The Wind and Wings

The Wind and Wings is a 6.6 metre tall piece crafted in 2010 to commemorate the inaugural Youth Olympic Games hosted right here in Singapore. The wind, a force of change, represents the coming together of young athletes from all over the globe. Their unity and spirit are beautifully captured in the image of rain and a butterfly, delicately perched on a silvery green shoot.

This artwork embodies the exchange of knowledge, respect, and friendship that blossomed at the Youth Olympic Village based in NTU during the Games. Renowned artist Yeo Chee Kiong, famous for his distinctive 'bulbous' style, employs the metamorphosis of a butterfly to convey the transformative experience these athletes had in August 2010.

The artwork was unveiled on 3rd August 2010 by President S R Nathan, and awarded the Legacy Sculpture for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (Youth Olympic Village). The stainless-steel maquette, ‘The Wind’, was presented to the President and is now a part of the Istana's art collection.

Yeo Chee Kiong is a contemporary sculptor who examines the human sensory experiences through the construction of an extended surreal world. Exploring VR in the context of the internet age and constructing a tangible platform of digital memories allows him to search for the lost "baseline" of our collective sensory experiences amid the constant 'upgrades" of our daily new normal. Through the multiple layers of 'object making' process in both the virtual and physical 3D forms, and by entering the scene as an "object maker", he intends to intervene in the countless "reality" one encounters on the interactive interface.

Artist bio from cheekiongyeo.com

The Wind and Wings is one of the earlier works in Yeo Chee Kiong's Bubblelloon series from 2008-2022, which he describes as "an ideal state of imaginative perfection, to reflect the sculptor’s mischievous desire in proposing an unprecedented sense of a beautiful ‘formless’ form." Some of these Bubblelloon sculptures can be found at City Square Mall and the National Museum of Singapore, as well as overseas locations.

See more of Yeo Chee Kiong's Bubblelloon sculptures at his website Yeo Public Sculpture.

Learn more about the installation of the sculpture at Silver Rue Art Consulting.