Yip Yew Chong, 52, a Singaporean mural painter, has started work on his latest ambitious project: A 50m acrylic painting representing everyday life Singapore in the 1970s and 1980s.
He shared a snippet of his progress on the work in a Facebook post on Aug. 7.
Yip also highlighted that the painting is not a faithful depiction of Singapore's Chinatown area in the past, but only a representation as it does not feature any real street in Kreta Ayer.
Acrylic painting
Yip also said the painting will be "busy without a single focal point".
Photo via Yip Yew Chong
This will allow the viewer to "walk through" every corner of the painting to discover the details.
Some of the scenes in the painting depict various street food, how people lived in shophouses and an opera.
Here's a closer look at the painting:
Photo via Yip Yew Chong
Photo via Yip Yew Chong
Photo via Yip Yew Chong
One part of the painting showcases the interior of a three-storey shophouse in Chinatown.
The ground floor depicts a coffee shop, while the second and third floor provide a glimpse of how residences were like.
Multiple families or coolie tenants are shown living there.
Photo via Yip Yew Chong
Photo via Yip Yew Chong
On the streets below, mobile vendors, including a birds nest drink stall, an ice-cream stall, a roasted chestnut stall and a kacang putih stall populate the public areas.
It also showcases people watching an opera show.
Photo via Yip Yew Chong
Photo via Yip Yew Chong
Photo via Yip Yew Chong
Took two weeks to complete one part
The acrylic painting is the first of 23 panels that will eventually form a continuous 50m long landscape, with streets, hills, seas and occasional peeks into the interior of buildings.
The first panel took two weeks to complete, Yip said.
The entire painting will showcase everyday life in various parts of Singapore in the 1970s and 1980s.
Yip said in his Facebook post that he thinks "Singapore transformed most visibly from a city of villages to a modern city of tall buildings during these two decades."
To be completed by August 2022
Speaking to Mothership.sg, Yip said he plans to complete the 50m artwork by National Day 2022.
He also revealed that he has a broad plan for the artwork in his head, though the details will be decided as he paints or finds more interesting subjects.
He has not thought of where the final art will be put up.
Yip said: "No idea at this early stage. Try to finish it substantially first. If it is nice enough, will find somewhere to exhibit it in entirety."
"Thereafter, will try to keep some and sell some pieces off. Each panel can be enjoyed individually, but when joined together seamlessly, the entire 50m forms an even more enjoyable painting."
Work not commissioned, done at his own pace
Yip also said the art work is not commissioned.
"I like to create my own work with freedom and discretion," he added.
The artist also said the process will be subjected to feedback and benefit from the exposure when it is gradually introduced to the public bit by bit.
Yip said: "It’s not just the painting, the creation journey, how the public follow and give feedback as I expose the pieces (not in order though), will be an interesting journey."
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Top photos via Yip Yew Chong