Profile | 80-year-old famed Singaporean artist Tang Da Wu on curiosity and being real with audiences as his latest solo exhibition opens
- Tang Da Wu has been holding audiences rapt since the 1970s with his performances and installations addressing urgent social, environmental and nature issues
- He was the driving force behind Singapore’s The Artists Village, the closure of which influences a piece in his latest solo exhibition, at ShanghART Gallery
In a corner of Singapore’s ShanghART Gallery, 80-year old artist Tang Da Wu crouches down gingerly and smears orange earth onto the gallery walls using his fingers. Dressed in a torn shirt and frayed army trousers, he cuts an unassuming figure.
As the Singaporean works quietly, a crowd swells around him. Eventually a raw sketch of a snake strangling a boat emerges into view.
The performance is part of his solo exhibition titled “3, 4, 5, I Don’t Like Fine Art”.
“There’s no pre-drawing. I’m taking a risk. I like to embarrass myself,” he says, grinning.
One of Singapore’s most prominent artists, Tang has been holding audiences rapt since the 1970s with his spontaneous street performances and sprawling installations addressing urgent social and environmental issues.
“Tang Da Wu is important for many reasons. He introduced fresh art forms and movements to the Singaporean and regional audience,” says Goh Chun Aik, director of ShanghART Singapore. He was also the driving force behind The Artists Village (TAV), an experimental collective and artists’ colony which emerged in Sembawang, in Singapore’s North Region, in 1988.
