3 weeks, $2k and a lot of patience for Stomper to build ant nest for National Day

To celebrate the National Day, as well as Singapore's ability to thrive despite adversity, Stomper Zat has made an art formicarium, also known as, an ant nest.

One might ask, "Why ants?"

According to Zat, he felt that Singapore was like ants, in the sense that both were "small but strong".

"People once said that Singapore won't make it, because of how small we are, but we did," he said.

"Similarly, ants are also tiny but yet they are able to carry items that are 10 to 50 times their body weight."

The formicarium that took Zat a week to brainstorm, two weeks to make, and about $2,000 to create, was completed merely two days ago (Aug 4).

He said: "The process of making it is quite difficult. I failed once in getting the proportion of the front panel and had to recreate the cave.

"The coating of the sand is also a tedious process as I need to layer them and let it dry for 24 hours then remove the sand, and repeat the process five times, which took me five days.

"The overall cost of making the formicarium includes a frame for the sculpture which was $500, a crystal platform that was $50, some LED lights and accessories that cost about $100, and a type of special cement that was really expensive, about $200 to $300."

Apparently, the formicarium is not only expensive, but also holds a great significance to Zat.

"The five sapphire gemstones and cave signifies the stars and crescent on our flag," he said.

"The molten aluminium ant nest sculpture is also an interpretation of backbone and support of our founders that have passed away, and how we managed to build a garden standing upon their shoulders.

"The two green jadeites are used as the eyes of the overall sculpture as protectors of our country.

"I just want to share this among Singaporeans, to show that despite how small and insignificant or unimportant we may look to others, we are beautifully created by our insights and other’s disapproval."

Check out more photos of the formicarium in the gallery.