Australia sent Singapore these horrifying puppets for their 50th friendship anniversary

What's a good present to give on your golden anniversary? Super weird puppets, apparently.

Singapore is celebrating 50 years of independence this year. That means it's also celebrating a somewhat less thrilling milestone — 50 years of diplomatic relations with Australia, the first country to recognize Singapore's sovereignty in 1965.

Australia is sending Singapore a three-part gift called "50 Bridges" to celebrate their half-century of friendship. For one part of the gift, called "50 Walls," Australian artists will paint public murals. Another part is called "50 BBQs," which, as you're probably guessing, involves cooking food with fire. In June, Aussie grill-masters will cook 10,000 steaks at fire pits around Singapore.

Last, there's "50 Performances" by a troupe of Australian puppeteers known as the "Snuff Puppets" who will ambulate around the streets of Singapore dressed as giant disembodied body parts — because art.

 

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop called "50 Bridges" a symbol of "the modern, contemporary dynamic relationship" between the two nations, according to the Strait Times.

So if you don't get the puppets, just remember: It's modern art. Probably over all our heads.

Or as the "Snuff Puppets" describe it on Australia's SG50 website:

Snuff Puppets’ giant Human Body Parts is a playful exploitation of the human form; a large scale interactive roaming work that creates surreal and mesmerizing interventions into public life. Meet the massive Hand, Mouth, Foot, Ear and Eye – all disembodied giants with minds of their own. Each puppet has its own distinct personality. The Ear and Eye still and pensive, following, watching and listening. The Mouth in contrast is quite articulate, chomping, snarling devouring and licking with its giant tongue. Imagine a giant hand creeping its way down the footpath, touching everything, holding people, tapping, slapping and generally gesticulating its way around town, while the giant Foot hops along trying to keep up. Adults and children alike go crazy for the wierdness of these disembodied body parts floating down the street. Performances invite audience interaction and inspire wonder at the extra-ordinariness present in everyday life.

 
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