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Recent Acquisitions:
Dear Cai Xiong
(A Letter From Ho Ho Ying, 1972)
by Cheo Chai Hiang
A 2005 work with a history that dates back more than 32 years, Dear Cai Xiong (A Letter From Ho
Ho Ying, 1972) is an important work of art which references events and currents of thought in the
artistic circles of the 1970s.
In 1972, Cheo, then 26, submitted a proposal to the annual Modern Art Society exhibition. The
proposed work, entitled Singapore River came in the form of written instructions to the exhibitions
organisers, to draw a square measuring five feet, part on the floor, and part on its adjacent wall.
The conceptual piece was rejected by the society, and its founder Ho Ho Ying responded to Cheo
in a letter that discoursed on the criteria of art in relation to its audiences. Art, Ho opined, besides
being new, also has to resonate with its viewers and possess unique qualities.
In Dear Cai Xiong (A Letter From Ho Ho Ying, 1972), the letter, originally written by Mr Ho Ho Ying
in Mandarin, is being reproduced by Cheo in this installation.
The very question of art’s purpose and the pervading inclinations of Singapore art in the 1970s
can be gleaned in this exchange. Cheo’s critique of the prevailing forms of representation in
Singapore art is evidenced through his proposed conceptual presentation of the Singapore River,
illustrating his own position on how modern art should progress.
Cheo Chai Hiang, Dear Cai Xiong (A Letter From Ho Ho Ying, 1972) (detail), 2005, pencil on unprimed canvas,
379 x 257 cm per piece, Singapore Art Museum collection
About the artist
An artist who practiced conceptual art during the 1970s in Singapore, Cheo Chai Hiang’s practice
encompasses the various mediums of drawing, installation, painting, printmaking and sculpture.
Cheo, who has also taught and lectured, first obtained his art education in England at the
Brighton Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art in London in the 1970s. He has exhibited widely
both locally and internationally, and most recently in the 2008 Singapore Biennale and the 2010
Asia Pacific Triennial in Queensland, Australia.
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