Student works in UOB Painting of the Year competition raise social issues including overattachment to devices

The TL;DR: Hwa Chong Institution student Yang Yiduo highlighted the plight of migrant workers in Singapore while Nanyang Girls’ High School student Lorraine Wong showed the loss of human connection as people become immersed in their devices.

Students Yang Yiduo and Lorraine Wong with their paintings.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF YANG YIDUO AND LORRAINE WONG

Published Oct 14, 2026, 06:29 AM

Updated Oct 14, 2026, 06:29 AM

Hwa Chong Institution student Yang Yiduo's painting of migrant workers was shortlisted in the Emerging Artist category of the UOB Painting of the Year competition.

Nanyang Girls' High School student Lorraine Wong's painting on devices and the loss of human connection was also showcased among finalist entries in the same category.

Both students said their art should make people reflect on social issues. The organisers will announce the Singapore winners on Oct 28.

SINGAPORE – An oil painting of migrant workers at a construction site standing against a lattice of steel rebars — a common sight in Singapore — earned Hwa Chong Institution Secondary 4 student Yang Yiduo a finalist spot in a prestigious annual art competition.

The 16-year-old’s entry was shortlisted for the UOB Painting of the Year competition’s Emerging Artist category, which is meant for novice and hobbyist artists. The other category, the Established Artists category, is for experienced artists with more standing.

The annual competition , which started in 1982, is among one of the longest-running art competitions in Singapore and the region.

Yiduo’s painting was also among selected works that were displayed as part of the 2026 UOB Painting of the Year Emerging Artists Finalists’ Showcase on Aug 29 and 30, and Sept 4 to 6. UOB did not disclose the total number of finalists, though 23 of the works were displayed, including Yiduo’s.

Said Yiduo of his work Between the Rebars of Our City: “I want people to feel a sense of intimidation from the lattice of the steel rebars, the imposing size of it…I want them to feel the insignificance that some (migrant workers) might feel although their work is extremely crucial to the foundations of a lot of infrastructure in our city.”

He was inspired by the short story Rich Man Country, which is about the life of a migrant worker in the construction sector, by Leonora Liow. The short story was part of a 2018 anthology Hook & Eye: Stories From The Margins, which he had read in his Sec 3 English Literature lessons.

He was also partially inspired by his personal experience of Project Integrate, his school’s long-running service learning project that includes outreach and engagement with migrant workers in Singapore. As part of the project, he interacted with and played sports with migrant workers in their dormitories.

Contrary to stereotypes that manual labourers have a lower level of education, he learnt from speaking with them that “some of them were actually university students from India or Bangladesh, and they’ve come here for various reasons”.

He said he also kept up with the news about the treatment of migrant workers during the Covid-19 period: “I’ve heard a lot about the harsh conditions that migrant workers often have to deal with in their lives, especially during the Covid-19 era where there were a lot of news of severe outbreaks within these dormitories.

HCI student Yang Yiduo’s painting Between the Rebars of Our City. PHOTO: COURTESY OF YANG YIDUO

HCI student Yang Yiduo’s painting Between the Rebars of Our City.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF YANG YIDUO

“After the events of Covid-19, many of these dormitories were upgraded but I guess a question that is quite common that arises from this is: What’s the place that these migrant workers really have in Singapore?”

That is a question that his painting leaves viewers to mull over.

Another young Emerging Artist finalist whose work was also showcased was that of Nanyang Girls’ High School student Lorraine Wong, who aimed to get people to reflect on their use of personal devices.

Her work titled Disconnected, which showed disconnected devices and sleeping dogs, was inspired by her observation: “Wherever I went, be it in school or at home for example, people were mostly on their phones and not communicating with each other.”

Added the 15-year-old: “I hope to emphasise to viewers the negative impact of technology on our social life, and allow them to reflect on themselves and start connecting with their loved ones.”

Both Yiduo and Lorraine are in the Art Elective Programme in their respective schools. HCI and NYGH said that students were encouraged to take part in art competitions, though participation was voluntary.

Before a change of UOB Painting of the Year competition rules in 2013 that differentiated novice and experienced artists, students had previously snagged the top prize.

Notably, in 2012, HCI student Esmond Loh, then 17, snagged the top prize of UOB Painting of the Year when the competition had Youth and Open categories, with the top prize available to participants in either category. Loh, currently an artist, now primarily creates paintings.

In 2013, a revamp of the competition categories by level of experience meant that the Painting of the Year winner is now chosen from the Established Artist category, while the Emerging Artist category names the Most Promising Artist of the Year.

The winner of the 2026 UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year – the competition is held in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam with individual country winners, as well as an overall regional winner – and the Singapore winners from the Established Artist and Emerging Artist categories will be announced on Oct 28.

Ang Yiying is a correspondent who writes about issues and trends for and about young people.

简而言之：华侨中学学生杨一多强调了新加坡外籍劳工的困境，而南洋女子中学学生黄丽玲则展现了人们沉迷于电子设备而导致人际交往的丧失。

学生杨一多和洛琳·王与她们的画作合影。

照片：由杨一铎和黄洛琳提供

发布于 2026 年 10 月 14 日上午 6:29

更新于2026年10月14日 上午6:29

华侨中学学生杨义铎的画作《外来务工人员》入围了大华银行年度绘画比赛新锐艺术家组。

南洋女子中学学生黄洛琳（Lorraine Wong）创作的关于电子设备和人际关系丧失的绘画作品也入围了同一类别的决赛作品。

两位学生都表示，他们的作品应该能引发人们对社会问题的思考。主办方将于10月28日公布新加坡的获奖者名单。

新加坡——一幅描绘外籍劳工在建筑工地倚靠钢筋网的油画——这是新加坡常见的景象——为华侨中学四年级学生杨义铎赢得了一项著名年度艺术比赛的决赛入围资格。

这位16岁少年的作品入围了UOB年度绘画大赛的“新锐艺术家”组别，该组别面向新手和业余艺术家。另一个组别是“资深艺术家”组别，面向经验丰富、地位更高的艺术家。

这项始于 1982 年的年度比赛是新加坡乃至整个地区历史最悠久的艺术比赛之一。

易多的画作也入选了 2026 年大华银行年度绘画新锐艺术家决赛入围作品展，该展览于 8 月 29 日至 30 日以及 9 月 4 日至 6 日举行。大华银行没有透露决赛入围者的总数，但展出了 23 件作品，其中包括易多的作品。

伊多谈到他的作品《我们城市的钢筋之间》时说：“我希望人们能从钢筋交错的网格中感受到一种威慑力，感受到它庞大的体量……我希望他们能感受到一些（农民工）虽然工作对我们城市许多基础设施的基础至关重要，但他们的渺小感。”

他受到了莱昂诺拉·利奥（Leonora Liow）的短篇小说《富人国》（Rich Man Country）的启发，这篇小说讲述了一名建筑业外来务工人员的生活。该小说收录于2018年出版的短篇小说集《钩眼：边缘故事集》（Hook & Eye: Stories From The Margins）中，他曾在中学三年级的英语文学课上读过这本书。

他的个人经历也部分启发了他，他曾参与学校一项名为“融合项目”（Project Integrate）的长期服务学习项目，该项目旨在与新加坡的移工进行交流和互动。作为项目的一部分，他曾与移工们在他们的宿舍里互动，并一起进行体育运动。

与人们普遍认为体力劳动者受教育程度较低的刻板印象相反，他通过与他们交谈了解到，“他们中有些人实际上是来自印度或孟加拉国的大学生，他们来到这里的原因各不相同”。

他说，他也一直关注着新冠疫情期间外籍劳工的待遇新闻：“我听说了很多关于外籍劳工在生活中经常要面对的恶劣条件，尤其是在新冠疫情期间，有很多关于这些宿舍内爆发严重疫情的新闻。

人机交互专业学生杨一铎的画作《我们城市的钢筋之间》。图片：由杨一铎提供

人机交互专业学生杨一铎的画作《我们城市的钢筋之间》。

照片：由杨一多提供

“新冠疫情爆发后，许多宿舍都进行了升级改造，但由此也产生了一个很常见的问题：这些外籍劳工在新加坡究竟有什么地位？”

这是他的画作留给观者深思的问题。

另一位入围“新兴艺术家”决赛的年轻艺术家是南洋女子中学学生黄洛琳，她的作品也得到了展出，旨在让人们反思自己对个人设备的使用。

她的作品名为《断线》，展示了断线的设备和熟睡的狗，其灵感来源于她的观察：“无论我去哪里，比如在学校或家里，人们大多都在玩手机，彼此之间没有交流。”

这位15岁的少年补充道：“我希望向观众强调科技对我们社交生活的负面影响，让他们反思自身，并开始与亲人建立联系。”

易朵和洛琳都在各自学校选修了艺术课程。华侨中学和南洋理工大学表示，学校鼓励学生参加艺术比赛，但参赛完全出于自愿。

在 2013 年大华银行年度绘画比赛规则改变，区分新手和经验丰富的艺术家之前，学生曾多次获得最高奖项。

值得一提的是，2012年，华侨中学学生埃斯蒙德·罗（Esmond Loh）年仅17岁，便在当年的大华银行年度绘画大赛中摘得桂冠。该比赛设有青年组和公开组两个组别，两个组别的参赛者均可角逐最高奖项。罗目前已成为一名艺术家，主要创作绘画作品。

2013 年，比赛类别按经验水平进行了改革，这意味着年度绘画奖的获奖者现在从“知名艺术家”类别中选出，而“新兴艺术家”类别则评选出年度最有前途的艺术家。

2026 年大华银行东南亚年度绘画大赛的获奖者（该比赛在印度尼西亚、马来西亚、新加坡、泰国和越南举行，设有各国获奖者以及区域总冠军）以及新加坡“知名艺术家”和“新兴艺术家”类别的获奖者将于 10 月 28 日公布。

Ang Yiying 是一位记者，她撰写有关年轻人的问题和趋势的文章。