One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. One man’s pain is another man’s pleasure. Often, these proverbs brush off simple observations of one’s preferences, trivialising the differences in how we value things. However, when it comes to the local veteran artist and Cultural Medallion recipient Teo Eng Seng, this saying underpins his entire artistic approach.
As part of the National Gallery Singapore’s ongoing SG Artist series, which spotlights visionary Singaporean artists with a post-independent innovative, resilient, and resourceful spirit, the art museum presents perhaps the most in-depth and comprehensive exploration of the trailblazing, multidisciplinary visionary to date, the latest exhibition entitled Teo Eng Seng: We’re Happy. Are You Happy?
From 6 September 2024 to 2 February 2025, you will be offered a glimpse into Teo Eng Seng’s expansive seven-decade-long career with the help of close to 70 artworks. Through these pieces, you can revisit local and global events from the mid-20th century to the present through his ironic and at times, sad but amusing lens, a signature to his artistic expression.
I got to catch a sneak peek into Teo Eng Seng’s exhibition before its grand opening, so here’s everything you need to know about it as well as my thoughts on some of the exhibition’s highlights!
Who is Teo Eng Seng?
In Singapore’s small but mighty art world, the name Teo Eng Seng isn’t a stranger to most who have studied the great art legends of our little red dot, but for those who were overcome by curiosity and want to get to know this innovator through the exhibition, here’s a quick guide to the man of the hour!
I’ve described Teo Eng Seng as a trailblazer, a multidisciplinary, and a visionary, all of which are difficult titles to receive and carry. But what makes this artist in particular worthy of such titles? Well, you can first look into his magnum opus, his one and only innovation no other artist has come close to recreating or imitating as he solely holds the keys to it.
The innovation in question is “paperdyesculp”, a medium derived from dyed papier-mâché. While he has experimented with various mediums, “paperdyesculp” is what he’s known best for. On the surface, it sounds pretty simple, but the reasons for using such a medium have me believing only geniuses like Teo can develop such innovative ideas.
First, to answer the question as to why paper in the first place, you can owe it to Teo’s Chinese background and his desire to kill comparison. Before his “paperdyesculp” invention, he had been trained in oil painting. However, whenever others wrote about him, he was compared to big names, which initially flattered him but eventually caused him to question his own identity.
And so, he decided to invent something to kill comparison and abandon oil painting altogether, which is where “paperdyesculp” came in. Paper material, in particular, was chosen for a couple of reasons: to shift away from Western-centric notions and its historical significance as a familiar material in Asia, and that it was invented in China.
The versatility of paper also reflects Teo’s belief in artistic spontaneity, which he talked about in person when I went to preview his exhibition. He spoke of how he doesn’t “think about it” when he makes his artworks and relies more on the natural development spawned from daily happenings. Repurposing everyday materials, like paper, is proof of his belief in creative spontaneity.
As for the dyeing aspect, this was due to the importance of bringing colours into his practice. It has to do with how colours allow viewers not to read his artworks, but instead feel and see them through intuitive, spontaneous, and subjective encounters using said colours, a big theme and clue of the Teo Eng Seng: We’re Happy. Are You Happy? Exhibition.
Finally, when it comes to sculpting, you can trace back to how long before upcycling became a thing; Teo was already repurposing materials like plastic waste, second-hand curtains, and more. Throughout his art career, Teo has explored everyday life using common materials and has committed to social engagement and change in his works. During his time as an art teacher (his multidisciplinary nature goes beyond art), he has also encouraged his students to find their creative voices by using contemporary art to respond to social issues.
Teo isn’t one to just talk the talk, he walks it which in turn compels viewers of his works to think for themselves and use their own interpretations rather than accept received notions on how to interpret his work.
Therefore, the “paperdyesculp” pieces are sculpted using hands and everyday materials, transforming them into a message of social change by action, which once again emphasises Teo’s remarkable artistic philosophies.
These elements all contribute to the theme of this exhibition, which I shall now take you through! Featuring two thematic sections and an additional section that goes beyond the gallery spaces, allow me to share some highlights from the exhibition and what to expect!
Artworks located at The Spine Hall and Coleman Entrance
Before visiting the exhibition, you can check out three artworks displayed at The Spine Hall and Coleman Entrance. These artworks have been placed outside the gallery zones as the curators wanted Teo to permeate throughout the gallery, so even if you aren’t going to the exhibition, you can still see public pieces of Teo scattered throughout.
The first “out of exhibition” artwork I checked out was Together, a piece designed to be a tent found at the Coleman Entrance. If you know Teo, you’d know that as a multidisciplinary artist, it extends to performance art, in which not only is Teo the artist, but he is also the performance itself.
First created in 2003, Teo Eng Seng carried the tent made of upholstery fabric to East Coast Park, inviting people to share the space with him which acted as a temporary shelter and a space for interaction.
When talking about “Together”, a curator of the exhibition mentioned Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a model that aids in understanding the motivations of human behaviour. This led me to think about two tiers in this hierarchy, aka Safety and Security, as well as Physiological needs.
Upholstery fabric, a material used for furniture, is cleverly used in this piece as it carries significant symbolism when considering its transformation into a temporary shelter in a public space. Shelter and security are essential for human survival, and repurposing upholstery fabric, which is typically associated with private comfort, protection, and security into a public installation highlights this universal human need.
It also encourages you to rethink and challenge the boundaries between personal comfort and communal responsibility. Once you’ve collectively experienced and shared the fulfilment of basic needs like security and shelter through “Together”, you can then consider how we as a community can turn a personal concern into a collective one where we can all provide these essential needs for others.
For the next two artworks, you won’t be seeing them in separate locations. Rather, they have been combined in one spot at The Spine Hall, meaning you can see both at once! These two artworks are entitled Wabi Sabi and Ah Wah and Ah Kiat: Crossing Borders, which I’ll dive into separately and then collectively.
First up is “Wabi Sabi”, a piece that’ll catch your eye with its vibrancy and size. Wabi Sabi is a fabric painted in acrylic, which Teo has worked on since 1987 before completing in 2011. Despite its “completed” status, Teo Eng Seng told the curators that he had yet to finish his work on the broad strip of fabric, and it makes sense once you look at the artwork’s title.
In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi refers to the worldview focused on appreciating and accepting beauty that is incomplete and imperfect. Teo told the curators that his works are never complete, which I found to be a powerful way of thinking, as nothing is constant.
As Wabi Sabi hangs above from the ceiling, another artwork sits under it on the ground: “Ah Wah and Ah Kiat: Crossing Borders”. This piece consists of 202 figures of motorcyclists made of glass-reinforced concrete, all positioned to appear as though they are on a road attempting to cross a border in the same direction.
If you’re wondering who exactly Ah Wah and Ah Kiat are in this picture, these two aren’t just names pulled out of nowhere. Rather, they are the names of Teo’s former assistants who quite literally embody the spirit of this artwork.
Ah Wah and Ah Kiat: Crossing Borders illustrates the daily migration of workers between countries around the world, such as our causeway between Malaysia and Singapore. It celebrates the value of such everyday workers contributing greatly to our society! Teo’s former assistants themselves were part of this group of workers, travelling between the neighbouring country and Singapore just to work and provide for their families.
And if you want to know which two of the 202 motorcyclists depicted are Ah Wah and Ah Kiat, just look to the gold-coloured motorcyclists proudly leading the pack and breaking the monotony of the dark-coloured crowd of motorcyclists as this is Teo’s way of recognising them as winners in the rat race.
With Wabi Sabi hanging over the massive lines of motorcyclists crossing a border, I couldn’t help but think that the placement of the two artworks felt purposeful. As the wabi-sabi worldview is all about imperfect and incomplete beauty, it felt as though it symbolised the workers’ continuous journey not just in a literal sense but figuratively, as they have to put in consistent effort to support themselves and society at large.
Don’t Try to Read it, See it, Feel it
After exploring the public exhibitions, step into the main attraction where the first thematic section is titled “Don’t Try to Read it, See it, Feel it”.
As aforementioned, Teo Eng Seng truly embodies the belief in thinking for oneself and the power of self-interpretation. Here, this section clearly represents his time and exposure to abstract expressionism during his time as an art student, which in my eyes, all translates into his emphasis on spontaneity.
From blending materials and techniques to reflect his own unique identity to making art intuitively rather than through rational planning, these artworks all capture the sentiment of approaching art emotively instead of logically. Some of the works displayed in this section are also inspired by things he’s seen, heard, or felt, depicting unrecognisable objects which again represent his creative spontaneity.
One of the first artworks you’ll see walking into the section is Five Nails, which intersects Western and Eastern influences. Standing at 3.7m tall, “Five Nails” is one of his largest artworks. It draws inspiration from the Buddha’s palm, as depicted in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.
For those unfamiliar with the story from Journey to the West involving the Buddha’s palm, to keep it short, a wager was made between the Monkey King and the Buddha: If the Monkey King could leap out of the Buddha’s hand, he would be made the new Emperor of Heaven. In the end, the Monkey King was unsuccessful, as he discovered that he’d never left the Buddha’s palm, as the Buddha’s grasp was vast and inescapable.
In “Five Nails”, the inescapable grasp of humanity’s subconscious is represented here, as the long nail-like monoliths give you the sense of being caught in something far larger than yourself.
As always, Teo’s works were up for your own interpretation. In my eyes, this piece highlights the limitations and deceivement of our perception. Reality is not as straightforward as it is, and how we perceive it might be distorted or a fragment of a bigger picture.
Another artwork where I came to a similar conclusion is “The Net (Most Definitely Singapore River)“, an installation featuring “paperdyesculp” debris trapped in a fishing net. Back then, local artists around Teo were over-romanticising the Singapore River. Instead of following suit, Teo Eng Seng gave a wry response to this, depicting the raw reality of the Singapore River before clean-up initiations took place.
This depiction of reality once again underlined the importance of the critical eye which will challenge us to question the narratives we are presented with and seek our own understandings of the world around us as reality is layered, complex, and sometimes uncomfortable.
Moving over, we have the artwork next to The Net (Most Definitely Singapore River) titled “Don’t Try to Read it, See it, Feel it“, which is where this first section’s name came from! This artwork, in particular, is the true epitome of the message behind this section.
Take a look at it. Does it look like Chinese characters to you? And if so, can you identify them? Actually, you’re not supposed to be able to identify them, as they are completely nonsensical characters!
Teo’s English-educated background and limited familiarity with the Chinese language resulted in this piece, a personal interpretation of Chinese calligraphy. As opposed to decoding the language, it challenges you to engage with the work using your senses and intuition. It also confronts and subverts from the traditional notions of legibility in the Chinese logogram system, allowing you to feel the power of visual communication that goes beyond linguistic limitations!
Initially, I wasn’t sure how to feel about the artwork. However, guided by Teo’s encouragement of intuitiveness, I found that breaking traditional legibility inspired a feeling of liberation and empowerment, as I could interpret the piece on my own rather than adhere to fixed meanings.
Sweet Talk, Straight Talk
If Don’t Try to Read it, See it, Feel it was about spontaneity and self-interpretation, then “Sweet Talk, Straight Talk” is about how Teo values art as a platform for social commentary, which can be seen in the acute awareness of socio-political events found in the works displayed in this section.
Regarding himself as a global citizen, Teo Eng Seng is in tune with the socio-political happenings around the world. Through his art, Teo practices negotiating society and selfhood with honesty and wit. This is where the ideas of “Sweet Talk” and “Straight Talk” come into play, with “Straight Talk” representing the bold expressions of freedom and “Sweet Talk” assuaging the heavy messaging with kitsch, humour, and irony to make for tongue-in-cheek perspectives on such issues.
Of course, we must begin with the exhibition’s namesake, the artwork titled We’re Happy. Are You Happy? Combining everyday, non-art-related objects with the “paperdyesculp” method, this piece is a second-hand birdcage furnished with paper pieces mimicking the classical columns, a Roman architecture trend popular amongst Singapore’s grand mansions in the 90s.
Birds made using the “paperdyesculp” technique are trapped within this cage but despite the theme of captivity, they frolic within the gilded cage, which symbolises the contradictions of those who live affluent lifestyles as well as the trade-off between material comfort and personal freedom.
One crucial detail to note is that this piece was made in 1997, which means it was set against the backdrop of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, a time when havoc spread in much of East and Southeast Asia. Hence, this specific piece critically reflects the divide between social classes and urges you to contemplate privilege, social divide, and authentic expression.
On the cheekier side of things, we have the artwork WMD?, a piece created in response to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. At the time, the US justified its actions as they claimed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) but no evidence of WMD possession was found.
Taking it at face value, you might be amused by the steel centrepiece made from a scrapped metal cylinder and a Kevlar helmet, put together to resemble a phallus. But upon closer inspection, it also mirrors the appearance of a battering ram or a missile. The two-in-one image is a physical representation of how masculinity and militarism that perpetuate violence internationally are deeply intertwined.
Often, traditional notions of masculinity are linked to aggression, strength, and dominance. And with military service commonly portrayed in a masculine light and as a rite of passage being glorified through such traditional ideals, it eventually leads to intensified masculinity that is tied to expectations of violence in international conflicts.
Through this piece and its open-ended inquiry in the title, you are led to question accountability in the context of politics and the need to deconstruct the link between masculinity and militarism.
Last but not least, we have The Trophy, an artwork accompanied by photo documentation. This bronze cast sculpture isn’t just a sculpture, no. Teo Eng Seng transformed it to be a performance piece as well and beyond that, had made himself both the artist and the performance!
Rather than putting it on an unmoving display, he got “The Trophy” moving, initiating a performance by carrying the trophy around museums like the Tate Gallery in Liverpool. Throughout his performance, he would go up to passersby to start conversations on topics ranging from politics to what spaces artists are entitled to exhibit at.
These conversations and the showcase of the work outside of a traditional museum setting challenge the idea that artists require institutions as platforms for visibility. In fact, these public performances shine through the power of direct audience participation and interaction, which also underscores art’s role in creating conversations around broader societal issues.
We’re Happy. Are You Happy?
Before leaving, Teo’s exhibition takes you back to its title just right next to the exit. A red ballot box stands in a red-tinted space, with the exhibition’s central question, “Are You Happy?” that you can answer on the exhibition brochure’s very last page.
After all, as seen in Teo’s desire to connect art with action, leaving the exhibition by answering a call to action is a must! Once you’ve filled in your response using the pens provided, you can drop it off in the box. This simple activity and question all circle back to one of the exhibition’s main messages; to think for oneself instead of receiving others’ interpretations.
While I won’t reveal what I answered, I will say that I was impressed by the full circle moment this activity provided, and it certainly left me with a better understanding of the exhibition as a whole.
Exhibition Details
Before visiting “Teo Eng Seng: We’re Happy. Are You Happy?”, local art hadn’t quite piqued my interest, but Teo Eng Seng’s limitless creativity and outstanding individuality won me over. And beyond his innovative spirit and vibrant works of art, the exhibition also exposed me to the intrinsic relationship between the arts and the world around us.
Early bird gallery passes are now on sale at 20% off till 26 September 2024! Do note that Special Exhibition and All Access Passes are valid for 2 visits until 2 February 2025.
As for GA, SE, and AA Passes purchased after 27 September 2024, these passes will only allow for a single visit. Those who are Singtel users can get 50% off Special Exhibition Passes with a minimum purchase of 2 passes from now to 26 September 2024! But do refer to Singtel’s website and app listing to attain your promo code to get this discount.
And if you’re a UOB cardholder, you can get a 30% off Special Exhibition Passes from now till 26 September 2024! Again, please refer to UOB’s website and app listing to attain your promo code.
🗓️Date: 6 September to 2 February 2025
📍Location: 1 St Andrew’s Road Singapore 178957
💲Price:
- Special Exhibition Ticket: S$25 (Non-Singapore Residents and Non-Permanent Residents)
- Special Exhibition Ticket: S$15 (Singapore Residents and Permanent Residents)
For more information and to purchase your tickets, head over to National Gallery Singapore’s website!
Photos by Pauline Caoile of the DANAMIC Team.
