LIM NANG SENG
Born 1916 Sarawak, Malaysia
Source: National Archives
Lim Nang Seng (born 1916 Kuching,
Sarawak) was a pioneer of sculpture in Singapore (many articles refer to him as
a "craftsman"). According to his entry in the Sculpture '67: Singapore Art
Society - First Sculpture Exhibition, he exhibited regularly at the annual art
shows of the Singapore Art Society and other shows in Singapore and Malaysia.
"Since 1958, Lim Nang Seng's sculpural works have often been selected for annual
art exhibitions in Singapore. He had studied sculptural techniques since young,
starting from the making of clay figurines in southern China. During the Second
World War, he began sculpting images in a modern style, in Vietnam. He came to
Malaya after the war and taught at a Chinese school in Bekok, Johore. By then,
his works, which use a local black river clay as medium, have become rather
abstract while displaying a character which is typically Malayan. While he had
begun to use pottery clay only recently, his works are no less expressive in
power and Malayan in thematic consideration for which he received international
acclaim. However, because most of his works are small in size, they were not
taken seriously."
Source: Ma Ge (Marco Hsu), writing in History of Malayan Art in 1963
He is most well-known for creating the Merlion in 1972, that now stands at the front of the Singapore River adjacent to the Fullerton Hotel. A number of his works are under the collection of the National University of Singapore.