AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Scattered along Singapore's historic Collyer Quay waterfront, ten sculptural benches by Danish artist Jeppe Hein turn a simple stroll into a playful encounter with public art. Modified Social Benches look like ordinary park seating at a glance — but each one has been tilted, looped, cut, or bent in ways that make sitting down a delightfully uncertain act.↗↗
Originally shown at the 2008 Singapore Biennale under the theme 'Wonder', these powder-coated steel sculptures have become a permanent, free, always-accessible installation on one of Singapore's most photogenic stretches of riverside promenade.↗↗
The Concept
Jeppe Hein's practice investigates architecture, communication, and social behaviour in urban space. The Modified Social Benches borrow the familiar silhouette of a garden bench, then alter it to various degrees — tilting the seat, adding a loop, removing a section — so that the simple act of sitting becomes a conscious physical endeavour. The result is something between a dysfunctional object and a functional piece of furniture: a sculpture that demonstrates the contradiction between artwork and everyday utility.
