page_title: Han Sai Por
section_title: Art
hierarchical_section_title: Han Sai Por / Art
caption_attribution_description: English: Singaporean sculptor Han Sai Por's sculpture 20 Tonnes, located in the grounds of the National Museum of Singapore. First exhibited in 2002 in the atrium of the MICA Building (formerly the Old Hill Street Police Station), it consists of a row of six ridged monolithic granite blocks with a smaller block at either end, all hewn from a single rock.
context_page_description: Han Sai Por is a Singaporean sculptor. A graduate of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, East Ham College of Art, Wolverhampton College of Art and Lincoln University, New Zealand, she worked as a teacher and later as a part-time lecturer at NAFA, the LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, and the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, before becoming a full-time artist in 1997.
  Han has participated in exhibitions locally and abroad, including events in China, Denmark, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and South Korea. Her first solo exhibition, entitled Four Dimensions, was held at the National Museum Art Gallery in 1993. Her sculptures can be found around the world, in Osaka and Shōdoshima, Kagawa Prefecture, in Japan; Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak in Malaysia; and Washington, D.C. In Singapore, sculptures commissioned from her can be seen at Capital Tower, the Defence Science Organisation National Laboratories, the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, the National Museum of Singapore, Revenue House, Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3, Suntec City Mall, and Woodlands Regional Library.
context_section_description: Han is probably best known for her stone sculptures with organic forms; she sees her sculpture as having "a force or inner life inside struggling to get out". Having a preference for granite and marble, she has said: "Stone is one of my favourite materials. In the erosion of rock by wind and water are found original, vital qualities which express the significance of life." Han often purchases stone using her own resources from quarries in China, Italy, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. The cost of just the material for solo exhibition pieces can be up to S$20,000. Nonetheless, she is motivated by the encouragement, recognition and acknowledgement her art she receives from others. Examples of Han's sculptures of this genre include Growth (1985), a set of five pear-shaped forms in white marble; Spirit of Nature (1988), three black granite ovoid and spheroid forms; Object C (1992), a pale grey granite object resembling a canoe; and Seeds (2006), large kernels carved from sandstone excavated from Fort Canning Hill during the National Museum's redevelopment. Art historian and critic T.K. Sabapathy has commented that Han is concerned with the uneasy relation between men and nature in the modern era, and has expressed a desire for people to realize that "[we] are part of nature and not apart from nature". In addition, he has said:
  Her sculptures appear to embody forces whose origins are to be found in the very beginnings of the art of sculpture. What we have here, especially in the works carved out of stone, is sculpture in its embryonic form. Her works are made up of compact, entirely solid mass of material which she shapes but does not perforate or open up. They are the outcome of a single-minded concentration on mass and volume. This approach leads to the creation of what can be described as kernel sculpture. The works have the strength and durability of primal or elementary forms. They retain the presence and weight of the monolith, and appeal to us with their provocative simplicity. In all these respects Han reasserts the fundamental qualities of sculpture, namely, a sensation of volume and material, tactile quality and ponderability. ... [Her works] radiate energy and materiality which, together, appear to be continually forming and re-forming into new and surprising configurations; essential to them is the indivisible or continuous single surface. These works beckon us to enter into realms that are stable, tranquil and sublime. Han gives her fellow man an affirmative, uplifting view of life.
  Beyond Han's sculptures which embrace organic forms, she has also designed geometric pieces. Four Dimensions (1993) was made up of ten geometrical structures, including single objects (such as Tetrahedron–Tetrahedron Interpenetration) and opened-up planes (Cubic Triangle) connected with each other through the use of angles, and light and shadow. Han said: "My works are based on the concept of mathematical logic. The idea is to show how each step is based on the previous one so that the geometrical forms progress in logical sequence ... The fourth dimension is abstract. It cannot be seen or touched. It contains the feelings and talents of Mankind. We wish to possess this space and to open it up for all people to share." Sabapathy was somewhat critical of these works, saying that they dealt only with techniques and fabrication and did not "disclose fresh insights into space and its articulation". He expressed the hope that Han would stay the course and deepen her investigation beyond form into an exploration of light, colour and materials to "create environments in which form, space and time can be seen to be related in ever-changing yet intelligent systems".
  20 Tonnes, first exhibited in 2002 in the atrium of the MICA Building (formerly the Old Hill Street Police Station) and now permanently installed in front of the National Museum, consists of a row of six ridged monolithic granite blocks with a smaller block at either end, all hewn from a single rock. Han called the work "an explanation of nature's physical reaction when it is impacte
caption: 20 Tonnes (2002), photographed on 14 June 2009
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