First Generation Sculpture

The First Generation Sculpture is a major tourist attraction which adorns the banks of the Singapore River near the Fullerton Hotel. It is one of the rarest pieces of art, portraying five boys playing by the bank. It has beautifully captured the essence of the carefree days of the first immigrants of Singapore by freezing the motion of the boys about to jump into the river, naked. In the former days, swimming in the river was a common pastime. The Singapore River was but a huge swimming pool, and the residents had the time of their lives in it. This life-like sculpture is a revival of the fun-filled days of Singapore as it used to be earlier.

In the words of Michelangelo, 'Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it'; and indeed, what a breathtaking sculpture was envisioned by the famous Singaporean sculptor, Chong Fah Cheong! He saw five boys in bronze and did not stop carving until he set them free. The dynamic First Generation Sculpture was unveiled on the 31st of December, 2000 and has remained at the same historically significant site by the riverbank till date. It was created as an honour to the immigrants of Singapore and to remind the present generation of the former in the economic as well as social development of this proliferating city.