Echoes of the Bay is a unique participatory VR project conceived by the visionary VR artist Benedict Yu. Aiming to co-create a compelling VR installation in close collaboration with multicultural communities in Singapore, this initiative is specifically designed to commemorate Singapore's 60th year of independence, aligning with the broader themes of the 16th edition's celebration of the Island or Maritime Southeast Asia region.

The project aims to create an immersive VR experience centered around a virtual island. This digital space is encircled by a symbolic fleet of over 60 boats, each meticulously crafted to represent an individual's personal journey and arrival in Singapore from various corners of East Asia and the wider world. The creation of these visual narratives is a collaborative process, involving community members who utilize the intuitive Open Brush application to design the unique aesthetic of each boat. These visual embodiments of personal histories are further enriched by attached audio recordings, allowing participants to listen to the authentic stories, experiences, and backgrounds of the individuals represented.

The ever-evolving and transforming VR installations as well as public interactive VR workshops will be featured at the following major city events:

• Singapore Night Festival. https://www.heritage.sg/nightfestival
• Singapore Design Week. https://sdw.designsingapore.org

The key activity of Project Echoes of the Bay is the interactive co-design and creation of the virtual island and its surrounding fleet. Members from different multi-cultural communities in Singapore receive VR painting software training to navigate the digital environment to create their own individual boats to uncover the rich tapestry of narratives they hold. This immersive storytelling approach aims to effectively harness the power of VR technology to foster a deeper understanding of Singapore's multicultural fabric and to preserve its intangible heritage. 

Your unique voices and experiences could make an invaluable contribution to this project. We would be honored to feature you through the project and invite you to participate in creating a 3D boat in VR and record your unique 3 min oral story for the VR exhibition. If you are interested to participate, please get in touch to submit your story proposal and book your VR facilitation session!

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The Project is a collaboration with Singapore Poetry Festival that generously recommended dozens of most talented poets in Singapore to participate in the Project and share their multicultural journeys. One of them is Gilbert Koh, who shared his poem “Garden city” from the Edited Volume: From Walden to Woodlands (2014). The recording of the story will be attached as an audio file to the boat he created.

Garden City

Let there be trees, the man said, and lo and behold,
there were trees—rain trees, angsanas, flames of the forest,
casuarinas, traveller’s palms and more-springing up against
the steel and concrete of the expanding city.

Even as the true towers of the city climbed higher
and higher for the heavens, the trees were planted, replanted,
transplanted, watered, fertilised, and groomed to grow
and grow. They appeared overnight, abandoned the
chaos of jungle, bent to the will of man, grew in straight lines,
in squares and rectangles, in allocated corners,
in car parks, along highways, outside banks and buildings,
faithful to the commandments of urban developers.

The hard lines of architecture were softened,
the rain did fall, the green did gently, gently grow,
and in his seventieth year, the man was pleased,
as he rested, as he viewed his work, as he felt the weight
of a nation’s soil run slowly through his old green hands.

On May 9, 2025, the first experimental VR Community Co-creation Session was facilitated at LASALLE College of the Arts.  BA Arts Management students Angela Kristie Rustham and Lionel Fong gave a VR Training session to Gilbert for whom wearing a VR headset and navigating Open Brush was first experience to encounter VR in action. Gilbert was introduced to the VR headset, controllers, and the Open Brush software, gaining comfort in the virtual environment. He learnt to navigate and paint in VR, transforming abstract space into tangible forms. Once ready, Gilbert was invited to select a boat model that resonated with his personal narrative. This training empowered him to translate his unique story into visual art, fostering a deeper connection to his personal journey in Singapore through immersive, hands-on creation.

Gilbert's design of his boat was inspired by a moon boat. He rendered his vessel in shades of green and blue, and featured bright, dotted lights as elements of symbolic decorations. This design effectively translated his poem "Garden City" into a visual form. The boat's unique crescent shape and vibrant lighting evoke the poem's central contrast: nature flourishing amidst urban development. The "steel and concrete" of the city, a symbol of modernity and industrialization in the poem, are juxtaposed with the organic, life-affirming "growth and vitality of the trees," represented by the green hues. The dotted lights may symbolize the resilience of nature, persisting and even thriving within the constructed environment. In essence, the VR boat becomes a visual metaphor for the harmonious coexistence of nature and urbanity, a core theme in "Garden City" that expertly represents the garden city of Singapore.

In the interview, Gilbert shared that his boat design aimed to capture Singapore's lush greenery and the dynamic growth of its plant life. Immersed in the VR session, he felt a unique sensation, akin to being transported into an imaginary realm. Navigating his first steps in this virtual space, he soon found himself at ease. The process proved to be both inspiring and encouraging, particularly the opportunity to craft his own VR artifact. Gilbert eagerly anticipates the unveiling of the completed VR installation, where his boat will proudly take its place. This unusual and inspiring experience provided a welcome departure from his daily routine, and while creating his boat demanded enthusiasm and a willingness to embrace the new, he didn't find it difficult or intimidating.