Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore

[Throwback] Sri Mariamman Temple is Singapore's oldest Hindu temple, and was founded by Naraina Pillai in 1823 after the site along South Bridge Road was granted to him for the purpose of erecting a Hindu temple. The present 6 tiered gopuram was built in 1925.

"Built in the South Indian Dravidian style, this temple features a gopuram that rises above the main entrance along South Bridge Road. It is richly embellished with six tiers of sculptures of Hindu deities, other figures and ornamental decorations. The tower tapers up towards to a moulded ornamental ridge. The scale of each tier and its sculptures is slightly smaller than that of the tier immediately below it. This helps to create the illusion of height and adds to the symbolic importance of the building. Flanking the gopuram are a sculpture of Murugan on the right and Krishna on the left (as one enters). The sculptures are all of plaster, which allows for fine detailing. They are painted in a variety of bright colours, which adds to the visually spectacular quality of the gopuram." (wikipedia)

This sketch or drawing of the temple's facade was done in 2011, on a "Nude" journal book that I found and bought off the shelf of a stationery shop. The book was hand sewn and was made in Thailand and imported to Singapore (which later I found out). It was a small book measuring about 14.5cm X 14.5cm. The square format of the book opens nicely into a long landscape that I used for this perspective of the temple. I am always very impressed by the intricacies of the embellishments and the variety of sculptures on the temple facade. Armed with a Hero fountain pen, I decided to draw as much detail as possible to capture my fascination for the building's architecture and design.



There wasn't much space to sit and draw at the location, so I have to stand and I stood for about 40 minutes to complete the spread. I was pretty satisfied with the result. This piece was later sold to Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I believe it is somewhere in a part of the world right now hanging proudly on the wall of an embassy. :D