‘All is not as it was, nothing as it will be’

Featuring Liu Kang, Yip Cheong Fun, Lim Kwong Ling, Lavender Chang and Dave Lim
By Vivyan Yeo

Liu Kang, ‘Happy Village’, 1957, oil on canvas, 68.5 x 120 cm. Image courtesy of Art Agenda, S.E.A..

While searching for an appropriate title for this exhibition, we chanced upon the book ‘Singapore: Places, Poems, Paintings’, published in 1993, which focuses on Singapore locations as remembered by artists and poets. A feeling of sentimentality permeates the book, as the contributors witnessed the extent of Singapore’s development, and understood how the country was going to alter further. It was here that a line from Simon Tay’s poem, ‘Changi: In Three Scenes’ caught our eye and inspired the title of this show. With profound awareness, ‘All is not as it was, nothing as it will be’ captures both nostalgia for the past, and acceptance of inevitable change. Indeed, with the extensive transformation of Singapore since the 1940s, how have artists interpreted their constantly changing environments?

Cover of publication ‘Singapore: Places, Poems, Paintings’.

 We seek to answer this question by interrogating the qualities of photography alongside the more “traditional” painterly mediums. Nanyang artist Liu Kang – the sole individual in the exhibition not working in photography – responded to the ASEAN Art Exhibition in 1974 by arguing that for something to be considered art, it has to go beyond verisimilitude. To him, due to the mechanical nature of the camera, the ability of the artist as photographer to express emotion is restrained. Though noted decades ago, Liu Kang’s comments continue to reflect the thoughts of many today.  

 From idyllic rural scenes to shifting interiors and urbanscapes, this exhibition features artists across generations and juxtaposes an array of mediums including painting, pastel drawing, and photography. We display the works of Nanyang artist Liu Kang (1911-2004) who depicted scenes from Singapore’s past, modern photographers Yip Cheong Fun (1903-1989) and Lim Kwong Ling (b. 1932) who captured the labour involved in building the city, and contemporary practitioners Lavender Chang (b. 1983) and Dave Lim (b. 1994) who explore the limits of the photographic medium to grasp the feeling of living in a gentrified home. We invite you to ponder our ever evolving landscape while comparing the qualities of each medium, finding connections across time in the process.

Liu Kang, ‘Homebound’, 1948, pastel on paper, 72.5 x 43cm. Image courtesy of Art Agenda, S.E.A..

Yip Cheong Fun, Day Break, silver gelatin print, 43 x 35cm. Image courtesy of Art Agenda, S.E.A..

“Within both pictures, we see the back of a figure walking into the distance, signalling a journey. They are subsumed within a boundless pastoral landscape, full of lush vegetation and vast skies.”

Starting with outdoor scenes of the rural, we see Liu Kang’s paintings and pastel work alongside straight photography by Yip Cheong Fun and Lim Kwong Ling, all created between the 1940s and the 1980s. Straight photography is understood as the depiction of reality in rich detail and sharp focus, qualities which echo Liu Kang’s description of the camera as “mechanical”. We then examine the medium’s ability to convey feeling by comparing Liu Kang’s pastel work ‘Homebound’ with the photograph ‘Day Break’ by Yip Cheong Fun. Within both pictures, we see the back of a figure walking into the distance, signalling a journey. They are subsumed within a boundless pastoral landscape, full of lush vegetation and vast skies. While the vibrancy of Liu Kang’s work lies in the use of vivid colours and expressive strokes, the quietude in Yip Cheong Fun’s photograph shows through in the subtlety of grey tones and soft lighting. Both works portray a similar scene, and yet the artists used the qualities of their respective mediums to convey contrasting moods. Although the two were working with different materials, they were aligned in their desire to capture such views before they transformed into entirely different landscapes. 

 Yip Cheong Fun, ‘Tough Job’, silver gelatin print, 36 x 43.5cm. Image courtesy of Art Agenda, S.E.A..

Lim Kwong Ling, ‘Gravel’, silver gelatin print, 51 x 40.5cm. Image courtesy of Art Agenda, S.E.A..

Alongside snapshots of rural life, the modern photographers Lim Kwong Ling and Yip Cheong Fun often depicted scenes of labour, in a reflection of the work that went into transforming Singapore. The latter once lamented how his favourite scenes of Chinatown and kampongs were fast disappearing. Nevertheless, the evolving urban landscape was an exciting canvas for them to explore composition and perspective. Instead of crafting a scene from scratch as a painter would, they had to use already existing subjects and find the perfect angle to convey their message. In ‘Tough Job’ by Yip Cheong Fun, for example, straight wooden planks are used to frame two construction workers, whose silhouettes seem minute amidst the imposing structures. Similarly in Lim Kwong Ling’s work, ‘Gravel’, piles of crushed stone fill the entire frame and surround a labouring man, driving home the point that construction had become a colossal part of the unfolding landscape. Susan Sontag wrote in the influential book 'On Photography' in 1977 that “photographs are evidence not only of what’s there but of what an individual sees, not just a record but an evaluation of the world.” This statement rings true for the works of Yip Cheong Fun and Lim Kwong Ling, who created both documentations and opinions of reality. In each of their photographs, the figure is presented as a significant contributor to society, and yet, an insignificant presence within national industrial projects. 

Dave Lim, ‘Eroding the City Pearl Hill’s Terrace, 2019, inkjet print on 150 grit paper 23 x 28cm. Image courtesy of Art Agenda, S.E.A..

The human figure is, in contrast, nowhere to be seen in the prints of Dave Lim’s intermedia series ‘Eroding the City’. Rather, each picture depicts an area at varying phases of urban development such as the Toa Payoh dragon playground, Dakota housing estate and Sim Lim Square. Deliberately weathered, this series speaks of urban renewal at multiple levels. The artist first took a photograph at each site before printing them on 150 grit paper. Thereafter, he returned to the same locations and began rubbing the relevant print on the surfaces present within the individual shots. His process is captured in a performance video, where one can see him exploring every surface first hand. This resulted in multiple abrasions on each print, suggesting that development and erosion are two sides of the same coin. The prints’ faded quality and lack of human presence further present these locations as facets of the past, where people are no longer able to visit.

Lavender Chang, ‘Unconsciousness: Consciousness #3’, 2011-2013, print on Ilford archival acid-free paper, 100 x 122.7cm. Image courtesy of Art Agenda, S.E.A..

In opposition to Dave Lim’s work, the thriving urbanscape glows in the background of the series ‘Unconsciousness: Consciousness’ by Lavender Chang. Taken throughout the night, these long-exposure shots capture moving lights in the city and the figure’s simultaneously shifting body. For each image, the subjects were filmed as they slept unclothed. Though in the comfort of their own homes, the camera’s presence commands a need for vulnerability. Their every move is captured, contributing to a single photographic record of their restless bodies through varying states of consciousness and unconsciousness. Quiet and wavering, the series reminds us of our ever-changing nature; humanity shifts as our landscapes evolve. 

‘All is not as it was, nothing as it will be’ runs from 24 July to 18 August 2021 at 63 Spottiswoode Park Road. 

Exhibition catalogue here.