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.

Tang Da Wu (唐大雾)
Born1943 (age 80–81)
NationalitySingaporean
EducationBFA (Birmingham Polytechnic, 1974); MFA and doctorate (Goldsmiths' College, University of London, 1985 and 1988)
Known forDrawing, painting, sculpture, installation art, performance art
MovementContemporary art
Awards1995: Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation prize
1999: Arts and Culture Prize, 10th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes

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's work is part of the collection of the Singapore Art Museum, Queensland Art Gallery and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.[1][2][3]

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

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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,[4] the eldest of four sons. His second brother Thang Kiang How is himself a visual artist based in Singapore.[5] His father was a journalist with the Chinese daily newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh[6][7] He studied at a Chinese-medium school,[8] but disliked English and mathematics and was often scolded by his teachers. He preferred playing after school with neighbourhood children and learned to speak Malay and Chinese from them. He also enjoyed drawing, and gained confidence when his secondary school paintings were accepted in art competitions.[9]

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.[10] 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".[6][11] Tang later returned to the UK and attended advanced courses at the Saint Martins School of Art.[12] He received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in 1985 from Goldsmiths' College, University of London,[4] and a doctorate in 1988.[13]

Tang is married to an Englishwoman, Hazel McIntosh.[14] They have a son, Ben Zai, known professionally as Zai Tang, who is a sound artist living in the UK.[4][6][15]

Career

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Early career and founding of The Artists Village

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Returning to Singapore in 1979 after completing his undergraduate studies, Tang engaged in performance art,[4] 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.[6] 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.[14] 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.[16]

T.K. Sabapathy noted: "The Village was a beacon, and Da Wu both a catalyst and mentor."[17] 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, Juliana Yasin and Zai Kuning.[18] 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.[14] 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.[18] Although The Artists Village lost its original site in 1990 due to land development,[19] it was registered as a non-profit society in February 1992 and now stages events in various public spaces.[20]

Difficulties with performance art

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Tang Da Wu, Don't Give Money to the Arts, 1995, Cloth jacket, Collection of National Gallery Singapore

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.[21]

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."[22] 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.[23]

Recent activities

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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 (present-day Okto channel) in October 2005.[24] 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".[4][25] 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.[26] From January to June 2016, Tang presented Earth Work 1979 at the National Gallery Singapore, a re-staging of his 1979 exhibition, the first recorded instance of Singapore land art. The exhibition includes "Gully Curtains", where Tang placed large pieces of fabric between gullies and let the rain and sun mark the fabric.[27] His work Tiger's Whip (1991) is also displayed at the National Gallery's DBS Singapore Gallery.[28] In 2017, Tang started the performance-art group Station House Da Opera, comprising more than 60 art educators, students, and fellow local artists.[29]

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."[6]

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, also known as I Want My Penis Back (1991). 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, would perform amidst them as poacher, tiger, and man consuming the tiger's penis.[18]

 
Tang Da Wu & the participants of A Sculpture Seminar, Tiger's Whip (also known as I Want My Penis Back), 1991, Mixed media, Dimensions variable, Collection of the Singapore Art Museum

A modified version of the work was further developed as an installation during the two-week A Sculpture Seminar organised by Tang in 1991 to discuss ideas about sculpture, with many artists from The Artists Village participating.[30] Tang brought one of the tigers from his earlier performances of Tiger's Whip as a teaching tool, and participants contributed their thoughts on its form and structure.[30] This process led to the creation of the final form of the installation, collaboratively developed and exhibited during A Sculpture Seminar, as a single tiger pouncing on a rocking chair, with a trail of red fabric akin to a stream of blood.[30] In February 1995, the Museum chose Tiger's Whip to represent Singapore at the Africus International Biennale in Johannesburg, South Africa.[31] 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.[32] It is regarded as an early example of found object art in Singapore.[33]

A focus of Tang's art is the theme of national and cultural identities, I Was Born Japanese (1995) being an example.[4] 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.[9] 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."[8] Another of Tang's performances, Jantung Pisang – Heart of a Tree, Heart of a People,[34] 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.[8][9] 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]."[35]

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.[4] 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."[11]

Awards

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Tang received a Singapore International Foundation art grant to participate in the International Art Symposium in Meiho, Japan, in October 1994.[36] In March the following year, he received a trophy and S$20,000 from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation.[37] 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.[6][8][38]

Major exhibitions and performances

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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 4 June
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[39]
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, Philippines
And He Return Home When You Least Expected
2nd ASEAN Workshop, 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[40] 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[23][41]
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[42]
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[43] Sculpture Wheelock Place
Singapore
Your Head Your Mother's Gallery
Singapore
January–February 2006 Jantung Pisang – Heart of a Tree, Heart of a People[44]
Ran
Painting Jendela visual arts space, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay
Singapore
9–25 February 2006 Tang Da Wu: Heroes, Islanders[13][45] Painting Valentine Willie Fine Art
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
10 June –
7 November 2007
Untitled[4]
Singapore Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition
Installation Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti
Venice, Italy
29 January –
2 May 2010
Classic Contemporary: Contemporary Southeast Asian Art from the Singapore Art Museum Collection[46] (group exhibition)
Installation 8Q SAM, Singapore
4 August –
29 August 2010
Singapore Survey 2010: Beyond LKY[47] (group exhibition)
Installation Valentine Willie Fine Art, Singapore
5 August –
28 August 2011
(龍婆缝衣) First Arts Council[48][49]
Installation, painting Valentine Willie Fine Art, Singapore
8 –
14 September 2011
Jaga Anak Baik-Baik
Installation, paintings Goodman Arts Centre Gallery, Singapore
15 March –
10 April 2013
Situationist Bon Gun (二十年目睹现象)[50][51]
Installation, performance Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore
22 February 2013 –
20 July 2014
No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia[52] (group exhibition)
Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative – Volume 1: South and Southeast Asia
(Our Children, 2012)
Installation Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,[53] USA, Asia Society Hong Kong Centre,[54] China and NTU Centre for Contemporary Art,[55] Singapore
5 August –
13 September 2015
Singapore Survey 2015: Hard Choices[56] (group exhibition)
Installation Artspace@Helutrans, Singapore
22 January –
19 June 2016
Earth Work 1979[27]
Installation, painting National Gallery Singapore
27 August –
7 September 2016
Paintings[57] Paintings artcommune gallery, Singapore
4 August –
8 October 2017
Hak Tai’s Bow, Brother’s Pool and Our Children (学大弓麦脑池和我们的孩子)[58]
Installation, performance, seminar Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore
10 October 2018 –
15 September 2019
Awakenings: Art in Society in Asia 1960s–1990s[59] (group exhibition)
(They Poach the Rhino, Chop Off His Horn and Make This Drink, 1989 and Gully Curtains, 1979/2016)
Installation National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo,[60] Japan; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art,[61] South Korea; and National Gallery Singapore,[62] Singapore
12 –
31 January 2019
Contending Boundaries: Tang Da Wu, Wong Keen & Yeo Hoe Koon[63]
Paintings Artspace@Helutrans, Singapore
6 September –
3 November 2019
Sembawang: The D.D. Land and Sembagraphie[64]
Installation, performance, workshop, video Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore

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, retrieved 18 October 2008.

Notes

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  1. ^ "Collection Online - Tang Da Wu". Guggenheim. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  2. ^ Shetty, Deepika (13 March 2014). "Artist Tang Da Wu is the only Singaporean with works in Guggenheim show". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Tang Da Wu - Queensland Art Gallery". Queensland Art Gallery. Archived from the original on 1 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  4. ^ 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, retrieved 19 October 2008.
  5. ^ Thang Kiang How, Modern Art Society, Singapore, archived from the original on 25 March 2011, retrieved 7 April 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Adeline Chia (7 August 2008), "Tang's dynasty", The Straits Times.
  7. ^ It is not known whether he has any sisters: Chia, "Tang's Dynasty".
  8. ^ a b c d Arts and Culture Prize: TANG Da Wu, Asian Month, 1999, archived from the original on 24 April 2009, retrieved 20 October 2008.
  9. ^ a b c Sadao, Ogura (1999), Forum: My challenge, my Asia (PDF), Asian Month, archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2008, retrieved 20 October 2008.
  10. ^ [Tang Da Wu: Artist CV], Valentine Willie Fine Art, 2006, archived from the original on 10 February 2008, retrieved 18 October 2008.
  11. ^ a b Tang Da Wu, the Artists Village, University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore, May 2000, archived from the original on 20 November 2007, retrieved 18 October 2008.
  12. ^ 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 978-981-4155-63-2.
  13. ^ a b Sharifah Arfah (28 January 2006), "Faces of Singapore", New Straits Times.
  14. ^ a b c Adeline Chia (7 August 2008), "First artist colony", The Straits Times.
  15. ^ David Chew (8 September 2006), "Pushing boundaries; Familiar sights and sounds get a new twist from local audio-visual artist Zai Tang", Today, p. 58.
  16. ^ 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 (ed.), Tradition and Change: Contemporary Art of Asia and the Pacific, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, p. 83 at 86, ISBN 978-0-7022-2583-3: see Lynn Gumpert (December 1997), "A Global City for the Arts? – Singapore", Art in America (reproduced on FindArticles), retrieved 23 October 2008 [dead link].
  17. ^ Sabapathy, "Contemporary Art in Singapore", p. 88: see Gumpert, "A Global City for the Arts?".
  18. ^ a b c Lynn Gumpert (December 1997), "A Global City for the Arts? – Singapore", Art in America (reproduced on FindArticles), retrieved 23 October 2008 [dead link].
  19. ^ 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, archived from the original on 23 October 2008 .
  20. ^ About us, The Artists Village, 2005, archived from the original on 30 June 2007, retrieved 23 October 2008.
  21. ^ 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).
  22. ^ Sian E. Jay (15 November 2000), "Ironic twist to Substation fund-raiser", The Straits Times.
  23. ^ a b "Pay more attention to the arts – President", The Straits Times, 12 August 1995.
  24. ^ 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!).
  25. ^ See also Adeline Chia (26 April 2007), "Bien there, done that ... now what?", The Straits Times (Life!).
  26. ^ Recent acquisitions – Australian, International and Asian and Pacific Collections, Queensland Art Gallery, 2007, archived from the original on 29 September 2008, retrieved 21 October 2008.
  27. ^ a b Shetty, Deepika (21 January 2016). "National Gallery's two new exhibitions on groundbreaking South-east Asian modern art includes Tang Da Wu's solo show". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  28. ^ "Tiger's Whip". National Gallery Singapore. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  29. ^ "Letters to Theo". Esplanade. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  30. ^ a b c Toh, Charmaine (2015). "Shifting Grounds". In Low, Sze Wee (ed.). Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore Since the 19th Century. National Gallery Singapore. p. 92. ISBN 9789810973841.
  31. ^ 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.
  32. ^ "Five must-see exhibits", The Straits Times (Life!), 7 August 2008.
  33. ^ Seng Yu Jin (13 September 2008), "It takes a village to shape an arts scene", The Straits Times (Life!).
  34. ^ 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.
  35. ^ "New Asian artists lauded at events marking Fukuoka culture awards", Yomiuri Shimbun, 6 October 1999.
  36. ^ Lee Yin Luen (10 May 1995), "SIF's $230,000 helps smoothen road for talented Singaporeans", The Straits Times.
  37. ^ "Japanese business group gives out $211,000", The Straits Times, 31 March 1995.
  38. ^ "Tang Da Wu bags Arts and Culture Prize", The Straits Times, 14 July 1999.
  39. ^ Kuo Pao Kun (22 October 1993), "Better to have a worthy failure than a mediocre success", The Straits Times.
  40. ^ Leong Weng Kam (9 January 1995), "Creating a city through art – a Japanese town of wonder and discovery", The Straits Times.
  41. ^ Tan, Eugene (8 January 2019). "Tang Da Wu's Audacious Performance 'Don't Give Money to the Arts'". Frieze (200). Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  42. ^ Michael O'Ferrall (1998), "Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions/Tensions [exhibition review]", Artlink, 18 (2), archived from the original on 31 October 2007, retrieved 21 October 2008; Megan Anderson (25 February 1998), "Gallery puts whale in the frame", The West Australian, p. 6; John Townsend (2 March 1998), "Hands-on is whale of a time", The West Australian, p. 7.
  43. ^ Clara Chow (18 October 2005), "Brick-throughs", The Straits Times (Life!).
  44. ^ Clara Chow (21 January 2006), "The great hoax of China", The Straits Times (Life!).
  45. ^ Tang Da Wu (1943, SG), Artfacts.net, 2005, retrieved 20 October 2008; Tang Da Wu: Heroes, Islanders, Valentine Willie Fine Art, 2006, archived from the original on 11 January 2008, retrieved 19 October 2008.
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References

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Further reading

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Articles and websites

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Books

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News reports

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  • "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.
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