Thank you for the insightful analysis and questions on Chng Seok Tin's exhibition "Journey of Hope". Engaging with art can provide much to reflect on in our own lives and societies.

1. Journey of Hope
Works by Chng Seok Tin
Presented by: Joseph Joo, Shalynn Chua & Arfah Rahman, DSA231 Contemporary Southeast Asian Art.

2. Blog URL :
http://journeyofhope-2011.posterous.com/

3. Overview
Exhibition Rationale of
Description Exhibition
Key Points Q & A/
of Analysis References

4. Exhibition Description
Artist : Chng Seok Tin
• Admire her as an artist and a person who has experienced much in her
life and career
• Impressed by the scope; breadth and depth of her artworks
Title : Journey of Hope | 希望之旅 |
• Based it on Chng’s life journey of much trials and tribulations
• Despite her struggles, Chng maintains her resilience and never give up
attitude
Artworks: Selected Works from 1985 to 2011
• Selection is almost chronologically portraying Chng’s life struggles and
turning points
• Also displays variety of media forms and techniques she’s experienced
with

5. Selected Works
 (i) Gone With The Water
浪涛尽千古风流人物,
1985, Lithograph 5/6, 30
x40cm
 (ii) Self Portrait 自画像,
1989, Drypoint and
Etching A .P. 60.5 x 40cm

6. Selected Works
 (iii) It’s Okay to be Blur!
难得糊涂 , 2009, Mixed
Media on Canvas, 127
x98cm
 (iv) Looking Up to Danko
仰望丹科 , 2011, Bronze
and Stainless Steel,
H220cm, Weight 148kg

7. Rationale of Exhibition
• Life challenges and inner strengths
Theme • Sub-theme of nature and human behaviour
• Sub-theme of an artist is also a writer
• pay tribute to Chng's versatility as an artist
• celebrate the scope of her literary perspective
Objectives • highlight the different challenges experienced and
her resilience
• Attitude of RESILIENCE as an artist
Learning Points • To instill character building values
for Students • Exposure to various media, techniques and
contextual issues raised

8. Analysis
(i) Gone With The Water 浪涛尽千古风流人物
 Title in Mandarin means “no matter how successful the past
heroic figures may be, they are still subjected to fade through
time”
 Artwork is divided into 3 sections:
o Bottom – dark/ intense marks
o Center – fill of facial images
o Top – stretch of landscape linked by 3 parts
 Most figures not well defined - fade into the lines and
marks, depicting a river flowing.
o great or not, fade by the current of the river of time

9. Analysis
(i) Gone With The Water 浪涛尽千古风流人物
 Top section is made up of 3 parts
o ten circular structures
o connected by bold marks
o a stretch of landscape
Question: Is this Chng’s way of depicting heroes
forming a landscape of history for the current
viewer to learn from?

10. Analysis
(ii) Self Portrait 自画像
 not a realistic representation of self
o emphasis of lines, texture and layering of images
 Main image: the dark dense patch of lines
o Contrast with bottom area
o portray sense of frustration and confusion
 layering of lines to define the face
o uncertainty of artist impression of herself

11. Analysis
(ii) Self Portrait 自画像
 background of small rectangular shapes
o Images of different portraits
o fades off towards the center
o Looks like graffiti
 non-figurative illustration of self
o Convey her thoughts and emotions
Question: Can you feel her struggle in facing
adversity?

12. Analysis
(iii) It’s Okay to be Blur! 难得糊涂
 Colors consist of:
o mainly earthly tones
o main Chinese texts are in gold
o figures are in various colors
 lower half consist of 3 mountain-like piles of figures striving upwards
o Portray rat race urban lifestyles
 Main focus is the inverted banner - meaning of texts (by Zhen
Banchiao, 1751):
o “It is difficult to be clear minded, it is difficult to be vague, it is more
difficult to transcend from clarity to vagueness. Let lose a little, take a step
back, be at ease in present moment, not seeking future good returns”

13. Analysis
(iii) It’s Okay to be Blur! 难得糊涂
 Ancient Chinese coins symbolise material wealth
o Figures playing with the coins
o wealth may not be the only thing human seek
 “When spring wind blow, grasses will grow again”
o resilience of wild grasses
o resilience of humans to survive
o in relation to our present urban lifestyles
Question: Is it really alright to be vague and
blur in life?

14. Analysis
(iv) Looking Up to Danko 仰望丹科
 man-size sculpture casted from bronze holding up a red
stainless steel heart
o Slavonic literary tale by Maxim Gorky
o Self-sacrificial hero, Danko, who plucks his heart out to rescue
his tribe from an inhospitable place.
 Notable features of sculpture:
o Surface - heavily textured, uneven, almost crude
o Contrast – smooth even-shaped vinyl red heart, central hole in
his chest
o Stance - steadfast and powerful
o Gestures - hands reach out skywards, upturned open facial
features

15. Analysis
(iv) Looking Up to Danko 仰望丹科
 Nature’s materials, hand-made feel & guided by the moral story
o scale of work and striking contrasts in materials, colors and
treatments
o dramatic and endearing impression
 self-sacrifice for the good of others
o inspired role models who went through hardships to contribute to
society’s survival and progression
o What is our personal threshold for that?
o To maintain our resilience in our life pursuits
Question: Does this work bring to mind any
role models that you greatly appreciate in your
life?

16. Q&A

17. References:
 Artist’s book: Chng, S.T. (2011). Uncommon Wisdom:Works
by Chng Seok Tin from 1966-2011. Singapore: Nanyang
Academy of Fine Arts.
 Artworks viewed in exhibition; Uncommon Wisdom: Works
by Chng Seok Tin from 1966 – 2011, Nanyang Academy of
Fine Arts, Galleries 1 & 2, on Oct 1 2011.
 http://www.chngseoktin.com/