Artist who painted samsui woman mural in Chinatown won't make changes for now

Good news for those who want to take photos of the three-storey tall mural in Chinatown featuring a samsui woman with a lit cigarette.

The artist, Sean P Dunston, 50, said he will not be making changes to it just yet.

This decision comes after the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said in a late night statement on Friday, Jun. 21 that it is "re-evaluating its stance on the mural" following "recent public feedback".

The mural is painted on the exterior of a conserved shophouse at 297 South Bridge Road.

In response to queries from Mothership, Dunston, who has been based in Singapore since 2009, explained the current state of limbo the mural is in: "They haven’t said that it can remain as is, but they asked us to hold off on work for now. Hopefully they’ll let us keep it as it is."

Timeline of events

The mural was put up on Apr. 5, 2024, before approval was sought from URA.

A proposal was submitted on Apr. 19.

URA then requested a resubmission of the proposal on May 8, with a deadline on May 22.

The request for a resubmission concerned the cigarette in the mural.

URA said it was "not aligned with Singapore’s anti-smoking policy stance”.

The artist said his client, who commissioned the mural, wanted to keep the cigarette, but URA rejected the proposal because of it.

The May 22 deadline was then not met as a result.

URA, in a Jun. 18 email seen by Mothership, then issued an order to amend the mural.

The email included feedback from a member of the public who felt the mural was "offensive".

The feedback, read:

"We find this mural offensive and is disrespectful to our samsui women. The woman depicted in this mural looks more like a prostitute than a hardworking samsui woman."

The work of street art came under the spotlight after Dunston took to Instagram on Jun. 19 to make known the discussions happening behind the scenes.

The post has been liked more than 5,000 times.

It is understood that URA was in contact with the building owner and not the artist.

Some of the public feedback surrounding the artwork

Following Dunston's Instagram post highlighting the mural, responses to the artwork, as gleaned from The Straits Times, include acknowledging the work's fidelity to history, its role in encouraging discussion, and allowing for reflection, as well as allocating weightage to public feedback.

More details about the story here:

Top photos via Sean P Dunston