Sunsight 12 July 2026

Buckyconfluence.org draft Editorial note: The website has been reformatted to consign data to the reference tabs. The history of buckyconfluence and the logo may be found via the first tab, followed by Previous events

On 12 July this year, in Remembrance of RBF, Bellevue Culture Club held events commencing with “Sunsight & Music” for which invitees arrived from 6.30am to celebrate at the Panorama terrace of the hotel where the Dymaxion Big Map was being laid out and cleaned.(unintentionally symbolic!) to early morning Raga music, followed by Morricone’s poignant music for “The Mission”captured on video (see below) as we sighted the sun bursting from the clouds. The attendees then began to appreciate the significance and global dimensions of the map before breakfast.

Events

• video

Among the attendees, Benedict Tay from the URA of Singapore had been making a sketch to capture his feeling about the sunsight experience (see illustration). He and his colleague Christian from the Singapore Institute of Architects, (together with Lee Peng Hui, son of my former architectural associate Lee Kip Lin) were in Penang to archive material, and topically about my Starpoint building, recently recommended for heritage conservation, where Bucky had often stayed on his visits to Singapore. Also from Singapore were Jona Pang, Ali Ibrahim and Joo Hock, regular enthusiasts of Bucky Jona had been Graduate of the “Money & You” programme, and has been finding fresh perspectives about Bucky, and we began to discuss ideas about establishing “BuckyLink” for future regional connectivy for those genuinely inspired by RBF. Another regular was Maryam Abdullah who came to advance the design and publication of my long overdue memoirs “Confluecing with Bucky”. The other attendees were: Dato Badrul, June Lee,Lim Soon Cheng, Iwyn Lim Wei Lyn, Tan Ko Lay, Wang Hooi Choo, Ooi Bok Kim, Tommy Teh, Rushidi, Jon Su, Nor Syazwani, Adrian Cheah, Ng Kim Theng, Yang Kok Lee, Thachayni, Teng Chang Yeow, Hans Ong, Siti Shafiqah, Woan May Lim, Muhammad Khairul Naeem, Ian , Sharil, Sharidah, Indran, Parvathy, Nurul.

Although unscheduled, my great grand niece Sophie Teo turned up and offered a musical offering playing Bach and Massenet solos on her violin.* She was back on vacation from the US with her parents, and wanted me to hear her musical progress.

Remarkably, like Bucky, she was from birth optically disadvantaged which she had to overcome more by ear than by sight, clearly encouraged by music.

For the occasion, the walls in the hotel displayed rare and vintage images of Bucky in Bali, Singapore, Penang and in the US, which related to my talk “Bellevue, Bucky and his Significance in Penang” (which mentioned the Campuan meetings and exhibitions, also Komtar and the unfulfilled Lotus Dome project) also to Singapore and Thailand , extemporised into his global context, before the “cosmic” happenstance owning of the hotel in Penang and its connections with Bucky after Bali. The talk was follwed by a photoshoot of the attendees at the Big Map.

Brunch followed, with other guests hosted bt the new StrawBelle Cafe in the Palm & Ginger Garden, and a visit to the Campuan Lounge where there were more photo exhibits, and a display of artifacts for sale. The gardens had flourishing plants of Alpinia buckiana (as mentioned in previous taxonomic accounts)., and for the occassion, our botanist from Suriana Botanic Conservation Garden, Nurul had prepared packaged seeds (see illustratiins)

We were sad to receive news of the demise of Khoo Sui Hoe who passed away in Arkansas on 31 May this year. Apart from being one of the most significant Malaysian artists, he had very close personal ties with me in Singapore and Penang, with Alpha Gallery and with Alpha Utara Gallery. He had also been a Fellow of the JDR IIIrd Fund (now the Asian Cultural Council). He also knew Bucky. His two portraits of RBF at Bellevue (made in 2015 and 2020.) will be prized within my collection of his works. In his honour, memorial events are being organised in Singapore at the Private Museum on the 9th August, with and at the Penang State Art Gallery on 15 th August, with the presence of his widow Sue and family members. We have celebrated his works with exhibitions on many occasions at Bellevue.

In November 2025, Brian Wong, who is the Managing Director for the Aspen China Fellowship Program of the Aspen Institute in the USA brought to Penang some 50 Fellows (from China and Australia) for a study tour. As requested they were hosted to a lunch and I talk I presented about RBF and his global philosophy, emphasising Integrity, which may have resonated with the group, who were then also introduced to the Dymaxion Map. The group photo is featured in the poster for the 2026 events.

notes not for inclusion: *Karja, Putu visit and Bali, Penestanan events in mind. Pugur , Stoller photos 1976/77 photo copyright. Karen Goodman

photo of sunsight 19 July prior t0 PHF Thailand, Suan Luang, Sumet.Lotus Dome Tetence zward, Idanna Pucci, Noguchi, Antares