Kuti Kuti? is an intergenerational community art project that takes a spin on the original children's game in which two players take turns to flip colourful plastic tokens on top of those of their opponent. A game of the past that was popular among children in Singapore, it has declined in popularity with the advent of electronic games in recent decades. Yet, our generation fondly remembers a variation of the game in the form of country erasers, which have also been played using bottle caps and rubber bands instead of plastic tokens. We also learnt we could create makeshifts with bottle caps or rubber bands to play the game. These variants of the game feature players flipping bottle caps or rubber bands instead but retaining similar rules.
Beyond childhood toys and nostalgia, Kuti Kuti got us thinking about the spirit of play - where it stays with us despite evolving times. Analogue toys were self-constructed, simple, yet highly creative. Not limited to manufactured toys, we were intrigued by the ones invented with everyday objects. With the incredible diversity of play worldwide, across cultures, times and ages of people, we wanted to open the dialogue surrounding play across generations through this spirit of play. To play is to adapt, to invent, to experiment, to take risks. To play is a part of how we develop as a society - in this, we might build our foundation to adapt and thrive in our ever-changing world. Be it to improvise, to be free or to experiment. Play might be a way we can create a new order and adaptability.
Drawing inspiration from soft sculptures in contemporary art that seek to disrupt everyday objects' functionality and challenge our perceptions, we hope for each creation to spark a connection between audiences from different generations and evoke the ubiquitous and the unruly. Each 'Kuti Kuti' soft sculpture is lovingly co-created and made by participants across different generations inspired by their own story of play. In a way, our interactive installation is a reflection of how play has evolved over the generations. They range from the improvisation of everyday mundane objects to digital mediums of play. We invite you to flip a 'Kuti Kuti', discover the birth stories of each 'Kuti Kuti', or invent your own rules. However old you are, you are never too young or old to play.