Tay Bee Aye

Tay Bee Aye (Chinese: 郑美爱; pinyin: Zhèng Měiài) is a Singaporean multidisciplinary visual artist. Specializing in creating public installations, Tay directly engages her audiences with the societal themes to do with the Singapore society.^[1] She is also a pioneer in innovative and interactive contemporary work for children in Singapore.^[2]

Born the 3rd of 7 children, Tay's passion for art was very much in her blood since young. As she could not afford herself an art education, art took a backseat, and she joined the workforce soon after finishing her Cambridge GCE O Level Examinations, to help support her family. During her career, she had opportunities to backpack and travel to other countries. With each travel experience of different life and culture, her calling growing stronger.^[1] In 1997, Tay quit her job as an accounts executive to study art full-time at Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts, under the Georgette Chen Art Scholarship funded by the College. From the time she graduated in 1999, Tay participated in many arts activities and festivals, such as the 2000 & 2004 Art Festival projects at Clifford Pier for "Tracking Time" and St James Power Station for the exhibition "Reconstruction of a City". Tay had also received two Honorable Mentions at Philip Morris Singapore Art Award in 2002 and 1999, and a Commendation Award at the Singapore Power Ltd Art Competition in 1998.

Tay is passionate with creating works that engage social thinking in Singapore. Her strong tone of self-expression is found in notable works such as the "Her World" series featured in her 2nd solo exhibition in 2005; her steel sculpture, entitled "Caterpillar", echoed her concerns for the environment and the society. In "Her World", Tay critiqued women's obsession towards the beauty standards defined by magazines and the fashion/beauty industry. As a result of this obsession, consumerism created an addiction for women seeking to beautify themselves for the pleasure of men; women seek to empower themselves as independent, modern, and free from the dependence of men. This, she believed, leads to a false sense of beauty and self-esteem in themselves.^[3] The "Caterpillar" sculpture is another work of art by Tay, commissioned under partnership programme between National Arts Council and City Developments Ltd. The 15-metre long and 2.3-metre high steel sculpture is lined with 30 poster boxes to look like a caterpillar. The sculpture also has a pragmatic function, serving as a publicity platform to promote arts and cultural activities in a community setting. Tay's ingenuity intends to remind us that caterpillars are tiny environmental indicators of nature, and because their sightings are increasingly rare due to urbanization, humans need to learn to become even more environmentally-conscious.^[4]
In 2013, her installation "Knot, Play, Rest" encouraged people to come together to "meet, communicate and play", in her fabric rope playground in the real world, as people are becoming more detached in this age of technology. This work is one of the installation works featured in the 2013 Singapore Biennale.^[5]

As much as Tay's works resonate well with her audiences, her works had also sparked a controversy in the arts fraternity. In 2002, her installation of 600 small handcrafted lip-shaped fabric cushions was on display at the atrium of Suntec City, as part of Nokia Singapore Art 2001 exhibition. Unfortunately, the installation became too well-received, resulting with a majority of her small cushions being stolen by the public during the exhibition period.^[6] In spite of obstacles in her career, Tay continues to believe in communicating a 'social voice' through her fabrics, and at the same time, transform the lives of her audience by instilling self-confidence and creative expression. This spirit was demonstrated in her work with the Asian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA), and mentioned at a speech delivered by Acting Minister Lawrence Wong, at The 2013 Committee Of Supply Debate at the Parliament.^[7]

Major exhibitions

References