Liu Kang (1911–2004) is celebrated as a pioneer Singapore artist and one of the founders of the Nanyang Style of art. Less well known is his life-long devotion to photography. The full depth and breadth of his photographic work came to light when his personal papers were sorted in preparation for a donation to the National Library in 2017. What emerged is a rich and engaging collection that illuminates the nascent Singapore art scene of the 1940s and 1950s, as well as the art worlds of Shanghai and Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. Join Gretchen Liu as she shares highlights of this rare documentation of 20th century art history.

About the speaker
Gretchen Liu is an independent writer with an abiding interest in visual heritage. She is the author of Singapore: A Pictorial History 1819–2000 and From the Family Album: Photographs from the Lee Brothers Studio Singapore 1910–1925. She was editor of the first book to explore Singapore’s visual heritage, A Vision of the Past: A History of Early Photography in Singapore and Malaya: The photographs of G R Lambert & Co, 1880–1910, by John Falconer. Most recently she has been researching the early life of her father-in-law, the artist Liu Kang.

Organised in conjunction with the exhibition

_{Image: Liu Kang. Image courtesy of Gretchen Liu.}