When banking professional Rukmani Naganathan attended a sculpting workshop last month, she was surprised to learn that her residential neighbourhood of Mountbatten once hosted a National Day parade separate from the annual editions at the National Stadium or Padang.
This was in 2009, and while it was of a much smaller scale compared to the actual parade, the “mini parade”, held behind Block 51 Old Airport Road a week before Aug 9, included a march-past, dancing troupes and a generous dose of National Day songs. It was attended by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and around 5,000 residents, who were all treated to a five-minute fireworks display which lit the evening sky green, blue and red.
The sculpting workshop was part of the National Antiquities Parade, a collaborative art installation featured in this year’s Singapore Art Week x PAssionArts SG60 initiative. Art Week runs from Jan 17 to 26.
Supported by the Mountbatten Community Arts and Culture Club, the installation reimagines the 2006 National Day Parade – the last one held at the old National Stadium.
It features over 250 clay figurines – representing various contingents of the parade – sculpted at five community workshops by participants from Broadrick Secondary School, Association of the Deaf, Thye Hua Kwan Active Ageing Centre @ Cassia, Waterside Condominium, Dakota Breeze Residents’ Network and Jalan Batu Residents’ Network.
Guided by a team of professional artists from the Temporal Displacement Agency to sculpt miniature soldier figurines, inspired by the Terracotta Warriors of China, the clay sculpting workshops welcomed a diverse group of participants from ages eight to 60.
Ms Rukmani, 52, who learnt about the project from a poster in her neighbourhood, had no experience with clay or even the art of sculpting, and said she was initially unsure about the process.
“But once I began sculpting, it felt surprisingly natural,” she said. “There was something deeply calming about working with my hands, shaping the clay and watching it transform into something meaningful.”
Singapore-based Indian-British artist and workshop facilitator Poonam Saksena-Taylor said clay was chosen as the medium due to its simplicity and accessibility, making it ideal for participants of all ages and skill levels.
“We had a young girl who was incredibly skilled and helped the adults, and the seniors, though they faced some challenges with the tools, found their own ways of contributing,” she said.
Each figurine has been engraved with the sculptor’s name at the base to symbolise their individual contribution and connection to the project.
This personalisation, according to artist Raihan Harun, adds to the installation’s theme of restoring the national spirit.
“We wanted to recreate the feeling of an archaeological excavation,” he said. “The figurines represent elements of our national identity that might have been overlooked but are now being restored.”
As the next stage of the project, members of the public are invited to “restore” and bring the installation to life by painting the clay figurines at the Singapore Sports Hub Visitor Centre. The painting sessions are open daily from 12pm to 7pm until Jan 26.
The exhibit, which is free and wheelchair-accessible, will remain on display for a month after Singapore Art Week ends.
