Plaque containing anti-smoking message installed at smoking samsui woman mural

SINGAPORE: A plaque bearing an anti-smoking message has been installed at the site of the smoking samsui woman mural in Chinatown, which garnered debate last year.

In response to queries from CNA, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Friday (Jul 11) that the building's owner had proposed the installation of an "interpretive plaque" at the mural.

As for the mural, MOH and URA reiterated that it "will be retained without any modifications to it".

The authorities said that they worked with the building owner on the proposed message "to ensure that the cultural and artistic context for the mural and anti-smoking stance are conveyed appropriately".

THE PLAQUE

When CNA visited the site on Friday, the small gold plaque was seen installed above the signature of the artist, American muralist Sean Dunston.

It states that the overall intention of the piece "was to create an iconic, vivid composite of a samsui woman in her prime and in a moment of peace".

"Samsui women are usually depicted on task, or in less than comfortable contexts, and much older, though they were often young as any other workers," the plaque reads.

The samsui woman depicted is smoking a cigarette, while holding a Taoist talisman in her left hand along with a red thread, "to punctuate that this woman strives and is connected to her family and the people in her life".

The anti-smoking message appears below this, reading: "The artist stresses that the cigarette depiction is not intended to glamorise or promote tobacco use. Smoking has been shown to be extremely harmful to one's health."

Mr Dunston told CNA on Friday that the plaque's text had been written by him and the building's landlord, and that they had edited it based on input from URA.

"I suggested the addition of the anti-smoking part of the text for the plaque, as a way to fulfil the 'mitigation of any normalisation of smoking the mural may have caused' part of the stipulated agreement to allow the mural to remain unchanged," he said. 

The artist also suggested the plaque's placement and handled its layout and background design.

"We had been talking about putting up a plaque for a few months, and there was no rush," said Mr Dunston. The plaque was installed on Thursday, he said.

When asked for his thoughts on the matter's resolution, Mr Dunston said the plaque's primary purpose is to convey information about the artwork.

"The anti-smoking message is there to reiterate something everyone already knows. Smoking is bad for you. Try not to smoke. Issue resolved," he said.

CNA has contacted the representative of the building's landlord for more information on the plaque.

In July 2024, MOH and URA said that, following a review, the mural would be kept without any changes to the artwork.

"This is in view of the fact that the mural is not an advertisement for tobacco, which is against the law, and is largely perceived as an art piece," they said then.

The authorities said they took into consideration "diverse views from many members of the public" in making this decision.

MOH and URA added that they would "work with the building owner to find appropriate ways to mitigate any impact that the mural may have in promoting smoking, without modifying the mural itself".

The landlord's representative, Shepherd Asset Management, told CNA at the time that the decision was "proof that Singaporeans can hold differing opinions while maintaining our strong sense of community and spirit".

The building bearing the mural at 297 South Bridge Road is a conserved building. Its owner was fined last July for not seeking approval from URA before work on the mural started.