to life after dark in a unique light and sound display that showcase their vitality and vigor.

More than just creating playful and visually striking art installations, onebite wants to bring across the message of the tigers’ precariority and the fragility of their habitats as there are only 3,900 wild tigers left in Asia. By recounting the tale of the last Singapore tiger, our interpretation boards highlight how tiger populations across Asia were and still are decimated by hunting and deforestation.