Old Street

Liu Kang was born in Fujian Province, China. He is one of the leading pioneers in Singapore modern art. This painting depicts a "shophouse", a distinctive architectural style of the Chinese community in the Malay Peninsula. In a shophouse, the first floor is used for commercial purposes while upper floors are saved for residence. The building is not free standing. It is connected to several other shophouses to create a shophouse block. In this work, we see the entrances of the buildings have been boarded up. The woman with two children appears melancholic against the bright blue sky, reflecting the post-war chaos.