The Everton Murals

We live just eight minutes away from Everton Road and frequent the area for Nylon Coffee Roasters and Ji Xiang Ang Ku Kueh. We've driven past the Amah and Barber murals by Yip Yew Chong each time but failed to stop for a look-see. This morning, with a little bit more time on our hands, I decided to do a short Everton walkabout albeit the drizzle. 

Yip YC is a fellow Singaporean, the artist behind these nostalgic murals depicting Singapore in her early years. I must say, I am proud of his determined pursuit to realise his dreams. He was inspired by Ernest Zacharevic's murals in Kampong Glam and set forth to put this street art project across for Singaporeans to reminisce. Although Zacherevic paints at a different level [with real props, making it 3-dimensional], Yip belongs to us. He brought us down memory lane with a local flavour in his paintings. A flavour only we can identify - talking about Lao Fu Zi and Gem Biscuits.

Amah - I grew up in an era of foreign domestic helpers. By the 1970s, many Majie had gone into retirement. Amah aka Majie are Chinese domestic helpers whose job responsibilities include cooking, housekeeping and child-minding. However, not all Amah were Majie. Oh how confusing! Major difference is, Majie have to take a vow of celibacy to never marry. During the ceremony, she would have her hair combed up in a bun. I was just one generation late of being cared for by an Amah.

This painting of an Amah with a washing board came with a lot of research and advices. For instance, an elderly woman told Yip how the grooves on a washing board should not cover it entirely. He repainted it for that extra touch of authenticity.

Barber - My maternal side of the family were a two generations of barbers. They were, however, privileged enough to own a shopfront and not resort to working in the streets with only a flimsy shelter to keep the sun and rain away. I remember working on a school project once that required me to visit shophouse homes in Chinatown, interviewing the people living there and photographing street barbers while learning about their trade. A lot of hard work for very little income.

Provision Shop - These shops were a very fun place to run into for us kids. There were tins after tins of biscuits, freshly grated coconut and even Ah Tap Jis! 1970s and 1980s kids, do you remember? Well, of course, there were that occasional cockroach or rat but we weren't overly disturbed by it. Nothing a broom couldn't do to chase it away [kill it I meant]. This is Yip's latest street mural at Everton Road. Freshly painted in December 2015.

This was commissioned by a house owner to paint on his house gable wall. The theme was based on the owner's childhood in the 50s and 60s. There used to be a soya beancurd stall where little kids would earn free soya milk if they won a Tikam game by picking sticks from a tin can. Read the big story of how this Provision Shop came about from here, a story told by the artist himself.

One hazardous problem with this wall mural is, the traffic. We were there on a Sunday evening and cars were streaming in from the cross junction into this one-way street. To photograph this mural, you will be required to stand on the opposite side of the road so if you are bringing children, keep a close eye on them and never leave them alone lest they jump onto the road towards you! Oh gosh, thinking about it already makes my heart stop.

I gave Faye a toy cloth camera for this walkabout and she looked really cute pretending to photograph the murals like her mommy. To add to the nostalgic moment, we bought a couple of Ang Ku Kueh from Everton Park and savoured a few in front of the Provision Shop [I say they are the best and I can't stomach any other AKKs other than Ji Xiang]. Things this mom does!

Besides Yip YC's murals at Everton, you will also find a series of SG50 wall art along the back of shophouses. We missed it for 2015 but glad that they are still around in 2016. It is called the SG50 Lane. It held its Official Opening Ceremony on 26th of July 2015 and publicity for it isn't as fervent as Yip's local flavours. They, however, are still murals and they are murals in Everton Road. Thus, deserving a mention right here in this blog post. A very lovely 45m brick wall and I've mapped it down at the tail end of this post lest you miss it!

Here is a handy Everton Mural Walkabout map drawn by Yip YC himself. Enjoy the walk and don't forget to stay for Ang Ku Kueh, Coffee and probably visit the Old Tanjong Pagar Railway Station when it is open to the public. Note: Meaning, you will have to time your visit on a Public Holiday!

Source: www.yipyc.com

For Drivers:
- There is a no-through road along the Barber mural. Temporarily park your car there for the short walkabout. Do note that these are red lots which are for seasoned parkers so if you are intending to stay for long, do park your car at the Multi-Story carpark on the opposite side of the road.

- Start from Yip YC's Barber and Amah's mural.

- Walk into the alley with doodles of SG50 Murals towards Spottiswoods Park.

- Take a left turn and you will find Yip YC's Provision Shop mural.

We have a MURALS tab on the main page of this blog. There, you will be guided to other street art walkabouts we've undertook in Singapore and Penang. 

On Memory Lane: Plaza Singapura
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Year of the Rooster with Ernest Goh
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Raffles Hotel x Carlo Marciori

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Colouring Banda Street

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Where Are The Goats?

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Street Art of George Town

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A stay at home mum, blogging to widen her social life. 
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