A Difference Of Art

Like Ford's Model T, available only in black

Definitely a more colourful alternative

The first piece of "art" won her $32,500 in the UOB Painting of the Year 2014 Competition. Ms Om explained that the 100 cm by 100 cm oil on canvas is supposed to be a reflection of a starry night sky, probably marred by the haze from Indonesia. You could never guess that by the "N-PIN56L" title given to the piece, obviously bearing no clue to the 57 layers of colour applied. Don't bother to ask what camel brushes were instrumental for the creative labour of love: ""I used 6 mm tape to create the grid. Each layer is a compilation of a grid, the paint layer and the tape removed and applied again, and then add on another layer."

The second creative effort is more recognizable, spray paint being the medium of choice preferred by graffiti artists world wide. But two German nationals, Andreas Von Knorre and Elton Hinz, both 21, are likely of be rewarded with $2,000 fines, 3 years’ jail and 8 strokes of the cane each for their exuberant expressions of colour and shape.

The main difference being a sticky issue of trespassing on SMRT territory.

When a northbound train was found vandalised with graffiti and the fencing at Bishan Depot tampered with in 2011, SMRT swore that "We want to have a system that is truly comprehensive and will hold up to tests." And was willing to back it up with  security enhancements that SMRT said cost them $6 million, with maintenance alone amounting to $300,000 annually. Manpower costs for its current security team then (in 2011) were already eating up $5 million a year. Money is no object when commuters end up paying for their incompetence.

Not that it did SMRT any good. And Andreas and Elton did made them look pretty silly. Just for that, there will be hell to pay. Don't worry about the chief executive being sacked, after all, it's only the fourth instance of security breach recorded. Unless the stars fall from the sky, his handsome salary takings will never be docked.