Coming of Age by Kelly Tan

David Tay Poey Cher was awarded Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first Cultural Medallion for photographic art in 1982. He is President of The Photographic Society of Singapore, and the first Asian to be elected Directory Board Member of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP). He is also Fellow of The Royal Photographic Society and was awarded the Master FIAP Distinction in 2010. Coming Of Age is his first book.

MESSAGE MAH BOW TAN I commend David Tay Poey Cher for taking the initiative to photograph the ageing people in Asia for his photographic exhibition and book Coming Of Age. His photographs provide an insight into the many facets of ageing. Some reflect hope and joy, while others reflect sadness and a deep feeling of loneliness. In every society there are segments of the elderly who tend to be overlooked. It is these people who resonate most with David. Touched by what he has seen, he has made it his mission to bring to public attention their plight. This he has done with Coming Of Age, which has received full support from the National Arts Council. For the two years leading up to this project, David visited many parts of Asia to photograph the elderly in their familiar surroundings. Not all of them were happy to be photographed, especially those living in dire circumstances. However, with his life experiences and the skill of a photographic artist, David was well poised to tackle such a sensitive subject. As he told

Mah Bow Tan is Honorary Patron of The Photographic Society of Singapore

me, it was not always easy. Some of the people he photographed resented this intrusion of privacy. It was largely his intuitiveness - knowing how to get the right shot at the right time - that allowed him to pull off such an ambitious project. As a photographer myself, albeit an amateur one, I can understand the problems he must have faced. Looking at his collection of photographs, I am convinced that it was well worth his efforts. I congratulate him on capturing those elusive moments so vital to a photographic artist. I wish David every success on his solo exhibition and book launch. I am pleased to note that proceeds from the sale of books personally autographed by him will go to the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Silver Tribute Fund. By contributing to a good cause, David Tay has set an example of how we too can help the less privileged aged in our midst.

FOREWORD LADY YUEN PENG MCNEICE I have long been associated with The Photographic Society of Singapore but not as long as its current president and my dear friend David Tay Poey Cher. Since the mid-1970s, he has been playing a pivotal role in steering the Society through good and bad times and helping to increase its membership to its present 2,380. David is the first Asian ever to be elected Directory Board Member of the Federation Internationale De L’Art Photographique (FIAP). He was enrolled as a Fellow of The Royal Photographic Society in 1987, and awarded the Master of FIAP in 2010. Other distinctions of David’s include Honorary Fellowship of a number of photographic societies worldwide. Despite being a very busy man, David has relentlessly pursued his love of photographic art. This one-man exhibition, a project under the National Arts Council’s grant for Cultural Medallion recipients, is a culmination of that passion.

Lady Yuen Peng McNeice is Honorary Patron of The Photographic Society of Singapore

In the two years or so leading up to this exhibition, David photographed elderly Singaporeans that caught his eye. He also visited much of Asia, including Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, India and China, photographing the elderly people he met in the course of his travels. They were strangers but being the consummate photographic artist that he is, he put them at ease and built their trust, thus adding a charming dimension to his candid studies. David is a spontaneous photographic artist. His pictures are not contrived. Rather, he captures his subjects in those fleeting moments when their true personalities emerge. Some photographic artists pursuing celebrities have themselves reached celebrity status. David chooses to go the other route by photographing the man in the street, in particular elderly persons largely ignored. Being lonely and unloved is a scourge of the aged. We who are loved and cared for are fortunate and we must never forget those who are not. I am happy that David has chosen to capture the many aspects of ageing, and I am proud that he has done it so well.

CURATORIAL NOTES WANG ZINENG The portraits in Singapore photographic artist David Tay Poey Cher’s Coming Of Age is a resolute exploration of senescence, the state of being old. Part anthropological treatise on old age and ageing and part visual paean to the golden years, Tay works in the best tradition of street photography, seeking the decisive human moment as he captures his subjects through his camera lens. Seen collectively, the images speak volubly of the earnestness in which Tay has embarked on this photographic project. Seen in the particular as one comes face to face with the subjects of each photograph, one may perhaps begin to understand that in the eyes of each geriatric subject is a vital soul, pulsating with life, unfettered by the ageing condition. Coming Of Age comprises both a photographic album of over 80 of Tay’s photographs, shot in Singapore and on his travels in Asia, as well as an exhibition of photographic images. Weaving the two together is a photographic style timeless in its fully disclosed humanistic interest and elegant in its simplicity and fidelity to composition and the framing of life as it is. A number of themes run through the exhibition, each one emphasising aspects of Tay’s photographic practice from different trajectories. Life on the streets has proven to be the quintessential subject in Tay’s most consummately taken pictures. The quintessential Asian street, full of pedestrians and subjects by the roadside and intoxicating in its heady meld of sights and sounds, is any photographic artist’s dream hunting ground. Indeed, the street, as one of the most common signifiers of urban life, has immense appeal for the observer of life in general. In the many images, we observe the photographic artist adopting the persona of the flâneur, a man ambling about the city with little plan or care. He scours the street armed with his Nikon digital camera, passing by and shooting blithe geriatrics in alleyways, or standing amidst a crowd, ever observant and ready to frame the next person within his camera lens. Yet at times, his subjects are able to observe him; they knowingly smile or point at him, revealing the presence of the photographic artist, as well as the human connection so crucial behind the photographic artist’s craft. As a photographic project, Tay has chosen visual approaches that are broadly anthropological underlined with a distinct philosophical bent. In these works, he seeks to comment on the universality of

senescence through multiple subjects spanning Singapore and Asia, including people of minority tribes. For each subject who appears in this book as well as in the exhibition, there are often more images captured that will never be seen. Tay’s insistence on presenting the image of each subject only once or twice ensures that a plethora of subjects from different social, cultural and racial backgrounds can then be featured. The human physiognomy is an immensely interesting terrain of exploration, evident in a few pictures where he turns his attention to the visage as subject. In the deep folds of the skin wrought by age and wrinkles etched by time, the photographer finds delight, capturing these details in their glorious natural states without any adornment. The close-up encounter with the visages of the old is a sobering and strangely wondrous experience. It is as if a certain safe distance from the stark truth of life has suddenly closed up and one now comes face to face with a life looming before oneself, longerled, larger and more complex than one could imagine. The note that one takes away is necessarily multi-faceted, encompassing not just a fascinating exploration of form but a question of looking at, understanding and appreciating photographic art. This is especially true given that, since French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson defined the decisive moment as a central element in the craft of the modern photographic artist, few artists have sought to break out or managed to find a way out of a photographic practice that seeks out the most exceptional and pathos-driven moments in life. Tay’s photo works follow in the tradition of Cartier-Bresson, discovering and commenting upon life through that decisive moment. The poignancy of his visual treatise on senescence is arguably best expressed in the few works shot for the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) Silver Tribute Fund. In them, a wide range of issues of topical relevance to a country with a greying population is raised, including but not limited to ageism and the Wang Zineng onset of debilitating disabilities. Topical issues manages the aside, each of the subjects is unanimously development of featured as an individual, framed by contexts that allude strongly to the loneliness of human the art collection at the National existence in the twilight years, especially when Art Gallery, mental and physical disabilities set in and one Singapore and has to contend with new purposes in life. What writes on art in does the coming of age bring? This precise his spare time. question is at the core of the present body of works by David Tay.

Old age isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so bad when you consider the alternative. Maurice Chevalier (1888 - 1972), French actor and singer

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. Lao Tzu (circa 600 BC), Chinese philosopher

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still. Chinese saying

Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilisation is the way that it cares for its helpless members. Pearl S. Buck (1892 - 1973), American writer who grew up in China

Old age, believe me, is a good and pleasant thing. It is true you are gently shouldered off the stage, but then you are given such a comfortable front stall as spectator. Confucian saying

Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind. Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC), Greek philosopher

Life begins at... 90?

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. Mark Twain, real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 - 1910), American author and humourist

I was adored once too.

William Shakespeare (circa 1564 - 1616), English poet and playwright

With mirth and laughter, let old wrinkles come. William Shakespeare (circa 1564 - 1616), English poet and playwright

A warm smile is the universal language of kindness. William Arthur Ward (1921 - 1994), American author

The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 - 1959), American architect, writer and educator

If you associate enough with older people who do enjoy their lives... you will gain a sense of continuity and of the possibility for a full life. Tom Stoppard (born 1937), British playwright

The wheel of change moves on, and those who were down go up and those who were up go down. Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 - 1964), Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first prime minister

Beauty is truthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smile

when she beholds her own face in a perfect mirror.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), Indian poet, writer and musician

To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful, reverent. That is to triumph over old age. Amos Bronson Alcott (1799 - 1888), American teacher, writer and philosopher

So much has been said and sung of beautiful young girls. Why doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t somebody wake up to the beauty of old women? Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811 - 1896), American author

Nothing can dim the light which shines from within. Maya Angelou (born 1928), African American writer and poet

Before you contradict an old man, my fair friend, you should endeavour to understand him. George Santayana (1863 - 1952), Spanish philosopher and essayist

The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time. William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), Irish poet

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare? William Henry Davies (1871 - 1940), British poet

As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed. Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Dutch painter who is considered one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest artists

Sweet is the voice of a sister in the season of sorrow. Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881), literary figure and who twice served as Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prime minister

The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep. Robert Frost (1874 - 1963), American poet

We must use time as a tool, not as a couch. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 - 1963), United States President from 1961 to 1963

Smiles cure the wounding of a frown. William Shakespeare (circa 1564 - 1616), English poet and playwright

Hard is the journey, Hard is the journey, So many turnings, And now where am I? Li Po (701 - 762), Chinese poet and Taoist scholar

When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age. Victor Hugo (1802- 1885), French statesman and poet

The great secret that all old people share is that you really havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t changed in seventy or eighty years. Your body changes, but you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t change at all. And that, of course, causes great confusion. Doris Lessing (born 1919), British writer

Loneliness is the ultimate poverty. Abigail Van Buren, real name Pauline Phillips (born 1918), American advice columnist

None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm. Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862), American historian, philosopher and author

The spiritual eyesight improves as the physical eyesight declines. Plato (429 BC - 347 BC), Greek philosopher

The golden age is before us, not behind us. William Shakespeare (circa 1564 - 1616), English poet and playwright

Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that can happen to a man. Leon Trotsky (1879 - 1940), Russian revolutionary

We may have different religions, different languages, different coloured skin, but we all belong to one human race. Kofi Annan (born 1938), Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006

We often do not cherish years when we are young, but we value minutes when we are getting old. Chinese proverb

Some reckon their age by years, Some measure their life by art; But some tell their days by the flow of their tears And their lives by the moans of their hearts. Abram Joseph Ryan (1838 - 1886), American poet

O, call back yesterday, bid time return! -

William Shakespeare (circa 1564 - 1616), English poet and playwright

My memory is short, and brain is dry. My grinders now are few, my sight doth fail. My skin is wrinkled, and my cheeks are pale... Anne Bradstreet (1612 - 1672), acknowledged as Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first published poet

There are three methods to gaining wisdom. The first is reflection, which is the highest. The second is limitation, which is the easiest. The third is experience, which is the bitterest. Confucian saying

Life is like an onion: You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep. Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967), American writer and poet; winner of three Pulitzer Prizes

That it will never come again is what makes life sweet. Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), American poet

AUTHOR DAVID TAY POEY CHER Coming Of Age is an especially significant title for me. I have worked with many other photographic artists on their own books but this is the first time I am producing my own. So in a way this book, my first publication, is my coming of age. The title also reflects the theme of ageing gracefully, a dignity that comes with experience both bitter and sweet. And it is a tribute to the silver-haired among those of us who live in Asia. I became interested in photographic art by accident. I had wanted to buy a scooter, the inthing for teenagers of my time. But my father, being the wise man he is and aware of the risks a young man faces on a scooter, offered to buy me a camera for the same amount of money instead. It allowed me to purchase a Rolleiflex f/2.8, an upper range camera, with enough money left over to join The Photographic Society of Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beginners course. After I completed the course, many happy hours were spent experimenting with my trusty camera. Every weekend would find me in some remote area of Singapore, recording what I saw on film. Yes, we only had film then. It was the early 1960s and there were still many parts of our island undeveloped. I grew to love taking black-and-white pictures of people in the kampungs. I found their simplicity, and the simple lives they led, charming.

Photography gave me such joy that I wanted to learn as much about it as possible. The Photographic Society of Singapore gave me this opportunity. There I met other avid photographic artists, of whom many were already famous in their own right. People like Dato Loke Wan Tho and later his sister Lady Yuen Peng McNeice; also my instructor Wang Su Fah, Ang Chwee Chai, Lee Lim, Lim Ming Loon, Peng Seng Wu, Yip Cheong Fun and others too numerous to name. These people inspired me and spurred me on to improve my craft. I experimented with different lighting effects and unusual angles, appreciating the form and line of objects, the expression and demeanor of subjects. I began to practise photography as an art form. It was one of my personal highlights when in 1982 the National Arts Council awarded me Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first Cultural Medallion for photographic art. I felt humbled that such a great honour had been bestowed upon me. Now here I am, more than 50 years after receiving my first camera, with my first book. The years have flown by but they have not diminished my passion for photographic art. I have been greatly rewarded ~ with unique experiences, pleasant memories and indelible images. Isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t this the very essence of the art of photography?

To age gracefully despite adversity is a wonderful gift. â&#x20AC;&#x201C;David Tay Poey Cher, author, Coming Of Age.

SPECIAL THANKS This book is dedicated to my father, the late Tay Bak Khoon, who made it possible for me to take my first steps towards becoming a photographic artist. Besides my family, I am grateful to the many people I have met in my life who have inspired me with their wisdom, passion for their work and artistic skills. I owe it to them for much of what I am now. For Coming Of Age, I would like to thank the National Arts Council for their kind support to make my solo photographic exhibition and coffee table book on my works a reality. My sincere thanks also go to Mr Mah Bow Tan, my former boss at Singapore Press Holdings and Honorary Patron of The Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS), for his Message and for gracing the book launch and special preview of my exhibition. To my dear friend, Lady Yuen Peng McNeice, Honorary Patron of PSS, I thank her for contributing the Foreword. Most of all, I am grateful for her good counsel and friendship. Special thanks go to {my dream team|, once my fellow colleagues at SPH Magazines: Sharon Yeo, for the editing; Sharon Ho Su May, together with her team Christalle Neo Siok Kwan

and Ken Lim Wei Chien, for the concept and design; and Cherie Ng Siet Ying for managing the exhibition and book launch. I would also like to thank my friends who have contributed their fine knowledge and skills for this Project: Wang Zineng for the Curatorial Notes and David Lee Cho Weng for my personal photograph in the book; Teo Yong Kang for technical support in the digital imaging of pictures; Epson for sponsoring the exhibits, and Jeffrey Soh for printing them. Also my appreciation to Elaine Koh Ling Ling of Singapore Mass Transit System for facilitating my contribution from the sale of autographed books to the SMRT Silver Tribute Fund. And to those who have supported me for this good cause, I humbly thank you. To my friends and associates, especially my fellow members of PSS and the Directory Board of the International Federation of Photographic Art, thank you for sharing my love for photographic art. And to all the lovely people in this book who gave me a glimpse into the indomitable human spirit, thank you for making my Coming Of Age possible.