Cover Gretchen Liu, daughter-in-law of the late pioneer artist Liu Kang, at the “Untold Stories: Four Singapore Artists’ Quest for Inspiration in Bali 1952” exhibition at the National Library Building
Gretchen Liu, daughter-in-law of the late pioneer artist Liu Kang, at the “Untold Stories: Four Singapore Artists’ Quest for Inspiration in Bali 1952” exhibition at the National Library Building
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Author Gretchen Liu’s new book, “Bali 1952: Through the Lens of Liu Kang”, brings to light a forgotten archive of photographs by pioneer artist Liu Kang, offering a rare glimpse into the roots of Singapore’s modern art movement
The opening image in the book, Bali 1952: Through the Lens of Liu Kang, depicts the titular artist directing his Rolleiflex f/3.5 camera toward a large mirror, while he stood with fellow artists Cheong Soo Pieng—who was also holding a camera—Chen Wen Hsi and Luo Ming, effectively producing what might be described in contemporary terms as a group self-portrait, or “wefie”.
“What strikes me is how happy they look,” says author Gretchen Liu, daughter-in-law of the late Liu Kang. The photograph was taken in eastern Bali, on the verandah of the Dutch-style Maskerdam building within the Puri Agung Karangasem royal palace—a structure that beautifully blends Balinese and Chinese architectural elements. “Their big smiles suggest the trip was a success. You can see a sense of satisfaction on their faces—and it’s clear they were having a good time.”
Those familiar with Singapore’s modern art history would have heard about “the Bali trip”, as the artworks produced after the trip have long been considered a major milestone. But little is known about the journey of the four pioneering artists—Liu Kang, Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Wen Hsi, and Chen Chong Swee (who was not in the aforementioned photograph)—who travelled to Java and Bali in 1952 in search of new artistic perspectives.
That is—until recently. Liu Kang passed away in 2004 at the age of 93. In 2016, as the family prepared to vacate their now-demolished family home at 20 Jalan Sedap in Singapore, Liu uncovered an old shoebox filled with forgotten photographs—and their original negatives—taken by the artist over the course of the seven-week journey in Indonesia, from June 8 to July 28 in 1952. But it was only during the pandemic that Liu, a former journalist, writer and independent scholar with an interest in visual culture and heritage, took the box out again and started looking more closely at the photographs.
Above Liu Kang (pictured extreme right) with fellow artists (from left) Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Wen Hsi and Luo Ming (Photo: © Liu Kang Family)
Liu Kang (pictured extreme right) with fellow artists (from left) Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Wen Hsi and Luo Ming (Photo: © Liu Kang Family)
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“I ultimately realised that Liu Kang had taken over 1,000 photos during the trip,” shares Liu, who is married to Liu Thai Ker, Singapore’s former chief planner. “We also discovered when we cleared the study that he kept a diary during the first half of the trip and wrote letters home. He actually had a lot of information that enabled me to really find out what they did, who they met, where they went and what happened to them. I was able to piece together the trip in quite a lot of detail.”
What started out as a small research project for Liu later evolved into Untold Stories: Four Singapore Artists’ Quest for Inspiration in Bali 1952, an ongoing exhibition at the National Library Building, and the launch of the book, which features over 250 of the black-and-white photographs—and with its original cropping as Liu Kang had framed them with his artist’s eye. The quartet of China-born, Shanghai-trained artists settled in Singapore before and after World War II and had a great desire to portray the tropical character of their new homeland. Luo Ming was their art school classmate, who had been travelling across Southeast Asia and joined them later in the trip.
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Above The book cover of “Bali 1952: Through the Lens of Liu Kang” (Photo: National Library Board)
The book cover of “Bali 1952: Through the Lens of Liu Kang” (Photo: National Library Board)
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“Bali had been in the imagination of the artists for a long time,” Liu shares. “Liu Kang studied in Paris, where there was the International Colonial Exposition of 1931. Even though most of the pavilions were related to the French colonies, the Dutch also had a pavilion. A Balinese dance troupe performed at the exhibition to huge acclaim. Since then, Bali had been implanted in his imagination.” He had amassed a large collection of art and travel publications in both English and Chinese, among them was the classic Island of Bali (1937) by Miguel Covarrubias. But Indonesia was not a safe destination for travellers due to significant unrest in the years before independence.
In her preface of the book, Liu notes that Liu Kang had a strong sense of history. “He was an avid photographer from the age of 15. For more than a decade, when he was away from his family, he would take photos and send them home to his mother, who was illiterate—and we have a lot of the photos from those days,” Liu shares. “The photos have captions on the back, from where and when they were taken. For the first half of his life, photography was more like a visual diary. But I would say that the Bali trip was a bit of a turning point—photography was almost like an alternative sketchbook because when you’re travelling, there are certain scenarios where it’s impossible to sketch. Liu Kang was captivated by certain scenes, the people and their every movement, so it became a shorthand and reference material for when he went back to Singapore and started painting.”
Above Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès, a Belgian artist who settled in Bali in 1932 (Photo: © Liu Kang Family)
Above Le Mayeur de Merprès' wife Ni Pollok, one of the famous legong dancers of her time (Photo: © Liu Kang Family)
Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès, a Belgian artist who settled in Bali in 1932 (Photo: © Liu Kang Family)
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During the trip, the artists did two life drawing residencies in Bali, the first near Denpasar and the second in Ubud. In between, they travelled around the island, capturing the daily life of the Balinese people, from scenes in the market to temple ceremonies. They also spent time with Adrien‑Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès, a Belgian artist who settled in Bali in 1932, and his wife Ni Pollok, who was one of the famous Balinese legong dancers of her time.
While the artists did not have a concrete plan or itinerary upon landing in Jakarta, Liu notes that the trip was “nicely organised in the end as they travelled through Java, from Bandung to Surabaya, and then Bali”, adding that “they were very lucky”, thanks to those they met along the way, including Chinese businessmen.
Over the course of a year, Liu matched negatives with the prints to piece together the story of the trip, before connecting them to the art that was created after. Some of these sketches and drawings, as well as oil paintings are also featured in the exhibition. “I never got bored looking at the photos—there was always something new to discover,” she says. “I also grew to admire Liu Kang’s artistic eye, particularly how he composed and cropped his photos.”
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Above Chen Wen Hsi and Chen Chong Swee admire a temple gate (Photo: © Liu Kang Family)
Above Denpasar market (Photo: © Liu Kang Family)
Chen Wen Hsi and Chen Chong Swee admire a temple gate (Photo: © Liu Kang Family)
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While we know Liu Kang the artist through his art, what was he like to those close to him? “He was modern in his thinking. He led such an extraordinary life, having seen a lot of the world as a young man, so he was adventurous, open-minded, and always interested in a lot of different things. He followed current events, was social with a wide circle of friends, and he loved to travel,” Liu shares. “Throughout his life, he continued to travel, sketch and draw. He had a joie de vivre.”
If there is one thing she hopes readers take away from the book and the legacy of these pioneer artists, it is “their sense of adventure, the thrill of travel, and a reflection on a place that has undergone tremendous change.” She adds, “At its heart, it’s also a kind of Singapore story—about four people from different places who all found a home here.”
Credits
Photography: Frenchescar Lim
Hair: Angel Gwee
Make-Up: Angel Gwee
As Senior Editor of Tatler Singapore, Hashirin champions and refines the storytelling across platforms—curating and crafting compelling profiles, cover stories and features that spotlight visionaries shaping culture, business and impact. Driven by curiosity, she draws inspiration from the artists, changemakers and trailblazers she encounters through her work. Beyond the pages of Tatler, she is an avid supporter of local theatre and delights in seeking out art in every city she visits.
