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| 106 Joo Chiat Place This photo was taken in late Aug 2012. |
29 Nov 2012 (Thu)
2 p.m. - 8 p.m.
106 Joo Chiat Place
(Nearest MRT station: Eunos)
(Bus service 33 will get you to Joo Chiat Place)
The studio of the late Ng Eng Teng, Cultural Medallion winner and the artist who is often known as the grandfather of Singapore sculpture, will be opened to members of the public on 29 Nov 2012 (Thu), from 2 p.m. - 8 p.m. This studio which located at 106 Joo Chiat Place was significant because this was where the late Ng Eng Teng had worked in and where he had created many of his sculptures.
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| The notice. Taken in Aug 2012. |
Soon, Studio 106 shall live forever in our memories. This kampong looking house, I later learnt, is architecturally known as a rumah panggung. The house is elevated on stilts.
When I had walked past 106 Joo Chiat Place in Aug 2012, I saw a sign that read "Proposed Erection of two units of three-storey semi-detached dwelling houses each with an an attic on .... at 106 Joo Chiat Place, Singapore 427833". Shocked I was, it hit upon me that soon this home and workplace of the late Ng Eng Teng will be gone.
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| This stretch of road that is named Joo Chiat Place. |
When I saw the sign at 106 Joo Chiat Place in Aug 2012, I was wondering to myself if I would ever have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of Studio 106 before it is gone for good.
Thanks to one of my good friends who knew that Ng Eng Teng is one of the local sculptors whose works I have an interest in, I recently learnt that Sunday Times had a report on 25 Nov 2012 on Studio 106. Through my friend, I learnt that the house at 106 Joo Chiat Place where the late Ng Eng Teng had worked in will be open for one last time to members of the public on 29 Nov 2012, from 2 p.m. - 8 p.m.
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| A glimpse of 106 Joo Chiat Place, in year 2008. |
I wonder how it would be like to visit 106 Joo Chiat Place on 29 Nov 2012. Gone will be my vague memories of chancing upon a few of Ng Eng Teng's sculptures when I had walked past Joo Chiat Place in the year 2008. Maybe a visit to 106 Joo Chiat Place will mean less to me than to the many people who have at some point in their lives visited 106 Joo Chiat Place to work alongside with or to learn from the late Ng Eng Teng?
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| Taken in 2008. A glimpse of 106 Joo Chiat Place. |
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| Taken in 2008. A glimpse of 106 Joo Chiat Place. |
Anyway, I learnt from secondary sources regarding the article from Sunday Times dated 25 Nov 2012 that wood from the dismantled house of Studio 106 will be salvaged by representatives of the community art project, Awaken the Dragon, to use it to rouse one of the last two surviving dragon kilns in Jalan Bahar next year. Heart-wrenching it may sound to have Studio 106 dismantled, it seems like everything that makes up this house will have to go. Change is inevitable. May the memories be preserved nevertheless.
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| Studio 106, in year 2008. |
If this interest you, may you find the opportunity to visit 106 Joo Chiat Place soon before it is physically gone. In the meantime, I am thankful for this very place that had allowed the late Ng Eng Teng to create many of his enduring sculptures and works.
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Related posts on Ng Eng Teng:
prep-room | 106 Joo Chiat Place by NUS Museum
Along Joo Chiat Place
Some noteworthy exhibits from the Sculpturing Life exhibition
Remembering Ng Eng Teng
Wealth and Contentment just outside the University Cultural Centre
NUS Museum: The works of Ng Eng Teng
NUS Museum
Multimedia: My Brother, Our Houses by The Straits Times: Through the Lens.
2 comments:
sad to see this - things change and sometimes sh&t happens - what to do...will anyone from the family or close friends of Mr Ng be there...
Hi reviveramesh, thanks for your comments. I am sorry that I do not have the answer to your question.
When I was there this afternoon, I was attended to by a kind gentleman called Edmund.
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