There is something “primitive” about the work of the 77 year-old artist Mr Wee Kong Chai. Simple, clean-cut features, postures confined to original forms of the carving materials, his images exude an austere, folk art quality. Many of his works, mainly woodcarvings from tree trunks, represents figures in a cylindrical round. With the backs facing us, these images are totally unaware of a world behind them, forcing the viewers to come closer for enquires. In a way, this process provides some psychological satisfaction for the onlookers, as one seems to be given the right to pry into the private moments of the others.

“Kiss”, “Lucky Family” and “Mother and Daughter” are such examples. Wee’s choice of intense intimate moments between the figures have given his works its strong emotive power. In “Lucky Family”, the deep emotional links between the figures are sensuously expressed through their cozily clasped hands and the attentive exchanges of glances. “Mother and Daughter’s” ardent eyes and body contact is rare in the depiction of subjects that are similar. Human love seemed to be what interest him the most.

The large “Self-portrait” is an impressive work with a kind of almost magical charm. Its sheer size, solemn expression, and the antiquated, dotted patterns capture one’s attention immediately. The unique texture of this portrait was created by the hammering in of numerous steel-nails, followed by a process of polish to achieve the antiquated look. This special treatment to its surface texture is a result of aesthetic intuitions, as Wee explains, and is mainly for ornamental balance. Intuitive urges seem to be the main source for his creations. Another work in done in the similar manner is the enigmatic “A Young Girl”.

Wee Kong Chai began his career as a painter in the 50s. It is after his return from Paris in1969 that he gradually took up the venture into woodcarvings. According to him, the changing environment of the developing Singapore has limited his subjects in painting. His love and interest in “people” also pushes him into a series of sculpting activities resulting in a series of images derived from his local life experience. Because of his interest in the direct representation of local figures, he was called a “social realist”. But the artist himself seems uninterested in theoretical categories. He never thought too much or went “deeper” when executing works. As a result his images were not burdened with intentions and meanings.

“Usually I look at my wood pieces, and carve what I see in the natural shape of the wood.”

“Some times I read the Chinese newspapers, and the story of someone touches me, and I will start to make sculpture of these images I saw in the newspaper.”

“Footballers”, “Mother Theresa”, “Mr. Ushe”, “Old Women”, etc, all are such images inspired by stories in the everyday tabloids.

It is interesting that even though Wee received art trainings in France and had stayed there for 5 years, he somehow seemed “uncontaminated” by the Western, modernist theories that have overwhelmed so many. Even though there are a few abstract sculptures lying in the corners of his room, they did not find a place in the artist’s heart ultimately. Probably due to the responds he usually gets, Wee is self-conscious of his works being “not-so-modern”.

“I tried a few “modern”, abstract forms, but I did not like them so much, they are not very interesting to me.” Said the artist. “I visited museums, galleries [in Europe at the time], I was inspired by artworks I saw, but I never paid attention to any movements or any particular artists…when Sabapathy saw one of my works, he mentioned Brancusi, I looked up Brancusi’s works afterward, and think: maybe I have seen his work somewhere, but I never paid attention…”

Clearly, the pursuit of pure form, “art for art sake”, is not Wee’s cup of tea. Using his residence as work studio, one can sense the artist’s devotion and diligence, upon seeing the countless sculptures scattered on corridors, shelves, and literally everywhere. In his cabinet sits a few wooden statues of Taoist god which he collected simply for its raw beauty. These are common local religious icons for Chinese worshipers. To think of it, the austere quality of Wee’s works does have something akin to these familiar Taoist-god statues. His works are down to earth and impactful, his images are unassuming and emanates sense of localness. 

It is based on this straightforward, unpretentious attitude of Wee Kong Chai, and his equally truthful and direct representations of the home images, that I mentioned the words “primitive” and “folk” earlier, despite knowing that these are problematic words. In the era of post-colonialism, they have come to bear a series of racial-colonial related connotations in the discussions of artistic representation. There is Edward Said’s convincing analysis of “Orientalism” as a counter-identity produced by colonial culture, followed by criticisms on the homogenizing effect of modernist claims of the underlying affinity between Western artists and the “primitives”, where the so-called “universality”, is in fact an unfair demonstration or reinforcement of the Modernist/colonialist canon.

But artist do not always response to theoretical reckonings. Wee Kong Chai’s body of works, whether “primitive”, “folk”, or “realist”, is at least not a conscious assimilation of modernist ideologies. Too often we relied on western theoretical systems to look at artworks by our own artists (or are we condemned to do so?) and neglects the fact that perhaps there are other alternatives. In fact, Wee Kong Chai’s approach is deeply rooted in his reclusive attitude – an attitude related to moral values upheld by traditional Chinese scholars and painters. Wee’s indifference to theories puts him outside an artistic criterion that is based on notions of “categories”, “hierarchies” and “progression”… I would like that we think of Wee’s art outside a discourse which may never have had any direct relation to us. Whether “art’ is a universal, cross-cultural category is an issue worth pondering in the name of critical studies, but for artists such as Wee Kong Chai, art is simply a way of living, and he has chosen it to be his way.