If you’re in the mood for exploring lofty themes like the nature of life, change, nature and time, there’s no better exhibition to hit than Transient Light Whispering Breeze. A collaboration between Spanish artist Ruben Ramos Balsa (who participated in the 57th Venice Biennale 2007) and local photographer, designer and experimental sound artist Yuen Chee Wai, the exhibition is a marked departure from the “usual stuff.” Don’t be surprised when you step into the exhibition and feel completely flummoxed by the works (we were too, initially). Located in a darkened room, the exhibition comprises five installation works that will take some time to get your head around because they are so strange and random (in a good way). In “Event Horizon,” two mikes are attached to two beakers of water, which in turn are connected to an amplifier. In “Aqua Lung,” two water tubes leading into two deep dishes that are placed in a drawer give off a dripping, plopping sound periodically. Plus, you are greeted with a large screen reflecting two images—one of a horizon and the other of a white rim—strange, compelling images which are matched with weird tapping and feedback-like noises reverberating at the back of the room. There’s even a small, lit-up space on the wall (called “The Standard Wave Form”) which gives off music when you put your ear to it. We found the sound installations at the back of the room most interesting. Look closely at the small bulb attached to the ceiling, and you will see a tiny pair of tapping feet in the light bulb itself— the work of a projector which projects the image onto a small camera. Add the ambient sound of tapping feet, and the work more than speaks for itself. All this may seem like stand-alone installations, but the common thread running through them is an emphasis and understanding of the nature of time and change—and how representations of art are different in the arts and sciences. The sounds emanating forcefully from the exhibition only serve to highlight the process of change and time—and in those sounds we felt the mysteriousness of nature and life. “Event Horizon” and “Aqua Lung” are devices through which sound waves can be measured and made almost visible—in “Aqua Lung”, a vibration from a sound wave goes through the tubes, making the beaker’s water drip and a causal effect to take place. The same applies to “The Standard Wave Form”—really a platform which shows the intersection between light and sound. As Yuen says, “My work explores how image, sound and text can occur spontaneously as symbiotic mental productions.” When asked about the inspiration behind his work, he shares, “It revolves around ideas and concepts like memory, repetition, cognition, invisibility, science and the liminal. The installation is about discovery. The installation is configured to be like an experience. It was made to feel organic and amorphous at the same time, impregnated with a gloomy sense of mystery.” And that pretty much sums up the exhibition.—Belinda Wan

Transient Light Whispering Breeze is on through Jul 13. The Atelier, National Museum of Singapore, National Museum of Singapore, 93 Stamford Rd., 6332-5642. Open daily 10am-6pm. Free.