Lilies On The Road

Dates Of Exhibition: Oct 6th - 16th 2005
Venue: Utterly Art, 229A South Bridge Rd Singapore 058778.
Technique: Oil pastel on paper.

The Lily on the Road continues Koh Tien Gui’s exploration of the world once lived by *Ah Mahs and Concrete Lilies (more popularly known as *Samsui women).

In his previous show, Tien Gui captured glimpses of the Ah Mah and Samsui woman in stark but brilliant hues and postures, conveying an almost magical existence tinged by a shadow of sadness.

Now, once again using his trademark crayons, he captures the various façades of their lives, infusing into each portrait a whimsical, almost ethereal gloss to what must have been a harsh existence in an unforgiving world.

* Samsui women were female blue-collar workers who built some of the high-rise buildings in the early 20th century that became the cityscape of modern Singapore. Ah Mah is a Hokkien dialect term for maid.