5 Stars: Art Reflects on Peace, Justice, Equality, Democracy and Progress

5 Stars: Art Reflects on Peace, Justice, Equality, Democracy and Progress is the Singapore Art Museum’s (SAM) salute to Singapore’s Golden Jubilee and the five stars on the Singapore flag, which represent universal humanist values.

In inviting and commissioning five art luminaries of the nation – Ho Tzu Nyen, Matthew Ngui, T.K. Sabapathy, Suzann Victor, and Zulkifle Mahmod – to ponder and respond to each of the values, SAM gives scope to these extraordinary Singaporeans, whose life-long commitment to art as a discipline is inimitable and exemplary. Through the creative and curatorial process, these abstract, intangible concepts are made manifest, and each unique artistic expression and presentation offers nuanced and layered interpretations of the nation’s core values, which resonate with Singapore’s multifaceted, complex identity. New ‘thought-spaces’ unfold: from one island nation’s conscious reflections on its ideals, we recognise the humanist foundations of today’s world.

Engaging with these ‘big ideas’ through contemporary art, the 5 Stars exhibition is curated to encourage diverse individuals and audiences to come together to contemplate what these shared human ideals mean in the present day, and how they might continue to help us envision our futures.