Every day, when you travel on Singapore public transport, I am sure your senses will be “bombarded” with the sounds of Singapore. It might be a bird chirping away or the Singlish spoken across the country. Check out this exhibit, Store Value, at SingaPlural 2017: Stories – A New Perspective by L*L supported by EZ-Link Pte Ltd.
In this exhibit – Stored Value will showcase an ensemble of public bus card readers which can be activated by tapping an ez-link card to produce sounds commonly heard in Singapore.
EZ-Link backs local designer-artists to echo the sounds of Singapore at SingaPlural 2017
With a tap of the ez-link card, the interactive exhibit Stored Value will produce familiar sounds unique to Singapore
SINGAPORE, 3 March 2017 – EZ-Link Pte Ltd, Singapore’s largest issuer of CEPAS-compliant cards, today announced their support for L*L, a multidisciplinary collaboration between local designer-artists Loh Zhide and Matthew Lim, for their exhibit at SingaPlural 2017: Stories – A New Perspective. Inspired by the ez-link cards used by commuters for their daily rides, Stored Value by L*L is a one-of-a-kind exhibit that interacts with ez-link cards to create a harmony unique to Singapore.
Stored Value will showcase an ensemble of public bus card readers, an ode to Singapore’s public transport, which can be activated by tapping an ez-link card to produce a narrative of distinctive sounds commonly heard on our island, such as the call of the koel bird, MRT announcements and Singlish spoken at “kopitiam”. By evoking specific encounters and memories from a shared experience, the exhibit is a reminder of the collective memories and collaborative creation of Singapore.
Stored Value by L*L at SingaPlural 2017
L*L initially drew their inspiration from a friend who imagined the sound of card readers at Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station as piano sounds instead of the familiar beeps. They later realised the beeps reinforce a sense of place and their ez-link cards not only store money but also keep a log of places they have travelled to. The pair began to weave together a larger narrative of individuals going about their daily lives, accumulating into a larger hustle-andbustle in Singapore, bringing familiar sounds into an exhibit that raises the everyday of Singapore into consciousness.
“EZ-Link has always been an active proponent of local arts. In 2015, we organised the ‘My Journey, My Home’ SG50 Card Design Art Competition to feature artworks by young artists on 200,000 ez-link cards. This time, we are thrilled by the opportunity to support two talented local designer-artists, Zhide and Matthew, to present a truly extraordinary experience to the public at SingaPlural 2017. The portrayal of the ez-link card in Stored Value is a reminder of how the ez-link card has been so closely interwoven with our daily lives that it has become an integral part of the Singapore culture. We look forward to supporting more local talents in the arts and design scene in Singapore,” said Nicholas Lee, Chief Executive Officer, EZ-Link Pte Ltd.
“It was quite challenging to curate sounds that we wanted to be part of the exhibit. Each Singaporean has their personal experience of Singapore and Stored Value does not deny that. The task of finding sounds that we felt were Singaporean required us to reflect on the meaning of being a Singaporean. It is not easy to find sounds that have enough ‘Singaporean-ness’ packed within a soundbite no more than four seconds long. This is akin to how hearing the quick beeps of the card reader would remind us that we are traveling within Singapore,” said Loh Zhide, Designer-artist, L*L.
“We started our collaboration based on similar interests in merging the fields of design and technology. The technical complexity of creating Stored Value also forced us to keep thinking about how we can produce the intended experience for the viewer within specific technical constraints. We are extremely grateful to EZ-Link for supporting our exhibit at SingaPlural. Stored Value also would not have been possible without the help and support of friends, family and colleagues,” said Matthew Lim, Designer-artist, L*L.
SingaPlural 2017 will be held at the F1 Fit Building from 7 to 12 March, 11am to 10pm. Tickets for unlimited entries are sold on‐site at $10 each. Local students, children 12 years and below as well as senior citizens aged 60 and above will enjoy free admission.
For more information on Stored Value, please visit L*L’s website (www.lasteriskl.com/) and their social media page – Facebook (www.facebook.com/LasteriskL) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/l.asterisk.l/). Find the latest updates on EZ-Link on Facebook (www.facebook.com/myezlink), Instagram (www.instagram.com/ezlinksg) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/ezlinksg).
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About EZ-Link Pte Ltd
EZ-Link’s core business is in the sale, distribution and management of ez-link cards, as well as the clearing and settlement of all ez-link card transactions generated in transit and nontransit (retail/merchant) sectors. To date, more than 17 million new CEPAS-compliant ez-link cards have been issued. In 2015, EZ-Link unveiled two new innovations in Singapore, EZCharms, the first non-card form factor, as well as the “EZ-Link Rewards with Perx” to reward commuters for using public transport with the ez-link card. EZ-Link continues to set new cashless trends with the “My EZ-Link Mobile” application, the world’s first Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile application for contactless card top-ups; “EZ-Link NFC SIM”, the first NFC payment service on Singapore’s public transit; and “EZ-Pay”, Singapore’s first free card-less ERP payment service.
About L*L
L*L is a multidisciplinary collaboration between Loh Zhide and Matthew Lim that crisscrosses design, art and technology. We are interested in creating participatory experiences that invite people to engage, question and wonder.
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