The Duality of a Highway

One of the biggest reasons spaces under expressways and flyovers are ignored is because people often do not know what they can do with it. I visited such a site, Tampines Expressway (TPE) at Sungei-Serangoon in Singapore. The site was particularly difficult to navigate, in particular was the incommodious separation of the 'over' and the 'under', where I had to squeeze through a few barricades and descend a dirt path from above to get below.

In the 'over', the happenings above the expressway seem to be accelerated as the name would suggest. Cars and trucks zipped through ,nonchalant, and in controlled intervals; logical and efficient, like the traffic light. At a glance, one could say that the place was indeed moving rapidly. Buildings in the distance being built, cranes towering overhead, a cement truck roaring past vans and taxis, and ornamental greenery methodically decorated on the barriers of the expressway.

Everything seemed to make sense, yet at the same time it didn't.

As I descended down the dirt path and arrived at the 'under', my mood drastically shifted. The first thing I noticed was a mother and child, poised under one of the bridges, casually enjoying the shade, with their bicycles sprawled at their side. Then, a man with his dog, taking a stroll, a cyclist in full gear, a jogger, some construction workers seated at the nearby benches. The plants and greenery in this area were not 'methodical' like the ones above, instead they were more vivacious and free. It was as if the greenery wanted to overcome the structures around them and claim back their lost identity. As I looked over the green metal fences on the side, I could make out the soft ripples from the Sungei-Serangoon River, where a cool breeze blew, and a feeling of calm and serenity hit me.

That was when realised the duality of the expressway; the 'over' and the 'under'. Under the belly of the beast, things seemed to make less sense, yet at the same time everything did.

Over The Highway Artwork in Impressionist Style by Janus Lim

Over The Highway Artwork in Impressionist Style by Janus Lim

Under the Highway Artwork in Impressionist Style by Janus Lim

Under the Highway Artwork in Impressionist Style by Janus Lim

PS. I digitally stitched my artwork in Photoshop and applied an Impressionist style, with the short and broken brushstrokes, to capture, as Impressionism originally intended, a fresh and original vision, recreating the sensation in the eye that views the subject. Famous Impressionist painters like Claude Monet, depicts in his paintings the changing quality of light, highlighting the effects of the passage of time, and I had hoped to achieve the same effect in my artwork.