Samsui woman or "prostitute"? Netizens get creative over controversial Chinatown mural

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has retracted its order to Sean Dunston over the controversial samsui woman mural in Chinatown

URA were initially concerned about the cigarette in the mural and said that it was “not aligned with Singapore’s anti-smoking stance”

They added that an anonymous member of the public felt the mural was “offensive” and that the woman depicted resembled a prostitute more than a samsui woman

Dunston, in his Instagram post, felt disappointed at the feedback, but had also considered to make modifications to save his client’s tenant’s business

URA’s decision on the issue sparked backlash from the public where many criticized the authority for not taking the historical context of the mural accurately and URA suggesting that the cigarette may invoke public to take up smoking, is rather a shallow mindset

A late night statement by URA on June 21 saw the authority’s decision to re-evaluate the mural, leaving the current state of the artwork in limbo

The mural has also attracted a fresh wave of commentary from fellow artists and organisations such as AWARE that criticized the mural’s depiction of the samsui woman, saying it diverged from the historical reality of the resilient labourers and could perpetuate a male gaze

Netizens have also offered tongue in cheek suggestions for "acceptable" portrayals of the mural, such as depicting the samsui woman with opium or books instead