Tong Chin Sye | Yangon

Courtesy of the artist’s family

Born in Singapore in 1959, Tong Chin Sye is a prolific artist trained in both Western and Chinese art. His dynamic oeuvre includes watercolour, oil, Chinese ink and mixed media paintings. Tong was previously a part-time lecturer of Western Art at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and has participated in numerous local and overseas exhibitions over the years. He clinched the first prize in the Port of Singapore Authority Open Art Competition in 1987 and represented Singapore at the Flemish Watercolour Days held at Zaventen, Belgium in 1988.

An avid traveller, Tong has journeyed across continents in his painterly quest for new sights and cultural understanding. Be it a bustling town scene or a quiet backyard in a provincial village, labourers by the seaside or folks conducting their daily routines, his paintings explore the graininess of everyday life. Yangon is a snapshot of local life in a vibrant market where fresh produce, seafood, traditional crafts and fabrics are sold. Much like the beloved hawker centres and wet markets in Singapore, these spaces are  the beating heart of community life, where people across generations exchange goods, stories and cultural experiences.