Born in 1939 in Singapore (d. 2005, Singapore), Tay Bak Koi graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1960. Adept at painting in watercolour and oil, Tay developed a distinctive style of simplified forms and reduced lines. During 1961-1970 Tay completed 300 watercolours for the then Hilton Suites, Singapore.In the 1980s Tay made several paintings that centred on village life lived on ‘kelongs’ – Malay for offshore wooden huts built on stilts by fishermen and connected to land via a wooden gangway. At the time Tay executed this work kelongs could still be found in waters off Malaysia, but around Singapore they would have been rapidly disappearing due to urbanisation. This cool-palette scene of huts on stilts, reduced to near geometric abstraction, huddled around a small harbour or inlet with stylised boats and few people, cleverly denotes respect for a disappearing tradition and a strong sense of community.
