Artist suggests replacing cigarette with cat, taco or opium pipe in samsui woman mural after complaint

The Urban Redevelopment Authority has asked the artist behind a controversial mural of a cigarette-holding samsui woman to delay any changes to his work while the authority reviews its stance on amending the mural., located at 297 South Bridge Road, opposite Maxwell MRT station. The URA also cited an anonymous complainant who compared the depicted woman to a “prostitute” and called the mural “offensive”.

Indie Singapore Tours, which runs tours in Chinatown, commented on Dunston’s Instagram post that the samsui women “do back-breaking work, with their only respite their laced ciggies”. The mural is one of their guests’ favourites, the group commented. Shepherd’s spokesperson previously told ST it had not applied for prior approval for the mural, which was completed in early April, but made a submission on April 19. The URA responded on May 8 identifying smoking as an issue and requested that Shepherd resubmit a proposal by May 22. Shepherd did not meet the latter deadline.

She said: “This particular work speaks to the migrant worker experience in Singapore, which is very much a contemporary concern. I can see value in it being presented in such an unvarnished way as it prompts reflection and conversation about how we view and interact with migrant workers in our society today.”

To the “unnamed member of the public” who complained that the woman depicted in the mural “looks more like a prostitute...Non-profit organisation Project X, which provides support to sex workers, rebuked the discrimination against sex workers and commented on Dunston’s Instagram post: “Sex work is work.”

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