Tian Tian Shang Xiang Exhibition, Raffles City
There are days where I feel like I have lost faith in humanity. I know that we are social creatures that need interaction on probably daily basis but sometimes what we receive from this interaction is dejected feeling. This kinda makes you wonder why did you bother to interact in the first place. Today, some stuff happened which kinda make me feel this way but thankfully it happened toward the end of the day so it did not really affect the whole day if I put it that way.
In times like these, it's best to visit an exhibition with nobody but yourself and there's a free and cute exhibition which is currently underway at Raffles City, a popular shopping complex at City Hall area.
Danny Yu, the creator of Tian Tian Xiang Shang (TTXS), has brought these cute children figurines to the shore of Singapore and I was so surprised to see the big white TTXS figurine at the entrance of the shopping complex.
Tian Tian Shang Xiang literally means making progress making day and it comes from Chinese proverb which was made famous by Mao Zedong in 1950s to motivate children. Inspired by the proverb and the ever-curious habit of children, Danny Yung created TTXS's white and three dimensional body and treats it similarly to blank piece of paper where people can write or draw on. The "clothes" that are drawn on TTXS's bodies displayed in the exhibition are designed by various artists both local and international.
Oh no, one of TTXS is hanged like clothes. O_O.
If you have time to spend, you should zoom closer to each TTXS's figurine to see the design and the words written on them. Some of them are really relatable to the daily life of Singaporean while some may require a bit of imagination to capture the meaning of the design. After all, child-like imagination cannot be limited by any boundary, right?
Walking further inside to the central part of the shopping complex, you will see more abstract design of TTXS. For instance, this particular TTXS figurine does not really have cloth like the other. It has a lot of mini TTXS grown on him. A bit like mutant, I can say but that is most likely not the meaning of this art piece. Do check out the note and the designer's name on the card below each TTXS figurine if you are curious.
My favourite design of TTXS is gotta be this one and it makes me even want to read the card (uhm yeah, now you find out that I am a lazy exhibition visitor). The idea behind the design is to show that you can be anything in life, you can have whatever style and be yourself no matter what other people say because after all only you can limit yourself. I guess you can be a nerdy, a superhero and wild fashionista at the same time if you want to.
There are also non-figurines type of TTXS at the left side of Raffles City (near the escalator). The TTXS kinda looks a bit like monkey here but since it is full of question marks, I started to wonder if this particular TTXS has lost its identity or busy questioning life. He's probably just wondering about life like what I usually do on daily basis. Life is a mystery like what Madonna sings, no?
On the other side of Raffles City, you will find shelves of smaller TTXS which are designed by Singapore school children. Aww. These kids are amazingly talented. I don't think I have such talent when I was in elementary school. My TTXS would probably end up in one color. Hopefully it's not black because that will look so bleak. And depressing.
Tian Tian Shang Xiang exhibition is currently running from 28 July until 21 August at:
Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road
Singapore
Nearest MRT: City Hall MRT Station