Born in 1943 in Indonesia, Tan migrated to Singapore as a child. After graduating from the Nanyang University in Singapore in 1968, he worked at the French Embassy for 24 years before becoming a full-time artist. In 1985, Tan was awarded the Gold Medal of the French Artist Salon and in 1987, the Singapore Cultural Medallion. In 2003, Tan was honoured with the World Economic Forum Crystal Award and Singapore Meritorious Award. In 1993, Tan became the first Singapore artist to have a private museum dedicated to the display of his extensive oeuvre of artistic and literary works.‘The Phoenix’s-Eye Domain’ is created for the Art in Transit project which aims to install art in Singapore’s mass rapid transit stations. To be installed at the Chinatown station, Tan wanted an uplifting and glorious work as a tribute to the unwavering resolve and sacrifices made by the early Chinese immigrants. Dominating the work is a phoenix, shown flying over the Singapore waterfront which is represented by two large rocks; a flock of birds denoting prosperity flies by spirals of universal energy symbolizing the never-ending cycle of life. This work on canvas has been enlarged as a wall mural on the concourse of the Chinatown station where it is complemented by three sets of rhyming couplets.
