This flight of HDB stairs gets a gold makeover; town council calls it an ‘unauthorised act’

The title says it all.

After a photo of gleaming gold stairs in an HDB block made it onto Reddit, people launched into an animated discussion about the origins of the unusually-looking staircase — and some of these suggestions were pure comedy gold (lame pun totally intended). But the public didn’t have to wait long to find out who did it, ’cause Priyageetha Dia, a fine arts student at Lasalle College of the Arts, came forward the next day.

The work, which she describes as a ‘5-hour long hushed deed’, had been on her mind for the past month. Explaining her thought process behind it, she talks about how she considers this art, not vandalism, as she felt the gold foil enhanced her surroundings. In case you’re wondering where this is, it’s on the 20th floor staircase at Block 103 Jalan Rajah.

Although a good number of netizens and residents were supportive of her work, the gold staircase attracted its fair share of detractors as well. A spokesperson for the Jalan Besar Town Council said that under the Town Council’s (Common Property and Open Space) By-laws, ‘this constitutes an unauthorised act and is thus not permissible’. But the town council did acknowledge and appreciate her attempt to enhance her surrounding environment, and they’re apparently reaching out to her to explore ways to work together in the future.