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Bringing The Belly Of The Carp to life

Nowadays, Clarke Quay is a lively commercial hub in the heart of Singapore. The banks of the Singapore River are studded with shopping malls, restaurants and nightclubs. But the ‘belly of the carp’ – as the river bend is colloquially known – also has a colorful history to tell. This year, the National Heritage Board honors this history with the Singapore HeritageFest – a five-week festival of celebration and discovery. Powered by Barco projection technology, this year’s headliner was a spectacular projection installation on the river surface.

Celebrating 50 years of national independence, the 12th Singapore Heritage Fest easily lived up to the steepest of expectations. From 17 April to 18 May, a series of exhibitions and events offered Singaporeans the opportunity to rediscover the country’s rich heritage. Not in the least during the festival’s closing weekend, when the surface of the Singapore River came alive in a memorable spectacle entitled `From The Belly Of The Carp’, curated by the National Museum of Singapore and National Heritage Board.

In search for the right partner to produce a fitting extravaganza, the National Heritage Board teamed up with multimedia company AIMS Productions. Together with this long-standing Barco business partner, they produced the first-ever projection mapping in Singapore directly projected onto the Singapore River.

All but a fish out of water
AIMS Productions mounted four Barco HDQ-2K40, 40,000-lumen projectors onto Read Bridge. To deliver the projection flexibility needed to project onto a moving, liquid surface, two projectors were equipped with the MMS-200 moving mirror system, a first in the whole of Southeast Asia. “Combining the projector’s vibrant colors with the MMS-200’s ability to produce ultra-bright images on virtually any surface, we were able to provide our artistic director with ultimate creative freedom”, says Mr. Lionel Lee, Project Director at AIMS Productions.

Making a splash
The HDQ-2K40 projectors illuminated the Singapore River with a vivid spectacle. From The Belly Of The Carp – also the local Singaporean name for the bend, after its resemblance with a carp’s belly – painted a colorful story of the transformation the river underwent throughout the past half-century, from a key trade artery in the days of British colonization, to the lively hub of cultural hotpots and sultry nightlife it is today. Hundreds of spectators were left in awe as the water filled with images of traditional riverboats turning into golden carp.

“Combining the HDQ-2K40’s vibrant colors with the MMS-200’s ability to produce ultra-bright images on virtually any surface, we were able to provide our artistic director with ultimate creative freedom.” Mr. Lionel Lee, Project Director at AIMS Productions.

Barco solutions:
• 4 x HDQ-2K40 3-chip DLP projector
• 2 x MMS-200 moving mirror system

Key benefits:
• Razor-sharp and ultra-bright images
• Flexible scaling
• Project onto any surface with projector rigged in its natural position