PORTRAIT OF THE BIBIK
October 2022
May Oon re-visits her Peranakan roots in this exhibition, and pays tribute to the important personalities in her life - the women.
As was done for her past works, Oon uses photography as a route to the past; the women were painted from black and white photographs. Oon is inviting the viewer to speculate about what woman means, especially in those early days when education was not encouraged and her role was limited to that of wife and mother.
In this series, she juxtaposes the portraits with another potent symbol of the Peranakan past – the batik sarong.
The contrast of the monochromatic figures against the lush background of vivid coloured flowers, birds and butterflies brings these women alive as they were an essential part of their daily costume.
RECLAIMING THE GAZE
November 2019
Studying the plethora of artwork based on the female nude, the idealized body was very different from what it is today – it was more full, more fleshy, more voluptuous.
Thus, borrowing these nudes from the masters, and some modern artists, I am celebrating the female form in all its fullness. All the works are done with oils on raw hemp, which I love for its rawness and unfinished texture. By draping local fabrics, such as batik, songket, or ikats, on these women, I am taking ownership of these works and linking them to my Peranakan heritage.
OVER/TIME
July 2015
Singapore was built by foreign workers landing on her shores, from China to India. In this show, I wanted to pay tribute to the men who ‘slaved’ to make our island what it is today. I’ve incorporated the use of raw hemp, or the humble sackcloth, for my oil paintings, as the rugged texture felt right for representing the lives they lived.
DELIVERANCE
May 2013
I chose the historical event of 9/11 as the vessel through which I explored the impact of media and the 24-hour news cycle in our domestic spaces. Using screen captures of television images, I did paintings and drawings of what spoke to me, what touched me and what will remain etched in my mind forever.
TEA WITH MR LEE
November 2010
Another nostalgic journey into the past, this time with the protagonist being the late Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. He was very much a part of my life, growing up in the 60s and 70s and out of reverence, and sometimes fear, I chose to feature the man in his early political life.
REMEMBRANCE OF SCENES PAST
October 2007
A personal journey into my Peranakan past, inspired initially by old family photographs. Others came from well-known books on this fast disintegrating Baba culture. Although photographs capture every detail, my engagement with paint is in applying broad brushstrokes which blur detail yet articulate fresh nuance.
