Cool Dude
by Belinda Low
Original - Not For Sale
Price
Not Specified
Dimensions
40.000 x 56.000 inches
This piece is not for sale. Please feel free to contact the artist directly regarding this or other pieces.
Click here to contact the artist.
Title
Cool Dude
Artist
Belinda Low
Medium
Painting - Emulsion On Wall
Description
FEATURED in Human Face
FAA Portrait Gallery
In the Mood
Besides female builders, there were also male laborers back then so I wanted to pay tribute to them as well in time for National Day this weekend! They were known as coolies then. The term "coolie" is probably of Indian origin and is thought to be derived from the Hindi word "quli" which means "hired labourer". Coolies were labourers imported into various colonies in the Americas, Africa, and Asia during the 19th and 20th centuries. Most of them were recruited under indenture, though some entered the colonies as free men. Periodic poor harvest, famines, increased stress on agricultural land and political upheavals are some of the factors which drove people from places such as China and India to the colonies which needed vast number of manual labourers. The key ports from which coolies were shipped abroad included Xiamen, Shantou, Hong Kong, Macau, and Nagapatnam. The journeys made by the coolies to Singapore were terrifying. The coolies were herded across the sea confined in crowded, squalid, and unsanitary conditions. Hundreds died on the journey. On one junk that arrived in Singapore from Macau in 1863, only 120 of its 300 passangers were still alive.
By late 19th century, Singapore had become the center of the import of Chinese coolies to work in mines, plantations and ports of colonial South East Asia. Coolies were also retained to work in Singapore. Indians and Javanese also joined the vast number of Chinese coolies in Singapore. The coolies heaved coal, carried goods, tapped rubber, worked on plantations, worked on lighters, ladi cables and tracks for trams, built and repaired roads, and were also involved in construction and reclamation projects. Many also worked as ricksaw pullers.
With some exceptions, coolies led bitterly hard lives. Retiring to cramped living quarters after toiling hard work, several sought relief in opium smoking. Many stayed on after serving out their indentures and paid up the debts owed to their recruiters and labour brokers. Some were cheated of their life savings just before they were due to return to China.
Chinese coolie - Source: Wikipedia
The newly arrived coolie recruit was called sin kheh which meant "new arrival" in Hokkien. The secret societies and clan associations were involved in controlling and regulating the immigration of coolies from China. Secret societies would help the peasants pay for their journey to Singapore. Upon arrival, the majority of the early coolies would be handed over to employers of the same dialect, The kongsi, or a "clan association" was either an organisation, a group or a network of like-minded individuals speaking the same dialect or from the same province/part of China. The secret societies therefore acted as agents helping the peasants to come to Singapore, and to find employers from a certain kongsi, depending on the dialect of the particular peasant. Recruitment was carried out based on dialect connections. The secret societies helped support the coolies financially in times of illness, defended their livelihoods and organised final rites. The British, however, felt threatened by the rising power and prominence of the secret societies, and made these societies illegal in 1890. An official Chinese Protectorate was set up to handle the immigration and official procedures for coolies. Voluntary associations also arose, supporting the coolies in their immigration and transition into Singapore.
Source: Chinese Coolies : Singapore Infopedia
Uploaded
August 5th, 2013
Statistics
Viewed 808 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/24/2024 at 12:07 PM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet
Comments (27)
Belinda Low
MANY THANKS TO Lisa Hollan-Gillem for featuring the "Cool Dude" in her awesome group "In the Mood"!!! :-)
Belinda Low
Acknowledgement of THANKS to Scott Wallace for featuring this dude in his awesome group "FAA Portrait Gallery"!!! :-D
Bonnie Mason
Amazing creation, Belinda! So glad you explained where the word "coolies" came from- it was something I have wondered about. So glad you honored them this way...LF
Belinda Low replied:
Thanks v much, Bonnie! Yes I also try to add description for local phrases or words to share with others around the globe. I want to honor the pioneers who came and this is my small way of preserving the memory of their contribution and existence in our country. :-)
Bob Orsillo
Brilliant work Belinda! Love your style! v/f/tw
Belinda Low replied:
Thanks so much for your kind comments. Somehow, I am beginning to enjoy and appreciate painting aged faces cos there is so much details and expression showing their years of experience they went through in life. I have enjoyed your work too - they are so meaningful and beautifully captured!
Barbara McMahon
Fantastic portrait mural Belinda! You've captured such marvelous character in this man's face! v
Belinda Low replied:
Barbara - It's so nice to hear from you. Thank you so much for appreciating this, dear. I leave it to the viewer to decipher his feelings and thoughts...
Eti Reid
So brilliant I had to come back!
Belinda Low replied:
Eti - Can u see or feel me blushing? I must keep my head low - am on Cloud 9! Your work rocks too my dear....I hope to share the first of four that I have started, soon.
HH Photography
Fantastic wall art, Belinda. Love all of your murals. v22/fv
Belinda Low replied:
Thanks so much Helen! I am working on another one! Murals just make me feel so free with so much space to work on! I feel ecstatic at the end of it all! Looking forward to the weekend to go paint again! Yay!
Ion vincent DAnu
Very expressive and, except for the cigarette and the hair on the head, looks just like me! (jocking) But it's a great portrait. fav and v. (What is "emulsion"? acrylics?)
Belinda Low replied:
Hello Ion - So nice of you to stop by to visit. I think both of you are just as cool looking! And Thanks so much for liking it! Emulsion by the way is the kind of paint you use to paint the house walls not the normal acrylic for painting on canvas. Tomorrow is Thursday already...I just hope the next project starts soon! Will update and share when it's done! :-)
Henryk Gorecki
Wonderful expression!Excellent portrait,Belinda! f/v
Belinda Low replied:
Henryk - So glad you liked this. I had to use three references to come up with this imagined face! Thanks so much!
Laurie Search
I love this guy, lol!! Such character!!! Fantastic, Belinda!! :)))fv
Belinda Low replied:
Thanks for liking this Laurie! I am grateful for your visits and support. I had enjoyed all your works which are so awesome! Cheers from across the miles!
Alga Washington
Cool dude indeed, very cool Belinda.
Belinda Low replied:
Alga - Glad you liked this. I had to look at three separate references to come up with this' which I hope had come close to what a Chinese laborer is supposed to look like...
Debbie Portwood
Wonderful work and information!! v/f :D
Belinda Low replied:
Thanks v much Debbie for appreciating and taking your time to read the lengthy info.
Debra and Dave Vanderlaan
Your portraits are so interesting Belinda! We Voted! Celebrate life, Debra and Dave
Isaac Richter
A beautiful work Belinda. So rich with details excellent expressive work!! I like too the quote on your main page, under Van-Gogh;s name...I love it!
Belinda Low replied:
Thank you Isaac for your visit and for your kind comments. It's good to know that this is appreciated. I may retouched it and showed an opium pipe instead...And Yes I love everything about VG my fav artist of all time. By the way, I have enjoyed your works. They are so awesome!
AnnaJo Vahle
So cool...indeed!!! I really like this one, Belinda. f/v
Belinda Low replied:
AnnaJo- Always so nice to hear from you. Thanks for liking this. I used to paint nice lovey dovey stuff like flowers etc but this time, the experience had taken me away from that onto another level and it's crazy. Am recuperating from yesterday and going down again. Don't mind leading a double life this way and it's a cool way to live out my passion!
Sharon Burger
so expressive Belinda, beautifully done. v/f
Belinda Low replied:
Thank you v much Sharon! I had to refer to three photos to come up with this. There is no such person and it's pretty cool how we can be CREATE something out of nothing and that's why I love art so much!
Eti Reid
This is one great art Belinda! I think you totally deserve the feature in beauty!f/v
Belinda Low replied:
Dear Eti - Thank you v much. I see beauty even in such faces. Will share more as I have just completed two more last two days.