An Inflatable Homage To Childhood

Walter is an enormous white inflatable bunny created by Singapore-based illustrator, artist and all-round creative Dawn Ng. Her creature measures 6 by 4 meters and was inserted in different places throughout Singapore’s landscape of standard flats and heartland enclaves, in order to create scenarios filled with surprise and wonder.

She took Walter to 30 different spots in and around the city. By placing something surreal in a totally ‘invisible normal’ scenery, Ng aims to enable people to rediscover the beauty of places and the extraordinary in their everyday lives.

Her urban intervention is a reaction to people complaining that Singapore is boring. “Walter helps us look at our home as children again”, she explains.

“The project is a wake up call to recognize what is truly unique about our landscape—not the super structures that make us “world-class,” but the tapestry of flats, zi char eateries, mama shops and MRT line arteries that, in its own right, is unapologetically beautiful.”

According to the Singapore Art Museum Ng’s guerrilla bunny is inspired by various iconic rabbits in contemporary cultures, “such as the White Rabbit and March Hare in (…) Alice in Wonderland, Fifi Lapin the French bunny, the Moon Rabbit (…) portrayed in Japanese folklore and (…) the legendary Easter Bunny”. However, it mostly reminds me of Miffy, probably because I grew up with her stories. Walter was exhibited in the museum in 2010. For this occasion, Ng built a dreamy nature-like playground installation to engage young visitors with the art works. Click here to check it out. If you are looking for a photo series of Walter, click here.

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