Published on 12 Jun 2025

Apollo's Dream

Large scale collaborative ceramic and wood art installation commemorating NTU's inaugural batch of medical undergraduates

Installation view of Apollo's Dream

Suriani Suratman and Hiroko Mita, first cohort students of Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine

Apollo's Dream

2016

Clay and wood

300 x 2100cm

Experimental Medicine Building, Level 3

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Apollo's Dream is a large scale ceramic and wood art installation created to commemorate NTU's inaugural batch of 54 Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine undergraduates admitted in August 2013. This collaborative work comprises of a 25m-long mural wall, floor artwork spanning 1.7m in diameter and hanging artwork that is 2.5m in diameter.

Apollo is the Greek god who brings both health and disease, reflecting the duality of medicine. Apollo's Dream is based on cells of living organisms, key to the study of medicine, with the circular forms representing birth and death. The medical students each contributed individual ceramic pieces to the installation that signified how they viewed the role of medicine and their aspirations as future doctors. The artwork took two years to create from March 2013 to August 2015 under the guidance of potters from Jalan Bahar Clay Studios.

 

Installation view of Apollo's Dream

Installation view of Apollo's Dream

Installation view of Apollo's Dream

 

About the Artists

To create this artwork, the undergraduates learned pottery under Dr Suriani Suratman and Ms Hiroko Mita, two local ceramicists of Jalan Bahar Clay Studios and proteges of master potter and Cultural Medallion recipient Iskandar Jalil.

Apollo's Dream

 

Behind the Scenes

 

See photos of the individual clay pieces WIP.

See photos of the ceramics workshop at Jalan Bahar Clay Studios.

See photos of the launch event on 11 August 2016.

Read more about the artwork launch on The Straits Times.

 

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