The Gift, 2024
acrylic paint, mixed media on rice paper mounted on canvas
(H) 71 x (W) 50 cm x (D) 2.5 cm
Image: artist
On 6 February 1819, Stamford Raffles, together with Temenggong Abdul Rahman and Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor, signed a treaty granting the British East India Company (EIC) the right to establish a trading post in Singapore. On the same day, the British flag was officially raised, marking the beginning of Singapore as a British settlement (National Library Board, Singapore).
This painting playfully re-examines that historic day, exploring not just the visible political agreements but also EIC’s hidden motives—including the gift of Papaver somniferum (opium poppy).
The Gift explores the complexity of Singapore’s colonial beginnings by re-imagining the day the treaty was signed in 1819. The unusual canvas shape contains two rounded forms that can be read as chess pieces or even as UFOs, hinting at the way colonial encounters often appear both strategic and otherworldly.
At the centre of the composition is the Papaver somniferum, or opium poppy. This plant was central to the British Empire’s expansion in Asia. The East India Company cultivated opium in Bengal and exported it to China, generating enormous profits that funded imperial trade networks. By placing the opium poppy at the heart of the image, the work points to the hidden economies that underpinned British power in the region, including in Singapore.
The scripts that run across the canvas are re-produced as prints from the treaty signed between Temenggong Abdul Rahman, Sultan Hussein Shah, and Stamford Raffles. Their inclusion reminds us that colonial legitimacy was staged through written agreements that often concealed deeper economic intentions.
The figure in the background is drawn from the image of an Indian sepoy, a soldier employed by the British East India Company. The sepoys were instrumental in extending British authority across Asia, including the establishment of Singapore as a trading post. His presence suggests that the raising of the British flag in 1819 was supported not only by diplomacy but also by the machinery of empire and military power.
This painting playfully re-examines that historic day, exploring not just the visible political agreements but also EIC’s hidden motives—including the gift of Papaver somniferum (opium poppy).
The Gift explores the complexity of Singapore’s colonial beginnings by re-imagining the day the treaty was signed in 1819. The unusual canvas shape contains two rounded forms that can be read as chess pieces or even as UFOs, hinting at the way colonial encounters often appear both strategic and otherworldly.
At the centre of the composition is the Papaver somniferum, or opium poppy. This plant was central to the British Empire’s expansion in Asia. The East India Company cultivated opium in Bengal and exported it to China, generating enormous profits that funded imperial trade networks. By placing the opium poppy at the heart of the image, the work points to the hidden economies that underpinned British power in the region, including in Singapore.
The scripts that run across the canvas are re-produced as prints from the treaty signed between Temenggong Abdul Rahman, Sultan Hussein Shah, and Stamford Raffles. Their inclusion reminds us that colonial legitimacy was staged through written agreements that often concealed deeper economic intentions.
The figure in the background is drawn from the image of an Indian sepoy, a soldier employed by the British East India Company. The sepoys were instrumental in extending British authority across Asia, including the establishment of Singapore as a trading post. His presence suggests that the raising of the British flag in 1819 was supported not only by diplomacy but also by the machinery of empire and military power.