Who's by the River

Who's by the River was created for the National Gallery Singapore to succeed the gallery's popular Who's in the Woods installation. Where the original placed visitors in an invented forest, Who's by the River rooted the experience in Singapore's cultural heritage, taking as its source material Liu Kang's iconic painting Life by the River, part of the National Collection.

Visitors designed their own characters and placed them into the painting's world: a lively kampong village scene that shifted from day to night as the experience unfolded. Characters moved through the shared environment alongside those made by other visitors, populating Liu Kang's world with new life drawn from the imaginations of the children and families engaging with it. The installation served as both a creative activity and an introduction to one of Singapore's most significant works of art, making the painting's world feel inhabited and alive rather than preserved behind glass.

Character Creation

Visitors designed their own characters using digital tools before placing them into the kampong scene. Each was uniquely made, and the visitor watched their creation move and interact within Liu Kang's painting world alongside characters made by others.

Day-to-Night Village Scene

The installation cycled between day and night versions of the kampong landscape, with visitor-created characters populating both states. The changing light gave the experience a natural rhythm and revealed different aspects of the painted world over time.

Cultural Engagement with the National Collection

Grounded in Liu Kang's Life by the River, the installation used interactive technology to connect young visitors with a significant work in Singapore's National Collection, making the story and setting of the painting accessible and immediate rather than distant.