ION Orchard
ION Orchard is one of the largest high-end commercial mall newly opened in Orchard Road, Singapore’s shopping district. It houses big luxury brands with new-concept shops and flagship stores such as Prada, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Dolce & Gabbana. Client: Orchard Turn Developments (joint venture between Singapore’s CapitaLand and Hong Kong’s Sung Hung Kai Properties).
Our company was overall project manager for the commission of two sculptures – an electronic flip-dot sculpture by UK-based art and design studio Troika and a giant nutmeg sculpture by local sculptor Kumari Nahappan.
Known for its experiential artworks, UK-based art and design studio Troika installed an electronic sculpture at ION Orchard using hundreds of computer-controlled flip-dots (similar to those used in display signages) to simulate a waterfall. Troika is a multidisciplinary art and design practice based in London with latest commission at UK Pavilion for the Shanghai Expo. Troika’s work has been exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum London, the Science Museum London, Tate Britain, at the British Council touring show in China at Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing, and in 2008 at the MoMA in New York.
Singaporean artist Kumari Nahappan was commissioned by ION Orchard to create a giant nutmeg signature sculpture at the corner of Paterson and Orchard Roads. This sculpture was designed in a way to commemorate the past where Orchard Road used to be a nutmeg plantation. Kumari Nahappan is a Singapore-based artist whose paintings, sculptures and installations have been exhibited in Asia, Europe and the United States. Nahappan is recipient of the United Overseas Bank Painting of the Year award in 1998, the Phillip Morris Group ASEAN Art Award, and the Ksatria Seni Award in 2004 by the Museum Rudana in Ubud, Bali. She is particularly noted for giant bronze sculptures of objects like chilli-pepper and saga seed, which have been commissioned by the National Museum of Singapore and Changi Airport Terminal 3.
Our company was also oversaw the art commissioning at The Orchard Residences, a 56-storey super-luxury residential development jointly developed by CapitaLand Limited and Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited. Being the tallest landmark on Singapore’s premier shopping street Orchard Road, the 218m tall residences is part of the iconic integrated retain-cum-residential Orchard Turn development that has won several prominent international awards.
