'Horse-Face', Guardian of Hell
Hell is guarded by two fearsome demons, known to chase their victims into the gates of Hell itself; their Chinese names conjure up their appearances rather literally as 'Horse Face' & 'Ox-Head'. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox-Head_and_Horse-Face
The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.
It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - Gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.
The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.
Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.
The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished (particularly a wonderful fish tableaux), but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!
www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...
'Horse-Face', Guardian of Hell
Hell is guarded by two fearsome demons, known to chase their victims into the gates of Hell itself; their Chinese names conjure up their appearances rather literally as 'Horse Face' & 'Ox-Head'. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox-Head_and_Horse-Face
The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.
It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - Gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.
The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.
Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.
The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished (particularly a wonderful fish tableaux), but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!
www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...