Vincent Leow

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About the artwork

On his return to Singapore from the US in 1992, globalisation and the homogenisation of culture and images, as well as technology such as cloning, became the focus of Vincent’s work as he engaged with contemporary Southeast Asian urban life and consumerism, as well as questioning Singaporean social and cultural values. This can be seen in his famous Mountian Cow Factory series. The title of this series of works were deliberately misspelled, and made in multiples, they were also a comment on the major breakthrough in science of the time, the cloning of Dolly the Sheep. The series had a Warholian quality, with vibrant bright colours, and like Warhol, Vincent produced multiple versions, altering only the background colours. This series of multiple cow paintings were paired with life-sized sculptures of cows that were placed in public places.

About the artist

Vincent Leow (b. 1961) is one of Singapore's leading contemporary artists. Celebrated as a l'enfant terrible of the Singapore art community, Vincent Leow is a pivotal figure in the alternative art scene in Singapore. His practice parallels the development of contemporary art in Singapore and as a painter, he is regarded as a remarkable creative who has dipped into an astonishing range of influences from popular culture, literature, cinema, politics and the mass media. Leow stands as a central figure in the history of the ‘art collective' in Singapore. One of the early members of The Artists Village (TAV), founded in 1988 by the iconic Tang Dawu (b 1943), Leow subsequently helmed other artist-run spaces. Engaging with a range of media that has resulted in performances, installations, sculptures, digital and mixed-media works, Leow's practice has maintained an element of anarchy and rebellion so critical to alternative practices. He acquired public notoriety with his 1992 performance in which he drank his own urine. The characteristics of Leow's  art include a taste for kitsch and a constant, highly individual visual vocabulary - prompting art writers to describe his practice as epitomizing ‘post-modern' visual strategies.