Write a short summary of what happens in the ambient or digital execution or campaign.

Phase 1: 28th December 2018 Using trick-eye techniques, we orchestrated the ‘disappearance’ of the iconic Sir Stamford Raffles statue that stood along the Singapore River, where he first landed when he founded Singapore in 1819. The ‘disappearance’ was carried out just before 2019, the Singapore Bicentennial year. The Bicentennial was the commemoration of 200 years since the British arrived to colonise Singapore. Phase 2: 4th January 2019 Overnight, Raffles ‘reappeared’ together with four other statues: Sang Nila Utama, Munshi Abdullah, Naraina Pillai and Tan Tock Seng - other lesser-known figures who contributed to Singapore’s early success. Plaques on the statues introduced their stories, and passers-by were invited to read more about them on the Bicentennial website, where they could discover an even wider cast of early contributors.

Cultural/Context information for the jury

2019 marks the 200th year since British colonialist Stamford Raffles’ arrived and founded Singapore. And although there were many who arrived back then and contributed to Singapore’s early success, Singaporeans are unfamiliar with this narrative. The commemoration of this milestone therefore came from a deeper desire to reframe Singaporeans’ perceptions of our history, and to paint a more holistic picture of our past. Sadly, the announcement sparked an immediate backlash. Singaporeans wrote the Bicentennial off as yet another piece of government propaganda, and one that celebrated colonialism. Before we could reframe perceptions about our history, Singaporeans first had to be open to a conversation about it. We decided to engage Singaporeans using this national monument of a controversial man. By making the iconic statue ‘disappear’, before bringing him back with other specially-commissioned statues of early contributors, we wanted to send a powerful message about our intention to go beyond Raffles.