Legacies of Encounters through Crafts and Material Culture (Part 1)

☉ Level 5, Main Collection

Legacies of Encounters combs through the intricate art of woodblock printing, where each print serves as a visual archive of the region's evolving landscapes and cultural narratives. From Lim Mu Hue’s poignant depictions of vanishing kampongs to Charles Dyce’s scenes of colonial Singapore, these works capture moments of transition and transformation. Through the unique materiality of woodblock art, these prints offer reflections on identity, heritage, and the shifting dynamics between the local and the colonial, inviting us to explore the lasting impact of these encounters on the region’s visual and cultural history.

This section delves into the artistic and cultural narratives of Southeast Asia through the distinctive woodblock art of Lim Mu Hue and the nature-inspired watercolours of Charles Dyce, highlighting their reflections on the region's complex heritage. A standout piece is Lim's rare double-sided woodblock, Backstage and Fortune Teller (1966), which features two prints that immerse viewers in post-war Singapore and provoke thought on local beliefs and the interplay of luck and fate. Complementing these artworks are curated exhibition catalogues from NUS Libraries, including Woodcuts, which documents Singapore's first woodcut exhibition in 1966, Imprints of the Past, which revisits its significance four decades later, and Blaze Carved in Darkness, linking the local woodblock movement to broader Asian art history and its socio-political implications.

Displayed Artworks

Backstage and Fortune Teller
Lim Mu Hue, 1966
Double-sided woodblock

Fortune Teller
Lim Mu Hue, 1998
Woodblock Print (Reproduction)

Backstage and Fortune Teller
Lim Mu Hue, 1966
Double-sided woodblock

Backstage of a Puppet Theatre
Lim Mu Hue, 1966
Woodblock Print (Reproduction)

The Waterfall, Penang
Charles Dyce, 1846
Watercolour Painting (Reproduction)

The Great Tree, Penang
Charles Dyce, 1846
Watercolour Painting (Reproduction)

Displayed Books

Woodcuts.
[exhibition by Choo Keng Kwang, Foo Chee San, Lim Mu Hue, Lim Yew Kuan, See Cheen Tee and Tan Tee Chie, held at the National Library, 15 - 18 October 1966].
Publisher unknown, 1966.
Exhibition Catalogue

Tan Tee Chie
Selected Wood-Cuts
Singapore: Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, 1975.
Exhibition Catalogue

Lai Chee Kien, et al. eds.
Imprints of the Past: Remembering the 1966 Woodcut Exhibition.
2006.
Exhibition Catalogue

Kuroda Raji and Igashira Rina, eds.
Woodcut Movements in Asia 1930s - 2010s : Blaze Carved in Darkness
Fukuoka-shi (Japan)‏: Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Arts Maebashi, 2018.

Lu Xun.
Diary of a Madman and Other Stories.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1990.

Webber, Lucille R.
Japanese Woodblock Prints: The Reciprocal Influence between East and West
Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University.

Naoi, Nozomi.
Yumeji Modern: Designing the Everyday in Twentieth-Century Japan.
Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2020.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858).
Text by Seiichiro Takahashi. English adaptation by Charles S. Terry.
Tokyo, Japan; Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1956.

Paul, Ashit.
Woodcut Prints of Nineteenth Century Calcutta.
Calcutta: Seagull Books, 1983.

The Single Leaf: Woodblock Printmaking.
Singapore: Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, 2012.
Exhibition Catalogue

A Tribute to Foo Chee San: Moments and Milestones.
Singapore: Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, 2012.
Exhibition Catalogue

Recommended Additional Reads

Kubota Beisen.
Kubota Beisen. 米僊漫遊画乘 / 著作者: 久保田米僊. Beisen man'yū gajō (Beisen's Travel Album)
NUS Libraries Special Collections: Digital Gems

Lim Cheng Tju.
“Political Prints in Singapore.” Print Quarterly 21, no. 3 (2004): 266–81.

Piyadasa, Redza.
"China's Woodcut Art Movement."
Business Times, Aug 23, 1997.

Tham, Stefanie. (2011).
The Equator Art Society in Singapore, 1956-74.
Academic exercise, Department of History, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, National University of Singapore.