Koeh Sia Yong

(b. 1938)

Fisherman's Song of the Eastern Coast

Footnotes

Provenance
Private Singaporean Collection

Exhibited
Beijing, National Art Museum of China Exhibition Hall of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing International Art Biennale, 2008

Koeh Sia Yong (b. 1938) graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1958, majoring in Western painting. He was a pivotal figure of the Equator Art Society (1956-72), which expounded realist art with the anti-colonial sentiment. The society's exposure to Soviet Realist art literature further directed this artistic vision.

Formed in Singapore in 1956 and with members like Lee Boon Wang, Chua Mia Tee, and Ong Kim Seng, the society was most active during the 1960s when Singapore was going through major political changes. Artists in the group were primarily concerned with depicting the masses, especially the poorer classes, in addition to promoting nation-building. Koeh believed that everyone was entitled to access to art and that art should contribute to nation-building.

The popularity of the society waned after Singaporean independence. Despite this, Koeh Sia Yong and his cohorts were steadfast and in its 1966 exhibition catalogue stated that:

"The value of the genuine school of art lies in the fact that it does not lose its integrity amidst the ugly commercial dealings belonging to the decadent bourgeois. Instead, it always works to faithfully reflect or expose the very root of the reality of life, to spread the Truth, the Virtue, and the Beauty of this world".

- CT Lim, "Fragments of the past: Political prints of post-war Singapore" in The Heritage Journal, 2 (1), 22-47, 2005.
 
This world's beauty is seen in the brightly painted fishing boats or perahu kolek of the Fisherman's Song of the Eastern Coast. The specific design of the boat situates the work in Kelantan. Village life and the inclusion of all is in seen in the spirit gotong royong or "cooperation in the community" as even the weakest and smallest, the children and women, participate in the harvest from the sea. Today this work is an especially poignant scene as traditional crafts are dying and cengal wood boats are abandoned in favour of lighter, more efficient fibreglass.