SINGAPORE - Diners at 10 hawker centres around the island will be able to enjoy scenes of everyday life and Singaporean stories as seen through the eyes of Lianhe Zaobao cartoonists by scanning a QR code displayed on tabletop stickers from Sunday till June 25.
The flagship Chinese daily of SPH Media is marking its 100th anniversary with a virtual comics exhibition, titled “Scenes of Singapore Life”, that features 100 works by 10 of its cartoonists which address issues ranging from sustainability and plastic waste to hawker centre culture and Covid-19.
Three of the comics will also be displayed as posters at three community libraries – Punggol Regional Library, Toa Payoh Public Library and Clementi Public Library – from Monday.
Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, launched the exhibition at One Punggol Hawker Centre on Sunday.
Speaking in Mandarin, Ms Fu said that creating comics is not an easy task.
“It requires a lot of effort, skill and passion to come up with a simple yet impactful and meaningful comic,” she said.
“Comic artists are not just illustrators who are good at drawing. They are also sharp social commentators. They provide timely critiques on wide-ranging topics, getting readers to think deeper about the issues at hand.”
The 10 participating hawker centres are: Maxwell Food Centre, Tiong Bahru Food Centre, Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre, East Coast Lagoon Food Village, Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre, Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre, One Punggol Hawker Centre, Ang Mo Kio Central Market and Food Centre, Kovan 209 Market and Food Centre, and Clementi 448 Market and Food Centre.
Mr Tan Chong Beng, visual director at SPH Media’s Chinese Media Group – who is one of the exhibition’s 10 featured cartoonists – said: “Comics have evolved over time from print to digital, but they still serve the purpose of adding humour to make newspaper reading fun and interesting.
“I hope that our creative contributions will continue to provide readers with memorable reading experiences.”
Apart from Mr Tan, the other nine Zaobao comic artists whose works are exhibited are: Mr Chua Xin Yew, Mr Teo Chin Puay, Mr Loo Fang Kai, Mr Chng Meng Jiang, Mr Chen Ruiqin, Mr Ho Han Chong Clifford, Mr Wilson Lee, Mr Lee Kok Hean and Mr Goh Kah Hoe.
Members of the public can scan the QR code on the tabletop stickers at the selected hawker centres or on the posters at the community libraries to log in to view the exhibition on Zaobao’s interactive website.
English translations of the comic strips are also available on the same website.
During the exhibition period, a Vote-n-Win contest also allows participants to vote for their favourite comics and stand a chance to win $50 worth of shopping vouchers. There will be 10 winners every week.
