The king of wall paintings
The man behind NTU’s latest 12-metre painting in the Wee Cho Yaw Plaza, alumnus Yip Yew Chong, is one of Singapore’s top mural artists. Discover his biggest inspirations, and how he made the switch from being a finance executive into a full-time artist.
Text: Wong SY | Photos: Yip Yew Chong, Hanafi Ramdan
Yip Yew Chong working on the 12-metre painting situated inside NTU's Wee Cho Yaw Plaza.
If you’ve ever been to Chinatown, Kampong Glam or Tiong Bahru to admire a mural capturing a slice of Singapore’s past, chances are you’ve stopped to look at the work of Nanyang Alumni Achievement Award 2025 recipient Yip Yew Chong, a self-taught artist whose evocative art has become part of the national tapestry.
But when NTU commissioned him to create a 12-metre painting honouring one of Singapore’s most revered pioneers, Dr Wee Cho Yaw, even Yew Chong felt a wave of nervous excitement.
“It was truly a great honour,” says Yew Chong, reflecting on the opportunity to commemorate the life of the iconic banker and philanthropist. “Dr Wee wasn’t just a titan of finance. He was a man of deep traditional values, and I wanted to portray that.”
His painting, inspired by a Chinese handscroll, tells Dr Wee’s life story through a series of intricately detailed vignettes. Accompanied by poetic Chinese idioms and painted in subdued hues, the sprawling artwork now stands as a tribute to Dr Wee and the enduring values that shaped generations.
Proudly displayed on the ground floor of the Wee Cho Yaw Plaza, which houses the Nanyang Business School (NBS), the artwork carries an even deeper significance as Yew Chong is an NBS alumnus.
“I graduated from NTU in 1993, and my wife was my classmate,” he shares, grinning. “We’ve walked the campus many times since, first as students, then as parents attending our children’s convocations. Both our kids also chose NTU. Our daughter studied media, and our son did bioscience. We didn’t influence them, but we were quietly glad that they both picked NTU.”
Yew Chong (right), his wife and their two children are all graduates of NTU.
From finance executive to full-time artist
Yew Chong’s artistic journey didn’t begin with a brush in hand, but with spreadsheets and strategy meetings. For 25 years, he worked in corporate finance, even spending a stint in Amsterdam, where he visited the museums of Van Gogh and Rembrandt. Yet, creativity was never far behind.
“I was always ‘arrowed’ to design banners, posters and T-shirts during school and national service,” he laughs. “And yes, I did quite a bit of sketching in lecture theatres too. I'm sure many students did!”
It wasn’t until he turned 46 that he began painting murals seriously. “For three years, I painted on weekends as a hobby while still holding a day job. It was exhausting. I was always short of time, but still managed to squeeze in painting murals overseas during long weekends. I was driven.”
Yew Chong with his standout work at 58 Arab Street in Kampong Glam.
In 2015, with the measured confidence of an accountant, he made the leap into full-time artistry. “It wasn’t impulsive,” he clarifies. “I had three years of parallel runs and built a pipeline of projects. And even with the occasional dry spell, like during the COVID-19 pandemic when little work could be done, my earnings were good.”
He has built a global fan base that follows his work closely. Thus, he now has options. He accepts only projects that carry meaning. The NTU painting project, he says, was just that.
A campus full of memories
Though the artwork itself took just 12 days to paint, Yew Chong spent three months on research and preparation.
“I collaborated closely with NTU, UOB and the Wee Foundation to understand Dr Wee’s legacy,” he shares. “That team dynamic brought back memories of my corporate days. I truly enjoyed the camaraderie.”
During the painting, his wife visited him twice on campus. They took the opportunity to relive their campus romance.
“We wandered past Nanyang Lake. It’s even more beautiful now, with the waterfall at Yunnan Garden. But some things never change. That walk brought back so many memories… especially of my wife. She’s the highlight of my undergrad days.”
A pillar of support, his wife paused her own auditing career to raise their children and later backed his decision to pursue art full time.
Painting with purpose
Yew Chong says his art is a window into Singapore’s vanishing past. He started with nostalgic scenes of amahs, itinerant hawkers and Cantonese opera performers, often drawn from his childhood experiences growing up in Chinatown.
“I was born on Sago Lane,” he says proudly. “People think it’s spooky because of all the funeral parlours, but to us, it was home. It was rich with culture and stories. That pride in our heritage is what I try to express in my works.”
He adds: “My works evoke emotions of familiarity and identity. They trigger conversations and connect people. They have been used for mental health therapy, heritage education and tourism promotion.”
Now he prefers painting in public spaces, avoiding commercial interiors or private residences.
Still, he knows the fragility of public art. Some of his early murals have faded or been lost to weather and redevelopment. “We just cannot beat nature. If it’s gone, it’s gone.”
At 56, Yew Chong continues to explore new possibilities, always evolving, always learning. His story reminds us that it’s never too late to chase a passion, and that our roots – be it family, heritage or alma mater – can be powerful guides along the way.
When you next stroll across NTU’s campus, take a moment to visit the painting of Dr Wee Cho Yaw’s life. Behind every brushstroke lies not just a story of a national icon, but also the heart of a fellow NTU alumnus who has painted his way into Singapore’s collective memory, one stroke at a time.
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This article first appeared in issue 7 of U, the NTU alumni magazine.
