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2004-07-23 - 7:33 a.m. (The first Performance Art piece is archived earlier as the 6th entry of the 2002-03-27 batch) Instructions for Two Performances Illustrating Disenchantment with the Remaking Singapore Project in the Light of Supposed Concessions Made in the Name of Liberalisation Including the Legalisation of Both Bungee-Jumping and Bar Top Dancing in addition to Longer Opening Hours for Nightspots. Performance One: Equipment: 1) Photocopies of the Singapore Constitution 2) Map of Iraq 3) Cowboy Boots (Preferably Texan) Procedure: 1) Enrol in a line-dancing course at a local community centre. To satisfy your curiosity, make inquiries about how a dance form which originated from the home town of George W. Bush has become so popular in Singapore. 2) After achieving a certain level of proficiency, you are now ready to put on those cowboy boots. 3) Walk into a pub with a bar top counter. 4) Lay the photocopies and the map on the counter. 5) Climb onto the counter. Practise your moves. Make sure you leave your footprint on every inch of the photocopies and map. This will not be too difficult since line-dancing often involves repetitive footwork. 6) Ignore the shocked and awed stares from the crowd. Follow the beat. The most important thing to do is follow. With your eyes closed. With your conscience erased. Follow. By the nose. 7) KEEP ON DANCING. Considering the extension in the opening hours of the pub, you might be on the counter for a very long time. Be prepared to dance until dawn, or until someone finds Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. Whichever comes first. Performance Two: 1) Pay for a reverse-bungee jumping ride. The experience lasts for around five minutes, and consists of being shot up into the sky for 50m at a velocity of up to 200km/h. 2) Strap yourself to the steel cage. This procedure might be disturbingly familiar to you, even if only by way of a metaphorical resonance. 3) The minute you are launched into the sky, shout out one of the phrases that are listed in the ‘a’ column below. 4) As you are travelling downwards, shout out the corresponding phrase in the ‘b’ column. 5) Feel free to come up with your own ‘a’ and ‘b’ phrases. Just make sure that they reflect contradictory positions or policy U-turns. 6) After the ride, be sensitive to your environment and your body. THE ADRENALINE IS COURSING THROUGH YOUR VEINS. Can you feel the ground under your feet? Can you feel your own legs? Are you still in the air, a tight knot of fear and exhilaration, the Perpetual Yo-Yo Citizen? a) Sterilise Stray Animals! a) Sterilise Mothers! a) Chinese Communists! a) Speakers’ Corner! a) Singaporeans First! a) Moral Obligation for Bond Breakers! a) Cannot Offend Muslim Neighbours On Gay Issues! a) Renaissance City! a) No Handouts for Independent Entrepreneurs! a) Death Penalty for Drug Trafficking! Footnote: The Remaking Singapore Committee was set up in February 2002 to complement the Economic Review Committee's work in reviewing strategies for 21st century Singapore. After months of consultation it seemed as if the most visible signs of relaxation were the ones mentioned in the title of this piece, gestures which seemed to be more aimed at projecting an image of Singapore to the world than in actually benefiting its citizens. It is in this writer’s opinion that ‘Remaking Singapore’ should be rebranded as ‘Rebranding Singapore’.
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