Does Singapore need to review art approval? Samsui mural, Raffles statue spark debate
- Singapore authorities should step up art education and consultation with relevant stakeholders for creative works, observers say
Last month, a mural in Chinatown of a samsui woman smoking made headlines after the artist, American Sean Dunston, took to his Instagram account to lament that he had been asked to modify his work.
Dunston said Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) told him to “get rid of the cigarette”. He quoted URA as saying a complainant argued the woman “looks more like a prostitute than a hardworking samsui woman”.
Online users pointed out it was well documented that samsui women smoked cigarettes on breaks from their hard labour, and even stored cigarettes under their signature red headgear.
On July 10, the URA and the health ministry said in a joint statement that the mural could remain without modification. However, the authority fined the building owner S$2,000 (US$1,490) for beginning work on the mural without approval. The statement said the mural “does normalise smoking”, even though “most members of the public do not see this as an advertisement for cigarettes”.