State of Love and Trust and Stars (SLTS) is an event that aims to reposition and question the concept of the grand national narrative that is our National Day Parade. Mass and extravagant performances, harmonious social messaging, issues of national security, and top-down secular rituals; the parade is the largest public display of a shared national consciousness. But how much of our so-called republic identifies with this uber-celebrated version?

SLTS is a gathering of artists, actors, and musicians, coming together for a singular purpose of finding commonality between identity and belonging. Through the exhibition of fanfare, theatrical dances, and an offbeat party, the event reveals the symptoms of an internalised parade that have been instilled—perhaps unknowingly—over 53 years.

Who are we? Are we those participants in the sea of red? What are we celebrating it for? Is it really regardless of race, language, or religion? Do we feel like we are one united people? Or is it just another public holiday? Why do some of us leave the country on the most patriotic day of the year?