Lim Mu Hue, 自命不凡 1966 (reprinted in 2006)

Woodblock print on paper
39 x 45cm (unframed)
Condition: Fair, with yellowing of the paper and surface accretion consistent with age.
Edition 5 of 5

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Lim Mu Hue (Singaporean, 1936-2008) was a renowned artist best known for his woodblock prints. Receiving his formal training from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and mentored by pioneer artists Cheong Soo Pieng and Chen Wen Hsi, his work was pivotal in developing woodcuts in Singapore's art history during the 1950s and 1960s.

Lim participated in the Six-Man Woodcut Exhibition in 1966, the first exhibition dedicated to the medium of woodblock printing. It showcased prints based on landscapes and scenes from daily life, taking the genre in a new direction from its original use as a tool of revolution. The exhibition's success and subsequent increased interest in the woodcut movement cemented Lim's renown in the genre. His prints often portrayed intricate scenes of ordinary people, local landscapes and vanishing trades in a realist style. They were sometimes accompanied with colophonic inscriptions that were important traces of Lim's personality and inner thoughts.

Exhibited at “Imprints of the past: Remembering the 1966 Woodcut Show), 15-22 Oct 2006, NLB.

Acquired directly from the artist in 2006.

(Photographed in October 2025)