Tang Da Wu

Tang Da Wu (唐大雾)
Born	1943 (age 67–68) Singapore
Nationality	Singaporean
Field	Drawing, painting, sculpture, installation art, performance art
Training	BFA (Birmingham Polytechnic, 1974); MFA and doctorate (Goldsmiths' College, University of London, 1985 and 1988)
Movement	Contemporary art
Awards	1995: Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation prize 1999: Arts and Culture Prize, 10th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Tang (Chinese: 唐; pinyin: Táng).

Tang Da Wu (Chinese: 唐大雾; pinyin: Táng Dàwù, pronounced [tʰɑ̌ŋ tâ.û]; born 1943) is a Singaporean artist who works in a variety of media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, installation art and performance art. Educated at Birmingham Polytechnic and Goldsmiths' College, University of London, Tang gave his first solo exhibition, consisting of drawings and paintings, in 1970 at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He began engaging in performance art upon returning to Singapore in 1979 following his undergraduate studies.

In 1988, Tang founded The Artists Village. The first art colony to be established in Singapore, it aimed to encourage artists to create experimental art. Members of the Village were among the first contemporary artists in Singapore, and also among the first to begin practising installation art and performance art. There, Tang mentored younger artists and informed them about artistic developments in other parts of the world. He also organized exhibitions and symposia at the Village, and arranged for it to collaborate with the National Museum Art Gallery and the National Arts Council's 1992 Singapore Festival of the Arts.

In January 1994, the National Arts Council (NAC) stopped funding unscripted performance art following a controversial performance by Josef Ng that was regarded as obscene by many members of the public. From that time, Tang and other performance artists mostly practised their art abroad, although some performances were presented in Singapore as dance or theatre. For his originality and influence in performance art in Southeast Asia, among other things, Tang won the Arts and Culture Prize in 1999 at the 10th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes. The NAC eventually reversed its no-funding rule on performance art in September 2003. Tang was one of four artists who represented Singapore at the 2007 Venice Biennale.

Tang has expressed concern about environmental and social issues through his art, such as the works They Poach the Rhino, Chop Off His Horn and Make This Drink (1989) and Tiger's Whip (1991). He believes in the potential of the individual and collective to effect social changes, and his art deals with national and cultural identities. Tang has participated in numerous community and public art projects, workshops and performances.

Education and personal life

The Richard Hoggart Building of Goldsmiths' College, now known as Goldsmiths, University of London – photographed in May 2006

Tang Da Wu was born Thang Kian Hiong in Singapore in 1943,^[1] the eldest of four sons. His second brother Thang Kiang How is himself a visual artist based in Singapore.^[2] His father was a journalist with the Chinese daily newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh.^[3][4] He studied at a Chinese-medium school,^[5] but disliked English and mathematics and was often scolded by his teachers. He preferred playing after school with neighbourhood children and learned the Malay language and Chinese dialects from them. He also enjoyed drawing, and gained confidence when his secondary school paintings were accepted in art competitions.^[6]

In 1968, Tang was awarded a diploma in youth and community works from the National Youth Leadership Institute. Two years later, in 1970, his first solo exhibition of drawings and paintings sponsored by the Singapore Art Society was staged at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.^[7] Subsequently, he went to the United Kingdom to study, majoring in sculpture. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), with first class honours, from the School of Fine Art, Birmingham Polytechnic, in 1974. While abroad he changed his name to Da Wu, which is Mandarin for "big mist".^[3][8] Tang later returned to the UK and attended advanced courses at the Saint Martins School of Art.^[9] He received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in 1985 from Goldsmiths' College, University of London,^[1] and a doctorate in 1988.^[10]

Tang is married to an Englishwoman, Hazel McIntosh.^[11] They have a son, Ben Zai, known professionally as Zai Tang, who is a sound artist living in the UK.^[1][3][12]

Career

Early career and founding of The Artists Village

Returning to Singapore in 1979 after completing his undergraduate studies, Tang engaged in performance art,^[1] works of art that are composed of actions performed by the artist at a certain place and time. The following year, he staged a work of installation art called Earthworks at the National Museum Art Gallery. This comprised two works, The Product of the Sun and Me and The Product of the Rain and Me, which were made up of dishes of earth, lumps of soil, and pieces of soiled and water-stained linen which he had hung in gullies at Ang Mo Kio, a construction site in the process of being turned into a public housing estate.^[3] Installation art uses sculptural materials, and sometimes other media such as sound, video and performance, to modify the way a particular space is experienced.

In 1988, Tang founded The Artists Village, originally located at 61B Lorong Gambas in rural Ulu Sembawang, in the north part of Singapore. The first art colony to be established in Singapore, its goal was to inspire artists to create experimental art.^[11] Tang described the Artists Village as:

... [an] alternative venue dedicated to the promotion and encouragement of experimental and alternative arts in Singapore. It endeavors to establish an open space for artists to mature at their own pace, and to provide a conducive environment which allows them to experiment, experience and exchange ideas.^[13]

T.K. Sabapathy noted: "The Village was a beacon, and Da Wu both a catalyst and mentor."^[14] Among the artists who moved to the Village were Ahmad Mashadi, Faizal Fadil, Amanda Heng, Ho Soon Yeen, Lim Poh Teck, Tang Mun Kit, Wong Shih Yaw, Julian Yasin and Zai Kuning.^[15] They were among the first contemporary artists in Singapore, and also among the first to begin practising installation art and performance art. Tang mentored younger artists and exposed them to artistic developments in other parts of the world.^[11] He also organized exhibitions and symposia at the Village, and arranged for collaborations with the National Museum Art Gallery and the National Arts Council's 1992 Singapore Festival of the Arts.^[15] Although The Artists Village lost its original site in 1990 due to land development,^[16] it was registered as a non-profit society in February 1992 and now stages events in various public spaces.^[17]

Difficulties with performance art

In January 1994, artist Josef Ng cut off his pubic hair with his back to the audience during a performance protesting the media's coverage of gay issues. The event was reported by The New Paper, and the resulting public outcry over its perceived obscenity led the National Arts Council (NAC) to cease funding unscripted performance art. After that, Tang and other performance artists practised their art mostly abroad, although some performances were presented in Singapore as dance or theatre. Interviewed in August 2001, T. Sasitharan, co-director of the Practice Performing Arts School, said that a review of the NAC's policy was "long overdue" and noted that although Tang had received the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 1999, "the art form he practises is de facto banned in Singapore". The NAC eventually reversed its no-funding rule on performance art in September 2003.^[18]

In August 1995, the President of Singapore Ong Teng Cheong visited Singapore Art '95, an exhibition and sale of artworks by Singapore artists. Tang wore a black jacket emblazoned on the back with "Don't give money to the arts" in yellow and handed a note to the President that read, "I am an artist. I am important."^[19] Although Tang was prevented from speaking to the President by an aide-de-camp, he later told the media he wished to tell the President that artists are important and that public money funded the "wrong kind of art", art that was too commercial and had no taste.^[20]

Recent activities

Tang was the subject of one episode of artist Ho Tzu Nyen's documentary television series 4x4 Episodes of Singapore Art, which was broadcast on Arts Central in October 2005.^[21] He was also one of the four artists representing Singapore at the 2007 Venice Biennale. He presented an installation, Untitled, consisting of two beds positioned upright, the trunks of plantain trees, a portable ancestral altar, a handmade album of drawings and photographs, and other found objects. Drawings of people and faces were strapped to the beds and wrapped around the tree trunks. The installation was accompanied by a recording by Tang's son, Zai Tang, of sounds captured in Venice during a single day. The work was described by the National Arts Council as suggestive of "the restlessness, rootlessness, spiritual wandering and emotional estrangement that mark the travelling life".^[1][22] In 2007, a work by Tang consisting of ink paintings around a well, and representing the erosion of village communities by urban development, was acquired by the Queensland Art Gallery for its Gallery of Modern Art.^[23]

Known for his reticence, Tang remains an enigmatic person. In an August 2008 interview with the Straits Times, fellow artist Vincent Leow said of Tang: "He's a very hands-on person, very improvisational and has good ideas. But he doesn't really talk much. You can't really tell who he is."^[3]

Art

Tiger's Whip (1991) in the Singapore Art Museum

Tang has expressed concern about environmental and social issues through his art, such as the works They Poach the Rhino, Chop Off His Horn and Make This Drink (1989), Under the Table All Going One Direction (1992) and Tiger's Whip. He first presented the latter work, an installation and performance piece, in 1991 in Singapore's Chinatown. It consisted of ten life-sized tigers made from wire mesh covered with white linen. Tang, wearing a sleeveless white garment, dragged one of the tigers behind him.^[15] A modified version of the installation is in the Singapore Art Museum. It features a tiger with its front paws resting on the back of a rocking chair, which is draped with a piece of red cloth and with a phallus painted on it in red. The work highlights how the tiger is being hunted to extinction for its penis, which some Chinese believe has aphrodisiac qualities.^[8][24] In February 1995, the Museum chose Tiger's Whip to represent Singapore at the Africus International Biennale in Johannesburg, South Africa.^[25] Another of Tang's works in the Singapore Art Museum is an untitled sculpture often called Axe (1991), which is an axe with a plant growing out of its wooden handle.^[26] It is regarded as an early example of found art in Singapore.^[27]

A focus of Tang's art is the theme of national and cultural identities, I Was Born Japanese (1995) being an example.^[1] Tang notes that he has had four nationalities. He was issued with a Japanese birth certificate as he was born during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. He became a British national after World War II, a Malaysian citizen when Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, and a Singaporean citizen when Singapore gained full independence in 1965.^[6] While living in the UK he was conscious of his Chinese identity, but later on he took the view that he might not be fully Chinese since China had been occupied by the Mongols and Manchurians: "I'm not sure if I'm 100% Chinese blood. I'm sure my ancestor has got mixture of Mongolian and even Thai and Miao people [sic]. We are all mixed, and this is true. But I always like to think that there is only one race in the world. We are all one human race."^[5] Another of Tang's performances, Jantung Pisang – Heart of a Tree, Heart of a People,^[28] centres around the banana tree. He was inspired by the fact that the banana is used widely in Southeast Asia as an offering to bring blessings, but is also feared as it is associated with ghosts and spirits.^[5][6] He also sees banana trees as a reminder of the lack of democracy in certain parts of the world: "Democracy in many Asian countries and Third World countries is as shallow as the roots of a banana tree. We need to deepen [democracy]."^[29]

Tang has participated in numerous community and public art projects, workshops and performances, as he believes in the potential of the individual and collective to effect social changes.^[1] He has said: "An artist should introduce to others what he sees and learns of something. His works should provoke thoughts, not to please the eyes or to entertain, much less for decoration."^[8]

Awards

Tang received a Singapore International Foundation art grant to participate in the International Art Symposium in Meiho, Japan, in October 1994.^[30] In March the following year, he received a trophy and S$20,000 from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation.^[31] For his originality and influence in performance art in Southeast Asia, among other contributions, Tang won the Arts and Culture Prize in 1999 at the 10th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes which were established by Fukuoka and Yokatopia Foundation to honour outstanding work of individuals or organizations to preserve and create the unique and diverse culture of Asia.^[3][5][32]

Major exhibitions and performances

Dates	Title	Medium	Location
1970	Drawings and Paintings (first solo exhibition)	Drawing, painting	Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Singapore
1972	Touch Space Midland Art 72	Sculpture	Dudley Museum Dudley, England, UK
1973	Crowds Forward Trust Painting Competition	Painting	Birmingham, England, UK
1975	Marking over Marks	Painting	Royal Overseas League London, England, UK
1978	Marks – Black Powder Falling Through Muslin	Installation	ACME Gallery London, England, UK
1980	Earthworks (works from Earthworks, 1979–1980)	Installation	National Museum Art Gallery and Sin Chew Jit Poh Exhibition Centre Singapore
1981	Save the Forest	Performance	Epping Forest, Greater London and Essex, England, UK
1982	Five Days at NAFA; Five Days in Museum	Performance	Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and National Museum Singapore
1983	Sumi	Performance	Lyndhurst Hall Studio London, England, UK
	Movement in a Circle		London Musician Collective London, England, UK
	Flying Marks ALTERNATIVA III, Festival of Performance		Almada, Portugal
	In Between; Change 4th Performance Platform		Nottingham, England, UK
1984	The 1984 Show	Performance	Brixton Art Gallery Brixton, London, England, UK
	You're Welcome; The Door – The Birth Second International Festival of Performance		Brecknell, England, UK
	Jufu – Best Wishes		Ikebana Trust London, England, UK
	A Fish/A Path; Responding to You		Townhall Studio Swindon, England, UK
	Every Other Move	Painting	Oporto, Portugal
1985	The Support	Performance	Woodland Gallery Greenwich, London, England, UK
	Steaming Laundry		Brixton Art Gallery London, England, UK
1986	No Fancy Brushes	Performance	Royal Festival Hall London, England, UK
	New Life	Painting
	In the End, My Mother Decided to Eat Dogfood and Catfood Orchard Road Weekend Art Fair	Performance	Orchard Road, Singapore
1987	Four Days at the National Museum Art Gallery	Performance	National Museum Singapore
	People	Painting	The Oval Gallery London, England, UK
1988	In Case of Howard Lui; Incident in a City Singapore Festival of Arts Fringe	Performance	Old St. Joseph's Institution building Singapore
	Who Polluted the Canal? Islington City Art '88		London, England, UK
1989	To Make Friends is All We Want in 1989 Big O Concert with music performance by Joe Ng of Corporate Toil, Singapore Music Festival 1989	Performance	Orchard Road, Singapore
	Life Boat		Cuppage Village Singapore
	The Artists Village Show Home Documentation	Drawing, painting	Art Base Gallery Singapore
	Gooseman; Open the Gate; Dancing UV; Selling Handicaps; In the End, My Mother Decided to Eat Dogfood and Catfood The Artists Village 2nd Open Studio Show	Performance	The Artists Village Lorong Gambas, Singapore
	They Poach the Rhino, Chop Off His Horn and Make This Drink		National Museum Art Gallery, National University of Singapore and Singapore Zoo Singapore
	The Third Asian Art Show	Painting	Fukuoka Art Museum Fukuoka, Japan
1989–1990	Dancing by the Ponds; Sunrise at the Vegetable Farm; The Time Show – 24 Hours Continuous Performance Show	Performance	The Artists Village Lorong Gambas, Singapore
1990	The Death of the Philipino Maid Singapore Festival of Arts Fringe 1990	Performance	Shell Theatrette Singapore
	Stop that Tank – One Year Anniversary of June 4 Singapore Festival of Arts Fringe 1990		PUB Auditorium Singapore
	Noah's Ark for Plants Singapore Festival of Arts Fringe 1990		Wisma Atria Singapore
	Serious Conversations Singapore Festival of Arts Fringe 1990		Raffles Place, Singapore
	T or P? That is the Question The Arts for Nature exhibition commemorating World Environment Day		Empress Place Museum Singapore
1990–1999	North-East Monsoon – A Water Game	Project	Singapore and other places
1991	Tiger's Whip	Performance	National Museum and Chinatown Singapore Fukuoka Art Museum Fukuoka, Japan
	Four Persons in One Suit, in the Streets of Singapore A Sculpture Seminar		National Museum Singapore
	The Ark for Plants Tree Celebration		The Substation Singapore
	Chinese Restaurant II National Sculpture Exhibition		National Museum Singapore
	World's Number One Pet Shop National Sculpture Exhibition
	Just in Case National Sculpture Exhibition
	Switch Off the Lights, Please[33] Raw Theatre I		The Substation Singapore
	Asian Artist Today – Fukuoka Annual V: Tang Da Wu Exhibition (They Poach the Rhino, Chop Off His Horn and Make This Drink, In the End, My Mother Decided to Eat Dogfood and Catfood, and Tiger's Whip)		Fukuoka Art Museum Fukuoka, Japan
1992	Under the Table All Going One Direction New Art from Southeast Asia 1992		Tokyo Metropolitan Artspace Tokyo, Japan Fukuoka Art Museum Fukuoka, Japan Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art Hiroshima, Japan Kirin Plaza Osaka, Japan
1993	Who Owns the Cock Baguio Arts Festival	Performance	Baguio City, Philippines
	And He Return Home When You Least Expected 2nd ASEAN Workship, Exhibition and Symposium on Aesthetics		Philippines
1994	Sorry Whale, I Didn't Know that You Were in My Camera Creativity in Asian Art Now, Part 3 – Asian Installation Work	Installation	Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art Hiroshima, Japan
	Contemporary Shopping[34]	Sculpture	Faret Tachikawa Tokyo, Japan
	Colours Don't Help Artists Against AIDS		Singapore
	No! I Don't Want Any Black Monsoon	Performance	Mojosongo, Solo, Indonesia
1994–1995	Tapioca Friendship Project	Project	Osaka International Peace Center Osaka, Japan; and Singapore
1995	Meeting with the Real Chiang Maian 3rd Chiang Mai Social Installation	Performance	Chiang Mai, Thailand
	I was Born Japanese		Mojosongo, Solo, Indonesia
	Don't Buy Present for Your Mother on Mother's Day		The Substation Singapore
	Don't Give Money to the Arts[20] Asian International Art Exhibition and Singapore Art '95		National Museum Art Gallery; Suntec City Singapore
1996	Root Sculpture	Sculpture	Nanao International Artist's Camp '96 Nanao, Japan
	One Hand Prayer Project	Project	Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art Hiroshima, Japan
	Subject Matter	Project	Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the UK
	Life in a Tin		Malaysia, Singapore and others
	Rubber Road No U-Turn		Malaysia, Singapore and others
1998	Sorry Whale, I Didn't Know that You Were in My Camera[35] Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions/Tensions	Installation	Art Gallery of Western Australia Perth, Australia
1999	Don't Worry Ancestors	Project	Singapore
	Life in a Tin First Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale		Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Fukuoka, Japan
2000	Tapioca Friendship Gwangju Biennale		Gwangju, South Korea
2001	Under a Banana Leaf Echigo Tsumarigo		Japan
2002	Singapore Pools – Water Games	Project	Singapore
2003	Many Heads and Local Heroes	Project	Singapore
2004	Satsuma Brilliance	Sculpture (stained glass)	Kirishima Open Air Museum Kirishima, Japan
	Interakcje	Performance	Piotrków Trybunalski, Poland
2005	Art Brickfest[36]	Sculpture	Wheelock Place Singapore
	Your Head		Your Mother's Gallery Singapore
January–February 2006	Jantung Pisang – Heart of a Tree, Heart of a People[37] Ran	Painting	Jendela visual arts space, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay Singapore
9–25 February 2006	Tang Da Wu: Heroes, Islanders[10][38]	Painting	Valentine Willie Fine Art Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
10 June – 7 November 2007	Untitled[1] Singapore Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition	Installation	Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti Venice, Italy

Some of the information in the table above was obtained from [Tang Da Wu: Artist CV], Valentine Willie Fine Art, 2006, archived from the original on 10 February 2008, http://web.archive.org/web/20080210004356/http://www.artsasia.com.my/exhibits/06tangdawu/smallsite/artistcv.htm, retrieved 18 October 2008 .

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} About the Artists: DA WU TANG (b. 1943, Singapore), National Arts Council, 2007, archived from the original on 18 January 2008, http://web.archive.org/web/20080118195550/http://www.nac.gov.sg/eve/eve12.asp, retrieved 19 October 2008 .
2. ^ Thang Kiang How, Modern Art Society, Singapore, archived from the original on 7 April 2011, http://www.webcitation.org/5xlKtXliz, retrieved 7 April 2011 .
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Adeline Chia (7 August 2008), "Tang's dynasty", The Straits Times .
4. ^ It is not known whether he has any sisters: Chia, "Tang's Dynasty".
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Arts and Culture Prize: TANG Da Wu, Asian Month, 1999, http://www.asianmonth.com/prize/english/winner/10_04.html, retrieved 20 October 2008 .
6. ^ ^{a b c} Ogura Sadao, interviewer (1999) (PDF), Forum: My challenge, my Asia, Asian Month, http://www.asianmonth.com/prize/english/lecture/pdf/10_01.pdf, retrieved 20 October 2008 .
7. ^ [Tang Da Wu: Artist CV], Valentine Willie Fine Art, 2006, archived from the original on 10 February 2008, http://web.archive.org/web/20080210004356/http://www.artsasia.com.my/exhibits/06tangdawu/smallsite/artistcv.htm, retrieved 18 October 2008 .
8. ^ ^{a b c} Tang Da Wu, the Artists Village, University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore, May 2000, archived from the original on 20 November 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20071120185040/http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/post/singapore/arts/painters/channel/24.html, retrieved 18 October 2008 .
9. ^ Tommy Koh, ed. (2006), "Tang Da Wu (1943– )", Singapore: The Encyclopedia, Singapore: Editions Didier Millet in association with the National Heritage Board, p. 547, ISBN 981-4155-63-2 .
10. ^ ^{a b} Sharifah Arfah (28 January 2006), "Faces of Singapore", New Straits Times .
11. ^ ^{a b c} Adeline Chia (7 August 2008), "First artist colony", The Straits Times .
12. ^ David Chew (8 September 2006), "Pushing boundaries; Familiar sights and sounds get a new twist from local audio-visual artist Zai Tang", Today: 58 .
13. ^ Quoted in T.K. Sabapathy (1992), The Space: An Introduction, Singapore: Artists Village, p. 1 , and in T.K. Sabapathy (1993), "Contemporary Art in Singapore: An Introduction", in Caroline Turner, Tradition and Change: Contemporary Art of Asia and the Pacific, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, p. 83 at 86, ISBN 0702225835 : see Lynn Gumpert (December 1997), "A Global City for the Arts? – Singapore", Art in America (reproduced on FindArticles), http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_n12_v85/ai_20094661/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1, retrieved 23 October 2008 ^{[dead link]}.
14. ^ Sabapathy, "Contempotary Art in Singapore", p. 88: see Gumpert, "A Global City for the Arts?".
15. ^ ^{a b c} Lynn Gumpert (December 1997), "A Global City for the Arts? – Singapore", Art in America (reproduced on FindArticles), http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_n12_v85/ai_20094661/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1, retrieved 23 October 2008 ^{[dead link]}.
16. ^ Mayo Martin (19 August 2008), "Village people: Their legacy lives on: The Artists Village turns 20. Is it now time to call it a day?", Today, http://www.todayonline.com/articles/271632.asp ^{[dead link]}.
17. ^ About us, The Artists Village, 2005, archived from the original on 30 June 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20070630165113/http://tav.org.sg/About_Us.htm, retrieved 23 October 2008 .
18. ^ Clarissa Oon (27 August 2001), "Look back, look forward", The Straits Times ; Clarissa Oon (21 October 2003), "Hello, yellow fellow", The Straits Times ; Cheah Ui-Hoon (28 November 2003), "Coming in from the cold", The Business Times (Singapore) .
19. ^ Sian E. Jay (15 November 2000), "Ironic twist to Substation fund-raiser", The Straits Times .
20. ^ ^{a b} "Pay more attention to the arts – President", The Straits Times, 12 August 1995 .
21. ^ Clara Chow (27 September 2005), "Four to the fore", The Straits Times (Life!) ; Dana Lam Yoke Kiew (4 November 2005), "Arts series a good show [letter]", The Straits Times (Life!) .
22. ^ See also Adeline Chia (26 April 2007), "Bien there, done that ... now what?", The Straits Times (Life!) .
23. ^ Recent acquisitions — Australian, International and Asian and Pacific Collections, Queensland Art Gallery, 2007, http://www.qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/current/recent_acquisitions, retrieved 21 October 2008 .
24. ^ The work appears as Plate 123 of Kwok Kian Chow (1996), Channels & Confluences: A History of Singapore Art, Singapore: Singapore Art Museum, ISBN 9810074883 , and may be viewed at Tiger's Whip by Tang Da Wu, Postcolonial Literature and Culture Web, University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore, April 2000, archived from the original on 29 June 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20070629221058/http://www.postcolonialweb.org/singapore/arts/painters/tangdawu/1.html, retrieved 25 February 2009 .
25. ^ Phan Ming Yen (2 February 1995), "American glass sculptor's work will be on permanent display", The Straits Times ; Leong Weng Kam (19 February 1995), "Aces go places – Singapore artists making their mark overseas", The Straits Times .
26. ^ "Five must-see exhibits", The Straits Times (Life!), 7 August 2008 .
27. ^ Seng Yu Jin (13 September 2008), "It takes a village to shape an arts scene", The Straits Times (Life!) .
28. ^ Jantung is Malay for "core" or "heart", while pisang means "banana": R.J. Wilkinson; A.E. Coope; Mohd. Ali bin Mohamed (1963), "jantong; pisang", An Abridged Malay–English English–Malay Dictionary (Pocket ed.), London: Macmillan & Co., pp. 104, 212 .
29. ^ "New Asian artists lauded at events marking Fukuoka culture awards", Yomiuri Shimbun, 6 October 1999 .
30. ^ Lee Yin Luen (10 May 1995), "SIF's $230,000 helps smoothen road for talented Singaporeans", The Straits Times .
31. ^ "Japanese business group gives out $211,000", The Straits Times, 31 March 1995 .
32. ^ "Tang Da Wu bags Arts and Culture Prize", The Straits Times, 14 July 1999 .
33. ^ Kuo Pao Kun (22 October 1993), "Better to have a worthy failure than a mediocre success", The Straits Times .
34. ^ Leong Weng Kam (9 January 1995), "Creating a city through art – a Japanese town of wonder and discovery", The Straits Times .
35. ^ Michael O'Ferrall (1998), "Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions/Tensions [exhibition review]", Artlink 18 (2), archived from the original on 31 October 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20071031154051/http://www.artlink.com.au/articles.cfm?id=247, retrieved 21 October 2008 ; Megan Anderson (25 February 1998), "Gallery puts whale in the frame", The West Australian: 6 ; John Townsend (2 March 1998), "Hands-on is whale of a time", The West Australian: 7 .
36. ^ Clara Chow (18 October 2005), "Brick-throughs", The Straits Times (Life!) .
37. ^ Clara Chow (21 January 2006), "The great hoax of China", The Straits Times (Life!) .
38. ^ Tang Da Wu (1943, SG), Artfacts.net, 2005, http://www.artfacts.net/index.php/pageType/artistInfo/artist/37575, retrieved 20 October 2008 ; Tang Da Wu: Heroes, Islanders, Valentine Willie Fine Art, 2006, archived from the original on 11 January 2008, http://web.archive.org/web/20080111113038/http://www.artsasia.com.my/exhibits/06tangdawu/smallsite/index.htm, retrieved 19 October 2008 .

References

• About the Artists: DA WU TANG (b. 1943, Singapore), National Arts Council, 2007, archived from the original on 18 January 2008, http://web.archive.org/web/20080118195550/http://www.nac.gov.sg/eve/eve12.asp, retrieved 19 October 2008 .
• Arts and Culture Prize: TANG Da Wu, Asian Month, 1999, http://www.asianmonth.com/prize/english/winner/10_04.html, retrieved 20 October 2008 .
• Chia, Adeline (7 August 2008), "First artist colony", The Straits Times .
• Chia, Adeline (7 August 2008), "Tang's dynasty", The Straits Times .
• Gumpert, Lynn (December 1997), "A Global City for the Arts? – Singapore", Art in America (reproduced on FindArticles), http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_n12_v85/ai_20094661/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1, retrieved 23 October 2008 .
• Sadao, Ogura, interviewer (1999) (PDF), Forum: My challenge, my Asia, Asian Month, http://www.asianmonth.com/prize/english/lecture/pdf/10_01.pdf, retrieved 20 October 2008 .

Further reading

Articles and websites

• Masahiro, Ushiroshoji, interviewer (1999) (PDF), Fast moving Asian contemporary art: Tang Da Wu and his works, Asian Month, http://www.asianmonth.com/prize/english/lecture/pdf/10_05.pdf, retrieved 20 October 2008 .
• Yeo, Alicia Kay Ling (7 August 2008), Information on Singapore artist Tang Da Wu, Reference Point Enquiries Bank, National Library, Singapore, http://rpe.nl.sg/Arts/3d13fd25-4f49-4340-ab25-7aee8c32b6ca.aspx, retrieved 20 October 2008 .

Books

• Sabapathy, T.K. (1993), "Contemporary Art in Singapore: An Introduction", in Turner, Caroline, Tradition and Change: Contemporary Art of Asia and the Pacific, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, pp. 83–92, ISBN 0702225835 .
• Sabapathy, T.K., ed. (1998), Trimurti and Ten Years After, Singapore: Singapore Art Museum .
• Singapore Art Museum (2007), Telah Terbit (Out Now): Southeast Asian Contemporary Art Practices during the 1960s to 1980s, Singapore: National Heritage Board, ISBN 9789810576233 .
• タン・ダ-ウ展 = Tang Da-Wu, Fukuoka: Fukuoka-shi Bijutsukan, 1991  (in Japanese).
• van Fenema, Joyce, ed. (1996), Southeast Asian Art Today, Singapore: Roeder Publications, ISBN 9810060025 .

News reports

• "Art therapy helps people express their frustrations", The Straits Times, 16 June 1994 .
• Leow, Jason (14 June 1996), "Art taken for a ride at HDB estates – around your place", The Straits Times .
• "Through the artists' eyes", Business Times (Singapore), 28 October 2000 .
• Sreshthaputra, Wanphen (3 January 2002), "Art fest a big hit with Singaporeans: A diverse range of media is employed but the quality of the works on display is mixed", Bangkok Post .

External links

• Australian Legend [by] Tang Da Wu, Postcolonial Literature and Culture Web, University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore, April 2000, archived from the original on 23 December 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20071223220206/http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/landow/post/singapore/arts/painters/tangdawu/4.html, retrieved 25 February 2009 .
• Map of South America [by] Tang Da Wu, Postcolonial Literature and Culture Web, University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore, April 2000, archived from the original on 2 July 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20070702173845/http://www.postcolonialweb.org/singapore/arts/painters/tangdawu/2.html, retrieved 25 February 2009 .
• Woman with Snake in a Cage by Tang Da Wu, Postcolonial Literature and Culture Web, University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore, April 2000, archived from the original on 4 July 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20070704181954/http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/landow/post/singapore/arts/painters/tangdawu/3.html, retrieved 25 February 2009 .

Persondata
Name	Tang, Da Wu
Alternative names	Thiang, Kian-Hong
Short description	Singaporean installation and performance artist, painter and sculptor
Date of birth	1946
Place of birth	Singapore
Date of death
Place of death