Not just 3D, it's 3-Do

SINGAPORE - Some raised their eyebrows, opened their eyes wide and stuck out their tongues.

Others furrowed their brows and twisted their mouths into weird shapes.

Strange? Such expressions are a daily affair at the Alive Museum in Suntec City mall because this is a place where the art comes to life.

The 3D visual illusion museum's magic comes from the clever painting, shading and drawing techniques found throughout its artwork, which make them seem alive.

Said Mrs Belinda Pang who visited the museum last Saturday: "The trip was extremely fun and something that I had never experienced before. It was very enjoyable."

The researcher, 41, said she had seen an advertisement about the museum online and decided to experience it herself.

TNP caught her in action posing for a photo next to a painting of a baby, which was grabbing her clothes.

"I thought it might be funny making such a face with a baby hanging on to me," she later said.

Another visitor, Mrs Yipe Kai Wan, 27, was looking at a painting of a muscular martial artist.

Street fighter move

She posed with the bottom palm of her hands clasped in a popular move used by characters in a video game Street Fighter.

But the people who enjoyed it most were the children, such as Toh Pei Ying, eight.

When asked which piece of art was her favourite, she paused before exclaiming with a giggle: "All of them!"

Her mother, Mrs Cindy Teo, said: "The pictures already looked very surreal to us adults, but must have been even more amazing to the children."

Her children would return to her after each picture she took of them to marvel over how real the art looked.

The museum has 14 other branches globally. There are eight in South Korea, three in China, and one each in Thailand, Vietnam and Turkey.

ALIVE MUSEUM

WHAT

A 3D visual illusion museum from South Korea. At 10,000 sq ft, the Singapore branch boasts up to 80 works of art, each of them telling a different story. Nine of the pieces are locally themed and unique to Singapore.

WHERE

Suntec City Mall

ADMISSION

$25 (Adults), $20 (Children 3-12 years old)

WHEN

10am to 10pm daily (Last admission at 9pm)

EXHIBIT TURNOVER

About 30 per cent of paintings will be changed every 12 to 18 months.

colintzx@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on August 21, 2014.
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