The artist suggests that this "pleasing subject and rather lyrical piece of work" is probably his first proper and fully realised "paperdyesculp" artwork. The work is based on his observation of sunbirds building a nest and laying eggs and raising chicks several times a year on his eighth-floor balcony facing the Chinese and Japanese Gardens. It was exhibited at his Turning Point exhibition at Alpha Gallery in 1981 and again at Singapore Art: A Decade 1974-83, Singapore Festival of the Arts Teo is included in what is now commonly known as the “Second-Generation Artists”, a term that covers Singapore artists active in the art scene from the 1960s onwards. The group includes artists such as Goh Beng Kwan, Choy Weng Yang, Anthony Poon and Thomas Yeo. This group of artists received training in art schools in Europe and America; their art approaches are thus strongly coloured by the artists’ international outlook on art styles and mediums. After teaching art in England for a few years (1968-1971), Teo returned to Singapore in 1971 to work at the Singapore International School (now the United World College of Southeast Asia), Singapore, where he eventually retired as head of its art department in 1996. For his contributions to art and art education, Teo was given the Cultural Medallion award (Visual Art) by the Ministry of Culture, Singapore in 1986.
