How does an artist develop a visual language of his own? What imagery, common or unique, does he draw from? How are these sources reconfigured through artistic practice? What messages are conveyed through this newly formed language?
The Evocative Head revisits Ng Eng Teng’s (1934 – 2001) interest in fragmenting the human body, specifically the head, as a means of developing his artistic expression.
For Ng, the human head serves as a compelling entry point into his artistic practice, a central subject from his formative years of studying and making portraits. These early works, habitually portraying his family members, friends – such as fellow artists Rohani Ismail and Wan Soon Kam, and teachers, reflect his social relationships. Over the decades of this practice, his works reveal sustained formal interests in drawing from faces and heads as enduring forms, alongside the urge of exploring a range of emotive states, from the playful to the nuanced and complex.
Venue: NUS Museum
When: 19 May 2026 - 29 May 2027,
By: NUS Museum, NUS Centre For the Arts (CFA)
