signed and dated, lower left
watercolour on paper
53 x 73 cm, 78 x 98 cm framed
The Busy River captures the liveliness of a Boat Quay, with pedestrians, bumboats and buses. Clothes hang from a bamboo pole jutting out from a shophouse– a scene of rustic domesticity that one would be hard pressed to discover in the heart of the city today.
Amidst the bustle of the city, the negative space offered by the expanse of sky that takes up the top half of the composition offers respite, only disrupted by the dignified clock tower of Victoria Concert Hall looming over the low rise cityscape. Yet, a construction crane rises in centre of the composition, foreshadowing the high rise skyline of skyscrapers that is on the cusp of becoming.
Provenance: Gift from a corporate collection to Singapore Philatelic Museum
To be sold to support Children’s Museum Singapore*
*Singapore Philatelic Museum became a dedicated children’s museum in December 2022
