Cooling Off
A brilliant piece of work by Chong Fah Cheong (born 1946), this sculpture depicts scenes of early days of Singapore. Singapore River was once the lifeline of our country in the past, when the first migrant communities settled around here. It was not an uncommon sight to see naked boys swinging from trees beside the river and jumping into the water with gusto.
The boys learned how to avoid the muddy depths and the dangers of bumboats crossing the river, and had no fear of the polluted waters that were sometimes filled with garbage. When the Clean Rivers project was launched in 1983, families, hawkers and bumboats were removed from this area, and the innocent laughter of the swimming boys were heard no more.
Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent. It subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international ... ... read more 
