Motion Art Space, Arab St: “A multi-coloured mess in the best possible way”

I’m sure most of us have been dining out and enjoying every moment of it, but if you’re not fully vaccinated and battling a case of FOMO, this might just be on your next to-do list this weekend. Arab Street has always had a special place in my heart—it’s where I started café-hopping for the first time, shot too many Instagram photos along alleys with vibrantly painted walls, admired fabrics billowing in the wind in more colours and patterns fathomable. And right now, I’m adding Motion Art Space to the list of things I adore about Arab Street.

‘Artistic’ is probably one of the last adjectives anyone would use to describe me, but the best part about art jamming at Motion Art Space is that you don’t need any fancy skills or techniques. That’s because it’s combined with Newton’s Law of Motion—yup, your beautiful artwork is achieved with gravity and inertia through pendulum and spin painting.

Putting your own spin on it

Motion Art Space gives you the perfect outlet to unleash your creativity with a one-hour session of art jamming. Motion Art Space’s packages such as Newton’s First Law Package (S$69 for one pax), or Newton’s Couple Package (S$129 for two pax) covers a 40cm x 60cm standard canvas, alongside four basic paints and one premium pearl paint each. All you need to do is grab your pendulums, spinners, bottles, trays, and brushes, and you’re ready to create a masterpiece that’ll give Jackson Pollock a run for his money.

Once you’ve selected your paints, it’s go time—just do whatever you like, however you like. You can opt to give your canvas a coat of paint in your favourite colour, or leave it as it is. Participants will be allowed access to a rotating table, and are allowed full reign over its spinning direction, duration, and speed. Pour your paint into a tool of your choice, and let your creative juices (and paint) flow.

I was most keen to try out the wooden pendulums—it’s not a medium you get to explore in secondary school art classes, neither is it something that you can easily order online and experiment with at home. Everything’s pretty straightforward, and this recurring theme throughout the entire workshop at Motion Art Space was what I liked best. You get a wonderful balance of control and lack thereof, and the way your work turns out is never exactly the way you envisioned it to be.

Add your colours to the pendulum (make sure it doesn’t tip over unless you’re ready!), give it a little mix, give your table a few seconds to spin at a speed you’re comfortable with, let go of your pendulum, and watch your artwork come to life before your very eyes. 

Don’t bottle up all your creativity

What if I told you that the typical squeeze bottles that you normally associate with ketchup or mustard at eateries are used in Motion Art Space for a totally different purpose? I was sceptical at first, but lo and behold—just pick an empty squeeze bottle, fill it up with a paint colour of your choice, and go to town once again. Pull the bottle back slightly towards you and let the combination of the swinging bottle and spinning table give way to a series of geometric paint streaks.

It’ll be messy. Paint might fly. But it is truly something unique and special—watching your painting take form with minimal control on your end. The process of ‘painting’ at Motion Art Space takes all your painting-related stereotypes and hurls them out of the door. There’s no hunching over for long hours, perfecting every minute detail, or even making a mistake. Everything is purposefully accidental, and in the best possible way that’ll make Bob Ross’ day.

Just a little disclaimer, you’ll get your hands and feet dirty, so make sure to wear dark colours. The floor is a mosaic of dried paint from artists who’ve experimented before you, and you’ll leave Motion Art Space having made a little contribution to the floor’s ‘artwork’ as well.

Final thoughts

The one hour definitely will pass a lot quicker than you think. There is no right or wrong, beautiful or ugly, when art jamming at Motion Art Space. Your artwork is a multicoloured mess in the best possible way, and nobody will be able to truly replicate it. Perfect for kids and adults alike, this workshop will definitely give you a creative outlet to redefine the idea of painting. And my favourite part of it all is that it’s 100% foolproof—everyone’s canvas is a masterpiece in their own unique, individual way.

Expected damage: S$59.80+ per pax

Other articles you might like:

RetroCade, Woodlands: Build your very own gaming console from scratch

Bento Cake Decorating Workshop, Galore Bake Studio: “It may be imperfect, but it’s wholly yours”