The word ekphrasis, which derived from the Greek, is defined as the literary response to a visual image(s) (Brosch 2018). Ekphrastic translation has emerged as one of the key means of introducing foreign artistic developments to Singaporean artists. Among the early practitioners of ekphrastic translation, artist Swie Hian Tan (1943–) stands out as a pioneering figure. Between the 1960s and the 1990s, he translated works by more than 70 writers from over 20 countries and regions—primarily from English, French, and Malay into Chinese, with most of these translations completed during the 1960s and 1970s. As both an artist and an art enthusiast, part of his translational oeuvre comprises ekphrastic works. His ekphrastic translations, in textual form, can be broadly categorised into four dimensions: (1) texts and quotations by artists (whether art-related or otherwise); (2) biographies, interviews, critiques, and commemorative essays on artists; (3) writings about specific artworks; and (4) writings on art and aesthetics more generally. Through an analysis of his ekphrastic translations, this study argues that Tan strategically mediated exotic ideas, foreign literatures, and artworks to invigorate Singapore’s local art scene and its postcolonial artistic expression. His work not only inspired local artists to discover their own artistic voices within Singapore’s art history but also established distinct creative trajectories that continue to shape a glocalised cultural discourse. Navigating multiple divergent paths, Tan exemplifies how a local artist-translator forged a legacy of cross-media, cross-linguistic, cross-cultural, and cross-regional exchanges imbued with multilayered significance.

Authors:
See Ling Quek, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

About the Presenter(s)
See Ling QUEK is a PhD candidate of School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University. With research interests in translation, art history and sociolinguistics in Singapore and Malaysia, she has published in WAKUMON, Southeast of Now, and more.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/seelingquek

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https://www.researchgate.net/profile/See-Ling-Quek

Additional website of interest
seelingquek.com

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