Singapore Survey 2010: Beyond LKY

What happens when Uncle Harry dies? That’s the question curator Valentine Willie asks of veteran Singapore artists Tang Da Wu, Jimmy Ong, Zai Kuning, Jason Lim and Vincent Leow, as well as the newer-generation Genevieve Chua, Alecia Neo and Jason Wee, in this latest exhibition.

For most Singaporeans, Lee Kuan Yew has always been around and appears likely to be there even after our own deaths, an omnipresent entity that closely watches over us. However, though sharp and attentive, LKY is nearing 90. And we all know that no one lives forever. Willie says: ‘No other living politician dominates his people and his country like LKY does, except of course Kim Jong-il and Robert Mugabe. But whereas North Korea and Zimbabwe rank as two of the world’s poorest countries, Singapore ranks as one of the richest. LKY must be doing something right!’

So what will the future look like after LKY? The idea was to look into the crystal ball instead of waiting for that dark day. Can we emerge stronger after his rule? Are we and our government prepared for this inevitable occurrence? How will our lives change? What does this group of about 20 artists have to say – even those whose lifestyle would appear to clash with LKY’s worldview, or those less influenced by him? The answers will be revealed over the course of 20 artworks that will be exhibited or performed, with the majority of them specially created for the show.

Take for example Lim’s black and white ceramic chains, which suggest that though we are shackled to and constrained by LKY’s ideology, there is the possibility that we’ll one day break free. Green Zeng’s alternative dollar bills are imprinted with images celebrating forgotten political leaders who have been marginalised and punished by the government, while Kuning’s smashed piano depicts a future Singapore singing a new non-Malay national anthem.

Willie notes: ‘There are no right or wrong answers. Some will find it easier to escape the long shadows of LKY, while others will remain chained to him even though they have left Singapore and migrated overseas.’ What’s for sure, though, is that for every answer given, a new question will arise. Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle