The exhibition title, ‘Forever’, was translated from the artist’s original Chinese title, ‘⼈长久’. The phrase was taken from a famous Song Chinese poem, Prelude to Water Melody (⽔调歌头- 明⽉⼏时有), which was composed by court-official and literati artist-poet Su Shi (also commonly known as Su Dongbo). The poem was written during the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival of 1076 while Su Shi was feeling melancholic and missing his brother, who was a court official stationed in another faraway state.

Su Shi points out in the poem that, ‘People have sorrows, joys, partings and reunions/ Just as the moon turns dark or bright, and waxes or wanes during different phases/ This is but a reality since ancient times/ Yet one hopes that every man enjoys longevity/ Even with thousand miles apart, that we may all see and be connected by the moon’s beauty.’

Through his art and in his own way, Tung Yue Nang seeks to immortalise the unique cultural elements and everyday beauty of our local heritage streets. Every painting is a nuanced display of humanity, and through it he connects the audience with the vitality and immediacy of life. Because his sincere being and profound connection with the landscape flow ever so naturally into the composition, the old buildings with their weathered charms, and folks passing by the streets or engrossed in their daily routines, come alive organically in his works. One is easily transfixed by the fascinating atmosphere of his Singapore riverside, Chinatown or Joo Chiat shophouse scene, where the coming and going of people and their myriad interactions amplify the hustle and bustle of daily life.