The Singapore Lane: Where Singapore meets south Delhi

Walk across the surface of Mars to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa or look fondly at the bansuriwala, once an ubiquitous presence in Delhi’s by-lanes. Catch a glimpse of a mildly terrifying cat that represents fortune and health or a skeleton holding up a signboard reminding you to “call your mom".

The Singapore Lane in the Lodhi art district is full of surprises—transforming the walls between Khanna market and Meharchand market into an interactive street gallery. “The Singapore Lane represents the diversity of the alternative art scene," says Giulia Ambrogi, co-founder and curator, St+art India Foundation, who has made it possible in collaboration with the Singapore Tourism Board.

“Everything represents the different styles and genres of the alternative scene interacting with public spaces, which is becoming more and more prolific in Singapore," she adds. From Yok & Sheryo’s pop, ironic wall to Sam Lo’s satirical expression, Eugene Soh’s augmented reality space-travel experience to Yip Yew Chong’s life-like local offerings, there is something for everyone.

Soh, for instance, has a section where you can use your Facebook or iPhone camera for a quick scan of the QR code plastered on the wall, and be transported. Blocks 13-15 of the art district become the surface of Mars, and you can look at scattered machinery on the floor, the Mona Lisa as a 3D artwork on the red planet, and a self-portrait of the artist himself just standing.

Fifty-year-old accountant turned painter Yip Yew Chong has used his personal style—of creating semi-lifelike art—to depict more everyday Lodhi Colony occurrences and characters: a Sikh man reading a newspaper, carpets hanging off the top of the wall, chai, and a mithai vendor. “I see many people on the street—a hand-cart puller, or a day-to-day person, they pass by and they will immediately turn to look. It’s a reflection of their lives."