One of the most prolific and talented artists in Singapore, Ng Eng Teng produced more than 300 sculptures over a span of 40 years. These included large-scale public sculptures to life-sized and smaller sculptures. His art education started in Singapore as a painting student at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), before continuing his studies in industrial pottery in North Staffordshire College of Technology, England. He went on to study studio pottery in Farnham School of Art and subsequently became a designer in a pottery factory in Ireland for a few years. These various stints equipped him with the necessary technical vocabulary to deal with the 3-dimensional form.One of the most prolific and talented artists in Singapore, Ng Eng Teng produced more than 300 sculptures over a span of 40 years. These included large-scale public sculptures to life-sized and smaller sculptures. His art education started in Singapore as a painting student at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), before continuing his studies in industrial pottery in North Staffordshire College of Technology, England. He went on to study studio pottery in Farnham School of Art and subsequently became a designer in a pottery factory in Ireland for a few years. These various stints equipped him with the necessary technical vocabulary to deal with the 3-dimensional form.If there was one major influence on Ng’s sculptural practice, it was Jean Bullock whom he met in the late 1905s at the British Council, Singapore. Both a mentor and a friend, she introduced him to the ciment fondu medium and taught him the finer aspects of sculpture making, featuring the human figure, with an emphasis on the head. ‘Batak Girl’ is an example of that investigation.
