The City's Cacophany

Funded by a combination of her savings, a Lee Foundation Study Award and money from her sister, Chng’s journey in printmaking began at the Hull College of Higher Education, subsequently taking her across Europe and North America. Chng described her return to Singapore in 1986 as a “culture shock”. While she had been living abroad, Singapore had gone through a period of rapid development and modernisation. She was also struck by the increasingly competitive and materialistic nature of society as Singapore strived to be a global city, where, in her own words, “for the sake of survival, countless people lost their humanity and dignity.” While still trying to adapt to a society that had changed rapidly, a significant turn of events that was to transform her artmaking occurred. During a school trip to Europe in 1988, Chng fell and hit her head, causing a brain abscess that led to the loss of most of her vision. While Chng understandably responded with intense bitterness and frustration, she resolved to adapt her working methods and was soon making prints again. This time, she used more tactile approaches in lieu of her favoured technique of etching, which required complex heating and chemical steps. The influence of these two events is apparent in works like City Jungle, which depict an urban environment with human figures scrambling frenziedly to reach the top. Similarly, in Unachievable Goals, multiple figures climb a wooden stool like they would the social or career ladder in real life. In the next stop, you will learn more about how she continued to make art despite her impairment, and how it led her to experiment more with different materials.