Typically, Buddhists will visit temples at the crack of dawn to participate in events to honour Buddha. Devotees will put up offerings such as flowers and offer joss stick. Singapore Heritage Festival will be returning for its 19th edition this year as well for the period of May. It will commemorate Singapore vibrant travel history and rich natural heritage.
In celebration of Vesak Day and the Singapore heritage festival, I have created an illustration of one of the most beautiful buddhist temple located in Pasir Ris, “Sakya Tenphel Ling which is the first Tibetan buddhist temple in Southeast Asia. At the same time, I also hope to uncover hidden heritage gems located in different parts of Singapore so that visitors can explore the lesser known history of Singapore heritage sites.
The temple is established in 1995 and it has very unique architectural design elements. It is very eye catching and is sure to attract visitors due to the brick red facade and its colourful designs created by resident monks and visiting monks from Nepal India and Taiwan. The carving of the ornamental features on the temples followed the Sakya colour theory in which the colours red, blue, white represent Tibetan Buddhist deities associated with wisdom, compassion and power. The temple gives off a peaceful Himalayan culture vibe.
I love the building vibrant colour and design and feels very excited to illustrate it. Although it is a challenge to illustrate the whole building and it takes me two weeks to carefully draw out the architecture, I feel very happy after finishing the work. One of the ways we can honour the legacy and heritage that Buddhists have enlivened our culture with is by admiring and honouring the temples. So take some time today to appreciate the culture and heritage of this iconic buddhist temple.
I hope to bring a different dimension to the beautiful Singapore island, creating vibrant and meaningful artwork and at the same time presenting a multicultural city to everyone, highlighting different hidden heritage architectural gems located in different parts of the city. Today is the Pasir Ris town area.
Hope my illustration brings love and kindness on this Vesak Day. Happy Vesak Day !!
Comments are closed.