Giant Five Stones Seen Around Singapore Is A Public Artwork By Local Artist
Perhaps while on a stroll outside, you’ve noticed some large, oddly-shaped and motley inflatables hung up or placed in unusual places. For example, this walkway in Tampines.
Or maybe this other one at Bukit Panjang. It’s hard to miss something so big, red and seemingly misplaced.
These inflatables are, as some of you may have realised, enlarged versions of the bean bags used in the traditional game ‘Five Stones’. You know, the one where you toss the ‘stones’ on the ground and pick them up one at a time while throwing one in your hand in the air.
It’s called Five Stones because it used to be played with small stones. People eventually started swapping the stones for equally tiny, graspable items like marbles, captehs, and bean bags.
The Five Stones is a public artwork by local artist Twardzik-Ching Chor Leng, commissioned by the National Arts Council’s Public Art Trust (PAT) to commemorate the Singapore Bicentennial and integrate art into our urban spaces. In other words, making our estates prettier and more dynamic.
The work was previously spotted in the Punggol neighbourhood as part of the Council’s Arts in Your Neighbourhood initiative.
Enter Instagram contest to win Five Stones Collectibles
There are 10 such giant stones scattered across Singapore in December. With sharp eyes, you’ll find them at:
- Kebun Baru Birdsinging Club
- Woodlands Stadium
- Bangkit Road near Block 259
- Taman Jurong Shopping Centre
- Marina Bay
- Stamford Arts Centre
- Design Orchard
- Aliwal Arts Centre
- Tampines Street 44
- Singapore Botanic Gardens
Well, actually, you won’t need sharp eyes. They really aren’t that difficult to spot.
Image from National Arts Council’s Public Art Trust
What you may need – if you want to win a set of Five Stones collectibles for yourself – is a good set of Instagram-ing skills.
There are 2 ways you can win:
- Create an Instagram story using the animated Five Stones stickers (simply enter ‘five stones’ in the search bar) and tag @publicarttrustsg
- Take the most creative pictures you can of the Five Stones and upload them to your Instagram page with the tags @publicarttrustsg and hashtags #sg5Stones and #SpotThe5Stones
Users with the most creative use of the stickers and most creative picture of the Five Stones inflatables will each win exclusive Five Stones collectibles. Also remember to set your profile to public, otherwise, the judges won’t be able to see your entry.
We’ve given you a few ideas already, so it’s up to you to push them further.
The contest concludes in Jan 2020 when the Five Stones are gathered in the Civic District for the Singapore Art Week. So while you’re going about your Christmas shopping, dining or I-just-took-leave-to-clear-them perambulations, spare a shot or five for the bean bags of childhood because they won’t be around for long!
All MS News images by Adria.
This post is brought to you by National Arts Council’s Public Art Trust.
