Spirit of Nanyang – a glimpse of Mr Zhang, his life and our forefathers in modern times

Posted by Simply Jean under Exhibitions
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Mr Zhang Xihua, a renowned artist in China, had been invited by the now Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts to work and reside in Singapore in 1994 and had since shared his talent of drawing through his meticulous and dedicated teaching to students from various institutions, including the de facto Singapore arts school – the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. However, instead of teaching his students to draw from the basics, he guides them by getting them to start from objects of their interests. Through this, his students are able to start drawing subjects that interest them most without having to spend most of their time “drawing apples”.

Mr Zhang’s unique ways of teaching may be traced back to his upbringing in China, where he was sent to a Reformative Camp for 15 years during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Before this, Mr Zhang came from a humble family and had a flair for drawing since young. This talent proved to work to his favour, getting him enrolled in high school and eventually, the university. However, just when anyone would have thought that a bright future awaited him, the Cultural Revolution started.

This upset in his life did not diminish his passion for art and his current exhibition shows that his progress in art had not been impeded. After his arrival to Singapore in 1994, he went forth to teach art to students who were interested and had a passion and desire to draw. However, he soon realised that most of his students – from both local and overseas, had a habit of remaining in their comfort zone, that is, they were afraid of difficult tasks and chose to either draw objects or use methods that were familiar to them.

In this perspective, Mr Zhang seemed to resemble the spirit of Singapore’s forefathers, who were new immigrants and were not afraid of difficulty. They worked hard and seldom stopped too long to think much – always looking forward to a better future. While humans are usually creatures of habit, they had instead moved out of their comfort zone to make Singapore what it is today.

Hence, it is probably inevitable that some Singaporeans may have chosen to remain in their areas of comfort and not venture out to try new things; given how well a place Singapore has progressed into from the times of our forefathers. Talking to Mr Zhang inevitably reminded me of my grandparents, who sometimes have their obstinate views of how things should be done. However, as we grow older, we’d realise that it is usually from their experience that they speak from.

I felt as if I was transported back in time during the entire conversation and this feeling was further enhanced as I toured through his art pieces. His famous 5 piece-canvas painting of villagers in Bali, the majestic view of the Yellow River, and the markets of towns in Vietnam and Bali – all made me wonder how Singapore was once like.

If you are interested to find out what intrigued me at his exhibition, perhaps you may wish to make a trip down to the MICA Building today. His exhibition runs till 15th November 2008; and if you see him, I am sure he won’t mind sharing with you his views and feelings as an immigrant and as a forefather for the future generations to come.

Tags: Zhang Xihua, Spirit of Nanyang, MICA Building