Chen Cheng Mei, Dhoby Ghaut, Undated
Etching on paper
40.5 x 60 cm
Condition: Very good
Edition Unknown
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Chen Cheng Mei (Singaporean, 1927–2020) was a trailblazing artist whose resolute presence marked her as one of the few Singaporean women of her generation to sustain a lifelong artistic practice. A graduate of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1954, she studied under Cheong Soo Pieng and Lim Hak Tai, spending weekends sketching outdoors with them. Chen was part of the Ten Men Art Group and travelled across Southeast Asia with them, but it was after the group’s reconfiguration that she journeyed more extensively throughout not only Asia, but Africa and the Americas.
Chen's paintings, etchings, and prints are marked by a quiet intensity. While her works appear simple or naive, they reflect a sophisticated understanding of texture, colour and form, and importantly the anthropocene, honed through printmaking and a deep engagement with literature and the natural world. Chen’s ethos was shaped by her belief that culture is the backbone of a country. Her works form a personal visual diary, documenting lives across regions with honesty. Often working outside the spotlight and at an intimate scale, Chen reminded us that art is not just about seeing, but feeling.
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Dhoby Ghaut depicts the area in Singapore historically known for its laundry trade. The name comes from Hindi, with dhoby meaning “washerman” and ghaut meaning “steps by a river.” In the 19th century, Indian washermen worked along the Sungei Bras Basah stream, washing and drying clothes in the open fields that once occupied this part of town.
This lively scene captures that early landscape, with washermen at work, garments in vivid colour, framed by flora (green, top) and soap suds (white, below). It is an excellent example of Chen Cheng Mei’s printmaking: she first creates a base image with an etched plate, then subsequently applies colour over the image, making each print impression distinct from one another, thus blurring the boundary between edition and original.
(Photographed in November 2025)