Tang Da Wu

As intern at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, I researched artworks and wrote about them for their social media. This article is an amalgamation of some of the pieces which I wrote to promote the exhibition “Fukuoka Prize 30th Anniversary, Highlighting Asian Artist” (1 July – 24 September, 2019). All images belong to the museum, please do not redistribute.

Tang Da Wu is an internationally acclaimed performance artist and one of FAAM’s first ever Artists in Residence.

Tang Da Wu is a Signaporean artist who studied in London. He was one of the founding members of “Artist Village,” the first contemporary artist run organisation in Singapore, which became a focal point for exchanges in Asian Art. It was a northern village in Singapore dedicated to holding exhibitions and performances for young artists.

Tang Da Wu is a highly educated and charismatic person. His art is highly performative and contextual. It is also often communal and involves street performances, collaborations and workshops. While in Fukuoka he carried out a range of performances and workshops, for example showing people how to make and use pinhole cameras and ultimately describe their personal histories. Tang performed two pieces at Fukuoka Art Museum, a recording of which you can see currently alongside “The Rice Growers” and “Reconstructed Horn from Rhino Drink.” In the 1991 annual published by the museum, Da Wu said, “Showing my works in Fukuoka Art Museum is like showing at home.”

The Rice Growers

“The Rice Growers” was created in 1988, just after he returned to Singapore after a 20 year stay in Britain, where he studied sculpture in Birmingham and received a masters from Goldsmith College, London. The piece depicts a rice bowl and chopsticks, and people shouting. The bold lines and colours translate their emotion and the vigour of painting. Rice, which is the staple food in Asia, the piece expresses criticism on the situation of a mass-consumerist society in Singapore where people can gorge themselves without considering the issue of world-hunger. The interpretation of this possibly depends on whether you think the chopsticks are being gripped, or failing to be gripped.

Reconstructed Horn from Rhino Drink

In “Reconstructed Horn from Rhino Drink” other global issues are addressed, namely the problem of endangered species and specifically the related issues of poaching and Chinese medicines. “I am ashamed of Asian and especially Chinese practice. My rhinoceros and tiger works are my response and can only be fully understood in an Asian context” (1991). The bottles are a popular Singaporean energy drink featuring including antipyretic medicine from the rhino horn.

By creating this piece, Tang symbolically reverses the process. The reconstructed horn has been used to represent rhinoceros horns in Tang’s performances and installations that explore the issue of animals on the brink of extinction. You can see a video of one such performance, which is displayed next to the sculpture. Frequently Tang’s work uses everyday objects around him, which helps to include viewers in his creation.

In a statement upon receiving the Fukuoka Prize Tang Da Wu discussed how in London his heritage became more important to his art but was often lost in translation with western audiences. In Asia he feels his performance has more traction because people can relate to what he does and the methods and expressions in his work directly.

Tang Da Wu is a front-runner in contemporary art, not only in Singapore but also in Southeast Asia. He has continuously raised environmental and social issues through installations using daily necessities, and participatory performances, while seeking his self-identity as a Chinese Singaporean.

About the Fukuoka Prize

In 1990, ten years before the inauguration of FAAM, Fukuoka city set up the now prestigious Fukuoka Prize. It is the first humanities prize in Asia and consists of three sections, the grand prize, the academic section and the art section. This popular prize, that has a wide variety of laureates and a consistently high quality of work, was established to promote the outstanding culture in Asia and to enhance mutual understanding and peace. It’s logo, a circle, depicts Asia as one united body and the whirling core represents the spiritual energy of the region. Previous grand prize winners included the Nobel Peace Prize economist Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh), who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, and also Mo Yan (China), who was awared the Nobel Literature Prize in 2012. 2019’s Laureates are Grand Prize winner David Randolf (Philippines) a scholar of sociology, Academic Prize winner Leonard Blusse (Netherlands) a historian who studies Asian-European relations, and Arts and Culture Prize winner Sato Makoto (Japan) a Theater Director who became known in the 1960s underground theatre scene associated with “Black Tent.” To commemorate the 30th year of the prize, FAAM showcased a selection of 6 artists who have previously been awarded the Arts and Culture prize.