Lai Foong Moi

Lauded as the first Malaya-born woman to hold a solo exhibition in Singapore, Lai Foong Moi’s story encapsulates how the development of artistic style was intertwined with considerations of nationhood and identity within the context of post-war, postcolonial British Malaya (a British dominion until 1963). Labourer (Lunch Break) (1965) is an introspective portrait that exemplifies Lai’s commitment to the internal world of her subjects. The figure at the centre of the composition is presented in a moment of rest and contemplation as he gazes beyond the frame. Lai discloses his identity as a labourer by his blue outer shirt, a distinctive identifier of Chinese migrant workers, referred to as coolies, who had travelled to Malaya since the nineteenth century to work in manual occupations. Behind him, a woman is having her meal, her back turned and features comparatively obscured. Her red headscarf, which stands out as a moment of differentiated colour in the painting, signifies her identity as a Samsui woman – a female immigrant manual labourer. Although both figures occupy the same sightline within the composition, their diverging postures allow Lai to suggest a hierarchy of anonymity within this overlooked segment of society. This is the first time the work of Lai Foong Moi is presented at Biennale Arte. —Teo Hui Min