Nanyang

Singapore artist Tang Da Wu’s Chinese ink paintings on display as part of the Singapore Art Week 2019. (SPH Media)

Tropical pursuits: Collecting ink paintings in Singapore

CEO of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Low Sze Wee traces the history of Singapore’s ink art collecting trends, and the bonds of friendship forged between Chinese and Singaporean artists.
Nanyang artist Sun Yee. (Dynasties Antique & Art Gallery)

Who are the Nanyang women artists?

Even those familiar with Nanyang artists may be hard-pressed to name other women artists aside from Georgette Chen. Actually, Sun Yee was a renowned artist in her own right, and in Singapore where she eventually settled down, she spent close to three decades heading an art academy. Low Sze Wee, CEO of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, tells us more.
Visitors at the National Gallery of Singapore, 2015. (SPH Media)

This is what Nanyang art looks like

Following up on his article tracing the origins of Nanyang art and its influence in Southeast Asia, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre CEO Low Sze Wee explains the characteristics of Nanyang art, highlighting the unique integration of Chinese and Western art in their compositions.
The woodcut of a satay seller at work, given to the writer. (Lim Jen Erh)

The stories behind the woodcuts

A gift from a friend prompts former journalist Lim Jen Erh to think about the stories behind the scenes depicted in woodcuts, from simple days in school to the final days of the tongkangs on the Singapore River, and the artform that can be traced back to China, especially the modern woodcut illustration movement led by literary giant Lu Xun in the 1930s.
A student of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), 1998. (SPH Media)

What is Nanyang art?

Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre CEO Low Sze Wee traces the origins of Nanyang art, the shaping of the identity of the “Nanyang artists” through the years, and the relevance of this movement to Singapore’s art history.
A boat arriving in Singapore with coolies, circa 1900. The coolies step out of the hold and stand on deck for a photograph taken by the German boat owner. This is a rare and valuable image because there are generally no photographs of early Chinese coolies. Coloured using modern image-processing technology, the photograph takes us right back to that boat deck a century ago, giving us a hint of how these coolies must have looked and felt upon arriving at their destination.

An album of rare photos: From Chinese coolies to Singaporeans

From the 19th century to the 1920s and 1930s, ships transporting hundreds of Chinese coolies ready to work hard and make their "fortune" in Nanyang often docked at Kallang River. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao recently obtained an album with rare photographs of such a ship bringing coolies from Xiamen in Fujian, China, to Singapore in the early 20th century. They are an authentic visual record of Chinese coolies in Singapore a century ago and a powerful throwback to that period.
Tan Kah Kee (L) and Aw Boon Haw made major contributions to China's resistance efforts during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Tan Kah Kee, Aw Boon Haw and the Second Sino-Japanese War [Photo story]

When Japan attacked China during the Second Sino-Japanese War, overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia made contributions to China’s war efforts. Among the most prominent community leaders were Tan Kah Kee and Aw Boon Haw, who corralled donations and made separate visits to Chongqing. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao takes us back to that period and shows us the atrocities of war and the indomitable human spirit reflected in old photos.
Professor Wang Gungwu. (SPH)

Wang Gungwu: When “home” and “country” are not the same

Historian Wang Gungwu speaks to Zaobao about home, country, land, and the world in a globalised era.