i Light Marina Bay

Ever since the i Light Marina Bay Festival kicked off on 9th March, Daddy had long been wanting to bring us monkies down to the Bay to interact with all the light installations.

We finally found the time to do just that last night and since it was the final weekend of the Festival, we were expecting a fare dose of people as well. Not that mei-mei minded, since she will be seated on her throne most of the time.

Of all the 31 light installations there, Daddy immediately knew which one would rank as di-di's and my fave of the lot. And we zoomed in on that when we arrived.

It was the 'Light of the Merlion' installation, where we got to drape the Merlion in whatever colours we chose using light rays.

There was a touch screen booth set up beside the Merlion, and from there we got to 'paint' the Merlion in the colours that we had chosen. Needless to say, our final masterpiece turned out to be rather colourful!

And here was how the Merlion looked in its full glory!

Of course we had to take a photo with it for remembrance sake.

Oh, silly Daddy's head was a tad too big. :P

We took a last look at our creation before it was erased for the next artist-in-waiting.

With that, we moved on to the other exhibits. Like this Coral Garden, where coral-like structures were constructed of re-used cocktail stirrers.

As beautiful as they looked, they also served to raise awareness about efforts to reform damaged coral reefs around the world.

The Bibigloo is yet another interesting installation, where 250 plastic jerry cans were used to build an enormous igloo. Using plastic as a source of material, it attempts to explore man's relationship with the environment, and confront the contradictions with regards to waste production and global warming.

Another hit with the public (and us) is 'The Gate' installation.

Hundreds of small beams of laser light frame the entryway and radiate straight past us, covering us in tiny red dots when we come into contact with the light. No wonder we had so much fun dancing in front of the red light. Heh.

We then caught a giant '5QU1D' exhibit along the Bay before something happened.

No, we didn't barbecue it. The clock struck 8.30pm and since it was March 31st, that meant it was Earth Hour! That also meant all the light installations would be turned off for an hour as well.

And so, there was only one thing left to do.

Have yummy ice cream for dessert! Haha.

As usual, our sense of timing was impeccable. The moment we were done with our ice cream, it was almost time for the light installations to be turned back on again.

The above was the 'Key Frames' installation, while the one that caught mei-mei's attention was this 'Immersion' exhibit.

Di-di & I, though, were rather taken in by the 'Urban Makyoh' interactive exhibit.

Ancient Chinese “magic mirrors”, or makyoh, and the patterns made by sunlight reflected off skyscrapers form the inspiration behind this installation. We were provided with reflective patterned stencils which we can shine light on to cast patterns on building surfaces.

Daddy's fave has got to be this 'White Rain' one, where many acrylic LED bars were hung from the ceiling. And together, the use of white light gave us a pattern of irregular rain of light which changes as we move inside the space.

The final installation we saw (because it was already way past our bedtime by then) was this.

The 'Garden of Light' incorporates a variety of light and sound effects to tell a story about environmental sustainability and highlight the beauty of the natural world. And the surface of the ArtScience Museum at the Marina Bay Sands serves as the projection screen of the story.

Beautiful and visually stunning.

Daddy & Mummy said it brought back nice memories of Vivid Sydney - also a light festival show - we had seen 3 years back.

And with that, it was time to head back home - tired bodies, legs and all. But it was well worth the experience and we are already looking forward to the next i Light Marina Bay!

Tonight (1 April) is the final night of the festival, so hurry down to Marina Bay if you want to catch all 31 installations!

For more information, click here: http://www.ilightmarinabay.sg/home.html