I was 14 years old when I first got into trouble at school for doodling on my entire desk with a liquid paper pen and black ink marker. A missed recess later, and I never committed the offence again. Fast forward to today, and “vandalism” – whether artistic or not – is so illegal, you’d get thrown into jail and kena rotan by the po-po if you tried doodling on anything that didn’t belong to you.
But we like the feeling of rebellion, don’t we? That’s why I’ve always wanted to try graffiti, but my law-abiding self never had the means to do it – until now. Enter Heaven Spot, an indoor graffiti art studio that’s accessible to any Tom, Dick and Harry, whether you’re an artist or not.
We headed down to the studio to try defacing walls for ourselves – no holds barred. Here’s what you need to know if you feel like going ham with some spray cans:
One thing about graffiti that always intimidated me was that it always seemed exclusive to “real” artists. But at Heaven Spot, you can have zero background in art and still enjoy the freedom of spray painting wooden panels. These measure 30sqft – that’s about as tall as a typical HDB living room wall, and as wide as a school whiteboard.
But first, the basics. Here are the rates to take note of:
Each session includes the following items:
Optional:
It’s most worth it to go as a pair or in a group, since you’ll get access to a wider paintable surface and spray paint colours. You’ll get to paint whatever you want to on your assigned wooden panels for one hour. Trust us when we say this is more than enough time. Our first-timer hands and arms started to ache barely 30 minutes into our session.
If you’re looking for a fun team bonding activity, Heaven Spot also offers corporate packages from $288. The entire studio will be for your exclusive use, but with safe distancing measures in mind. And the higher the package tier, the more vandalism surfaces and paint colours you’ll get to use. Plus, you’ll get perks like a professional photo session and free take-home wooden panels.
Although our session was pre-arranged with Heaven Spot, the founders Victor Tong and Douglas Koh insisted on letting us experience what their customers normally would.
Choose from 12 different spray paint colours. Professional-grade spray cans are also available for $12 each.
The process is fairly straightforward. Show up on your booking slot, and sign in. You’ll then get to pick your spray paint colours and don your gas masks before spray painting to your heart’s desire.
The protective gear such as coveralls and goggles are completely optional – in fact, most customers opt not to use these as it gets pretty hot and stuffy. Plus, it’s actually quite a clean process which only leaves speckles of paint on your fingertips.
We were super gung-ho and wanted cool photos, so we ended up donning the coveralls.
For our session, we were greeted with our TSL logo displayed proudly on a wall of five panels. Victor and Douglas had also painted the wall white – something that they do for all customers – so that it would be easier for us to visualise what we were going to paint.
Our canvas for the day
Once we got started, they blasted some rock music and left us to our own devices. It was incredibly easy to zone out and get lost in the painting process, especially during a stressful week at work.
Don’t be fooled by the “artistic” aspect of this activity – graffiti painting can be quite physically strenuous.
One hour flew by incredibly quickly, but by the halfway mark, my hands were cramping from pressing the spray paint nozzle. Despite that, the feeling of drawing on a huge wall was rather addictive, and I didn’t care that it left me with aching fingers, hands and arms for the next few days.
No worries if you’re completely new to working with spray cans. You can ask the folks at Heaven Spot for tips on basic techniques.
As a paint-illiterate pen-wielding doodler, I have to say that it wasn’t difficult to catch on to using spray paint for the first time. My unintended paint splotches and shaky outlines needed lots of work, but the beauty of “graffiti” is that it’s totally okay for your artwork to appear imperfect – y’know, street style.
The aftermath
The only difference between our session and a regular customers’ session is that the lights would usually be turned down low, with more chill music. It’s meant to mimic the feeling of being out on the streets at night, except that you don’t have to hide from authorities.
You don’t have to be a stereotypical artsy person in order to try graffiti art at Heaven Spot. You could be a complete art noob, a frustrated salaryman, a couple on a date, or even a child and still enjoy the freedom of spray painting walls for the heck of it.
All you need to do is book a slot on their website, pick out some comfy clothes, show up, and deface a wall or two.
Getting there: Heaven Spot is a 10-minute walk from Potong Pasir MRT.
Book a session at Heaven Spot.
Heaven Spot
Address: 3 Lorong Bakar Batu, #03-01, Singapore 348741
Opening hours: Fri – Sun 10AM-9PM | Tue – Thu 5PM-10PM (Closed on Mondays)
Telephone: 8268 3160
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A portion of this content may contain referral links to products. Our opinions remain our own.
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