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It needed a simple title—the remembrances of a quarter of a human life, spanning two decades of observations and impressions of the city across 27 panels.
I Paint My Singapore was an aptly chosen title by local artist Yip Yew Chong, and his monumental landscape is now on display in its entirety—all 27 panels, all 60 meters, all 20 years, at Raffles City Convention Center in Singapore.
With the grand opening taking place yesterday, residents and visitors were able to walk down the magnum opus, which took 18 months of field research, documentary work, and painting.
The scenes, ambiance, and locations chosen by Mr. Yip reflect his childhood growing up in the 70s and 80s, which he terms the city’s “growing up years.” From its sudden and unwanted status as a sovereign country in 1965, to its position as an economic tiger in the twenty-teens, the city of immigrants has an extraordinary tale to tell, and the 27 panels could hardly have numbered fewer to tell it all.
“The painting is a work of art based on my memories, intended to represent the ambiance of the place rather than document history,” he wrote in the accompanying picture spread book.
Now 54 years old, Yip said he sifted through hundreds of photographs, transcripts, and newspapers. At times he conducted field research, such as in the small fishing town of Kampong Lorong Fatimah, where he had to find the last Malay local who moved out in 1989 to make room for the causeway and border control facility between Singapore and Malaysia.
“Where I identified certain places of interest, I tried to reach out to residents,” he told Straits Times. He used these residents’ stories to add more plates to the piece, including scenes of daily commutes across the causeway.
A timeless experience
The interactivity of the painting leaves a lasting impression. It starts, Mr. Yip recommends, by viewing the whole thing from a distance and soaking up the diversity of Singapore. Then, stepping forward, each panel contains little odes to Singapore’s varied culture and shades.
“After you have soaked in the panoramic view, you can step closer,” Yip said. “Look at the painting as if you are walking on the streets, driving through the roads, and even going inside the houses”.
Conspicuously missing from the painting are the monuments and architecture that typify views of the city today, and instead the scenes are much more intimate, and far away from the hustle and bustle of famous tourist areas.
The exhibition is scheduled to run until Monday, 1st of January 2024, and will be open to the public, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Entry is free of charge. On December, 12th, 13th, 19th, 20th & 26th, Yip Yew Chong will conduct a live painting and visitors can watch how he paints first-hand. WaL
