Event: Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition (100th Anniversary, 1912-2012) (link)
Venue: Marina Bay Sands ArtScience Museum
Showing: 29 October 2011 - 29 April 2012
I first got interested in Titanic because (you've guessed it) the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. But what really struck me deep was not the love story, but the tragedy of the whole event, which could have been prevented to a certain extent and the lives lost. How something of such technical "perfection" could fall as such. The under-used life boats, the poor lookout, etc. And all these were even more apparent and brought me back to what I had "researched" before when I visited the exhibition.
As no photography was allowed, I won't have photos to show you, so hopefully I can describe my experience as best I can. The exhibition was bigger (and better) than I expected and I think I took almost 2 hours covering it, leaving the museum near closing time at about 10pm, with no dinner (I was exploring the Dali exhibition before this). Definitely worthed visiting. Tickets are at $24, and if you're local, you get 15%. OCBC card holders get 20% off.
At the entrance, you'll be given a "boarding pass" which has been printed with the name of a real passenger on the Titanic. You're supposed to check the name against the list of survivors (and casualties) at the Memorial Gallery later. Here's mine (front & back), Mrs. William R Bucknell.
The exhibition starts off with an introduction to the conception and construction of the colossal ship. One can't help but be amazed by the engineering feat. And as you continued, you are shown the re-created staterooms, dining luxuries, cabins and the various types of dinnerware, toiletries, amenities, etc. with comparisons between the first, second and third class passengers' utilities. I loved the music they were playing, but my Track ID failed to identify what the pieces were. The disparities between the classes were wide, but generally, the third class passengers experienced much better lodging and amenities than as they would have experienced on other ships. And of course, there's the famous Grand Staircase, where you can again, have your photo taken.
Following that, one would be led into the Boiler Room, where you would know the work that goes on in the bowers of the ship. You would also find out how the watertight chambers worked, but sadly failed to keep the waters out eventually, as more than half the chambers were filled with water due to the collision. As the shipbuilder, Thomas Andrews, said in despair, it was impossible for Titanic to survive.
Then came one of the most beautiful part of the ship for me, the promenade deck. The illusion of a 100-feet deck was created with facing mirrors. And stepping out from the boiler room zone, you are immediately greeted with a beautiful star-filled night sky. As you leaned over the railing, the play of lights simulated waves. It was almost real, beautiful and peaceful. I could have stayed there for ages just basking in the gentle breeze (yes, that was included too) and quietude of that moment. But it made it all the more tragic of what was to come on that fateful night.
With reluctance, I left the solace of the promenade and came face-to-face with the iceberg. A big block of freshwater ice loomed in the next room for us to get a feel of the freezing conditions in the North Atlantic of that night. It was really very cold and imagine that saltwater ice is even colder! Most of the passengers who died didn't really die of drowning, but of the cold. And the pain of it was that the earlier launches of the lifeboats were not filled! If more could have gotten into the boats, there would have been more survivors. And also, it was noted that there weren't actually sufficient boats available. Even worse, the lookout didn't have binoculars (he misplaced it), by which was the reason the warning came too late. It was sadly a combination of the various factors that turned this into a tragedy that could have been avoided.
One of the unfortunate events too was that a portion of the passengers were actually transfers from other intended passages due to coal strikes happening throughout the UK. Many of the other ships couldn't sail. Titanic managed to consolidate the coal resources that were available from these ships for her passage across the Atlantic. Unlucky, you might say, for these people.
The most touching part would probably be the accounts or stories of the people who died, including the personal effects of those who perished. As one reached the Memorial Gallery, we are faced with the list of those we were saved and lost (here's where your boarding pass comes in). By this time, probably with the help of the music and having soaked up the whole ambience and story, I was already feeling sad once again for Titanic and its passengers. This particular line quoted struck me as I held back my tears. One passenger, Ida Straus, when asked to board a lifeboat (the priority was given to women and children), said "I will not be separated from my husband. As we have lived, so we will die: together". It just tore through my heart...one can only sigh. And there were many of these personal accounts that would set your heart aggrieved.
However, I did read an interesting account of a supposed passenger, Howard Irwin. He was supposed to take the ship, but was kidnapped and eventually escaped from his captors. His friend, Henry Sutehall, Jr., nonetheless brought his possessions on board thinking it was one of Howard's habits of arriving at the last minute. You can say that Howard's kidnap was a blessing in disguise. Henry sadly died on the fatal voyage. Both of them were musicians and the recovery of Howard's possessions revealed an old score of "Love's Old Sweet Song" by JL Molloy (I think it was from Howard's possessions).
As the exhibition came to a close, the setting was as if we were underwater, with glass floor under our feet and artifacts sunken in the sand (ocean floor) to simulate depths of where Titanic sank. There was also a small section on Singapore's response and reports on the event.
So there, a journey through the depths of the Titanic. And oh yah, "I" survived.
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