Artist of the day: Artist of the Day, May 11, 2022: Han Sai Por, a Singaporean sculptor artist (#1566)

Sculptor Han Sai Por (1943) is one of Singapore’s pivotal modern art sculptors. She is well-known for her sculptures carved in stone, bringing to life figurative forms and organic shapes to hefty granite blocks. She has exhibited her works internationally in Southeast Asia, China, South Korea, North America and Europe. Some of her works are on permanent displays in Singapore’s hotels, libraries and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations as well as in parks of Malaysia, Japan, United States and the United Kingdom. Han was awarded the 1995 Cultural Medallion for her contribution to art.

Han came from a poor family. One of six children, she was born during the Japanese Occupation. Unable to afford proper housing, her family lived as illegal squatters in a house constructed of cardboard boxes and coconut leaves in Changi. Han’s uneducated mother had to scavenge at the nearby Changi beach to support her family, as her father was often sick. However, poverty did not stop Han from having a childhood that was “happy and free”. An active girl who loved the outdoors, Han enjoyed going to the nearby beach where she would make sand figurines of animals. Her childhood experiences made her appreciative of nature and instilled in her a sense of adventure and exploration. Han was first introduced to the enthralling work of Michelangelo’s sculptures when she was 10, images of which were from a book Han’s mother had bought for her.

In the 1970s, Han worked as a full-time teacher after graduating from the Teachers’ Training College in 1968. Art was considered a luxury for Han. For two years, she took up part time courses at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). Only after saving enough money did she venture abroad to the United Kingdom in 1979 to study at the East Ham College of Art and afterwards, the Wolverhampton College of Art, where she received her BA in Fine Art. To make ends meet as an undergraduate, Han took up jobs as a waitress, hotel maid and even a cook. Upon her return in 1983, Han became one of two teachers to start off the Arts Elective Programme at Nanyang Girls’ High School. She was selected because she had the necessary art education and was herself a practising artist. In 1987, Han went into part-time teaching at NAFA and LaSalle-SIA College of Arts in order to support her work as an artist. Thus, her art career bloomed in the midst of a constant juggle between family life and work, with continual tension between time and money.

Han has come a long way since her first sculpture of a bust of herself. Since then, she has exhibited locally and internationally. Her commissioned works can be found, for instance, in the Esplanade, Suntec City, Capital Towers in the Central Business District as well as Woodlands Regional Library. Her work is also on permanent display internationally in places such as the Portland Sculpture Park in the United Kingdom, the Kuala Lumpur Lake Garden in Malaysia and Uchinomi-cho Town Hall Garden in Japan.

Han’s favourite medium for her sculptures are marble and granite. Using her own money, she often buys granite from quarries in Singapore or from neighboring countries like Malaysia. She has also looked for stone as far away as the quarries of China, Italy and Japan. Solo exhibition works can cost Han up to $20,000 in material expenses alone. Although this sets her back financially, Han is not perturbed. What is important for her is how her work would be received by the public. Han is motivated by the encouragement, recognition and acknowledgement of her art from others.

Han’s main sculptural expression is through figurative works. These can command a minimum of $1,000 for a small table-top sculpture. Han’s works have been said to depict a sense of contrast between the hard surface of stone and the softness of organic shapes. Despite being of slight built, her ability in carving massive tonnes of granite to produce works that are “sentimental and emotional” has been a source of wonder to those who appreciate her work.

Han used to live in a rented two-story house within the compounds of Seletar Airbase, before moving to Wessex Estate in 2006. Life, for Han, is a matter of working hard, living simply, and doing what she chooses to do as a sculptor.

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