These giant ‘ugly’ food sculptures near Marina Bay Sands are pretty Instagrammable

The long-awaited iLight Festival is finally here.

Among all the intriguing light installations placed in the vicinity of Marina Bay Sands from now till June 26, here’s one that you should not miss out on:

Given the bright colours and larger-than-life size of these sculptures, it’s really hard not to notice them by the bay.

As you chill with your friends or loved ones at the benches on the Marina Bay lower boardwalk, these sculptures can be pretty useful to start a lighthearted but meaningful conversation about food waste.

“Eh, what do you think this is?”

“Will you buy this apple if it’s sold at the supermarket?”

Giant, quirky-looking fruits and vegetables

These carrot, egg plant, lemon and apple sculptures may not quite look like what we’re accustomed to seeing at supermarkets.

For example, this twisted carrot looks like two lovers in embrace:

Not sure if it’s related to this carrot from Japan:

Over here, a lemon is not in its usual oval shape:

An apple with two stalks accompanies them:

And an eggplant that looks…unusual.

Get creative with the sculptures

You can get creative with the photos you take at this installation, or put on your MasterChef’s hat and whip up a meal with these “ugly” fruits and vegetables in the kitchen.

That’s because DBS will be giving away S$50 shopping vouchers from social enterprise BoxGreen for the five best photos shared from now till Jun. 20.

So, get creative with your poses and tag @dbsbank in your public Facebook and/or Instagram posts with the hashtags #TowardsZeroFoodWaste #LivemoreWasteless if you are game for this contest.

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Love ugly food the same, won’t you?

While these sculptures at Marina Bay lower boardwalk are deliberately shaped in an atypical manner for art, many fruits and vegetables in real life can look equally quirky but are kept out of consumers’ sight.

Why? Because they are being filtered out and thrown away for looking “ugly”, even though they can be just as fresh and nutritious as the ones you see on display.

This installation, titled “Waste Not Want Not” by local art collective Tell Your Children, aims to challenge the beauty stereotype when it comes to groceries, and highlights how cosmetic filtering in the food industry contributes to the food waste problem.

In line with DBS Bank’s Towards Zero Food Waste initiative, this artwork hopes to drive visitors to rethink and reflect about what makes food beautiful, and look beyond the surface to consume more consciously.

More than just food waste

Food waste has a significant carbon footprint, accounting for up to 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Keeping an open mind and choosing to buy fruits and vegetables even though they may be “ugly” or blemished is one easy way to do our part to curb global warming.

The bank’s Towards Zero Food Waste initiative has helped reduce more than 800,000kg of food waste across Asia since its launch in 2020.

After the iLight exhibition is over, the tarp from these inflatable sculptures will be repurposed as reusable bags for food and retail packaging.

This sponsored article by DBS bank hopes you give ugly fruits and vegetables a chance to prove that they taste just as good.

All images via Mothership