Ng eng teng - sculptures in singapore
Nicknamed “The Grandfather of Singapore Sculpture”, Dr Ng Eng Teng was acclaimed for his innovative modern sculpture over a career spanning four decades. You may have seen his monumental sculptures when passing through places like Changi Airport, Orchard Road or the University Cultural Centre at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Particularly known for work carrying warm humanist themes, Dr Ng’s sculpture brings life and vibrancy to these public spaces.
The Gallery received one of Dr Ng’s most beloved works, Mother and Child in late November 2019. One of two in this series, it was cast in 1996 and put on display in Tampines Central Park. The distinctive 3.5 metre-tall bronze sculpture features a mother in the intimate act of holding her child, conveying her caring and warm love. Now installed at the City Hall steps, the sculpture a long-term and prominent place in Singapore’s Civic District.
While artworks within the Gallery’s exhibition spaces are routinely rotated, shifting Mother and Child from its original location to its new home here was an immensely different task.
Look out for more articles on handling, caring, storing, packing and hanging artworks by the Gallery's Artwork & Exhibition Management departments on Perspectives Magazine.
Johnny Chen
Johnny Chen is Registrar (Artwork and Exhibition Management) at National Gallery Singapore.
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Locating Ng Eng Teng
Over the years, I’ve become quite obsessed with the life and work of Ng Eng Teng (1934-2001), “the Grandfather of Singapore Sculpture.” I first experienced his peerless strangeness through a photograph, online.
It’s the ground floor of Plaza Singapura in the ’70s or ’80s. Ng’s two sculptures, Wealth and Contentment, loom prominently. Wealth is the one closer to us: a woman like a gilded pupa lies serenely on her back, her hair raised in a conical shape, her hands resting on her tummy. In the background, Contentment, a woman with a similar figure, seems to be gliding towards us. In the middle of the photo, between these two sculptures, stands a child and his mother. The child stares at Wealth, transfixed, perhaps even frightened. The photo isn’t clear but I’ve read the child as a boy, perhaps because I can easily imagine myself in the same space, drawn and daunted by these floating alien mothers.
When Plaza Singapura underwent a renovation in 1997, Wealth and Contentment were donated by the owners, DBS Land, to the National University of Singapore. The two sculptures now rest in front of the University Cultural Centre, on a grass patch that isn’t easily accessible by foot — you have to cut your own way through the shrubbery to get to them. (In a 2011 Straits Times article, a journalist lamented that this move was akin to “sending your aged parents to a nursing home.”)
Similarly, one of Ng’s iconic Mother and Child (1980) sculptures, which had originally resided in front of Far East Shopping Centre on Orchard Road, was shifted to an area in front of Orchard Parade Hotel, and finally relocated in 2021 to a much quieter spot near the Gardens by the Bay. It now sits on a patch of sand, fringed by coconut trees, like some beached animal.
Besides highlighting the erratic — sometimes downright neglectful Singaporean sculptor (1934–2001) Ng Eng Teng Singapore Singapore In this Chinese name, the family name is Ng (Chinese: 黄; pinyin: Huáng). Ng Eng Teng (Chinese: 黄荣庭; pinyin: Huáng Róngtíng; 12 July 1934 – 4 November 2001), The Grandfather of Singapore Sculpture was a sculptor in Singapore known for his figurative sculptures, many of which are found in public locations around Singapore. His legacy include the Mother And Child bronze sculpture outside Far East Shopping Centre along Orchard Road, and The Explorer located at the entrance of the Singapore Art Museum. in 1981, his outstanding achievements and contributions to Singapore's art scene have garnered him the prestigious Cultural Medallion Award. Born in Singapore, Ng first showed sculpting talent as a child, playing with plasticine and creating figures for fun during classes in primary school. After graduating from Senior Cambridge examinations in 1955, he took painting and sculpture classes at the British Council, and with artist Liu Kang in 1958. Ng entered the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in that year and showed promise as an aspiring artist, experimenting with art in various media wh
Courtesy of National University of Singapore Museum Collection.
Some local readers who are my contemporaries or who are older may remember seeing this very sculpture Wealth, together with another sculpture Contentment, at the previous Plaza Singapura building in the 1980s. In those days, Plaza Singapura was one of the fairly popular shopping malls to shop in and to visit. It was rather hard to miss these two sculptures given their fairly imposing size. At the very least, when I was speaking to one of my contemporaries about these two sculptures, she could remember seeing these two sculptures when she was young.
These two iconic sculptures are now located just outside the University Cultural Centre, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge campus. Frankly speaking, I prefer the current location of Wealthand Contentmentcompared to the original location at the previous Plaza Singapura building. Somehow, the sculptures looked less scary and more approachable when placed outdoors.
Most of the local friends whom I have spoken to have actually seen at least one of Ng Eng Teng's sculptures at some point in their lives. Who was Ng Eng Teng?
Ng Eng Teng (1934 - 2001) was a local artist who was probably best known for his sculptural works. I later learnt that his training was in painting and pottery. In recognition of his excellent artistic achievements, he was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1981.
I remember that during the Art History lessons in my Secondary School years, I learnt that the pioneer artist, Georgette Chen, had some influence on Ng Eng Teng. At the very least, it was through her encouragement that Ng Eng Teng headed to England to pursue the study of ceramics. Perhaps his study of ceramics could have helped him to build the necessary foundation to create many three-dimensional masterpieces throughout his career as an artist Ng Eng Teng
(黄荣庭)Born 12 July 1934 Died 4 November 2001(2001-11-04) (aged 67) Nationality Singapore Education Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
North Staffordshire College of Technology
Farnham School of ArtKnown for Contemporarysculpture Awards 1961: Gold Medal, Tagore Centenary Open Painting Competition
1962: Silver Medal, Nanyang University Open Painting Competition, Singapore
1974: London British Council Artist Travel Grant to England.
Pingat APAD, Association of Artists of Various Resources
1981: Tan Tsze Chor Medal for Sculpture, Singapore Art Society.
Cultural Medallion Award
1990: ASEAN Cultural Award for Visual Arts
2001:Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage AwardEducation and personal life