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SINGAPORE: The recent removal of pavement art outside Mountbatten MRT station by SMRT staff raises larger questions on public spaces and artistic expression, Mountbatten Member of Parliament Gho Sze Kee said on Sunday (Jun 7).<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis incident stirs up larger questions for our society. There will always be tension between artistic creativity, free expression and the rules that hold our shared spaces together,\u201d Ms Gho said in a Facebook post.<\/span><\/p>\n Her comments come after the art piece, drawn on the walkway with a power jet, drew public attention several days ago after it was cleaned off following a complaint by a member of the public.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ms Gho said the area in question falls under the control of SMRT and is not under the town council’s purview.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “And the work was not cleaned off by the town council but by SMRT staff. It is not widely known that many such jurisdictions actually intersect in our neighbourhoods,” she wrote.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI thought the right thing to do was to engage with LTA\/SMRT and the police first to get the facts of the engagement before I talk about this,\u201d she said, adding that \u201cit is their prerogative to clarify to the public, and I will leave it to SMRT and the police to respond\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n CNA has contacted the Land Transport Authority and the police for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n Power-washing artist <\/span>Marcus Pang<\/span> said in an Instagram post on Friday that he was jetting his artwork, dubbed the Heart of Mountbatten, onto a pavement outside the MRT station when he was approached by SMRT staff.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFive hours in, I was stopped by the train station staff as someone had complained about me spraying chemicals onto the grass,\u201d he said, adding that he responded by explaining he was using rainwater to power wash the dirty concrete and that the \u201cchemical\u201d in question was likely the gasoline from his machine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, the staff detained me as I had no permit to do such artwork, which I replied I did not require one.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Mr Pang said the police were called and took his statement, adding that officers told him \u201cno wrong was done\u201d and that he could continue his artwork, though they encouraged him to get a letter of endorsement from the area\u2019s MP.<\/span><\/p>\n