NUS Museum Collections Online

Sidebar content	Main content
Actions Displays	Details Remove from selection Add to selection CollectionSouth & Southeast Asian Collection Object numberS2000-0008-001-0 TitleThe Trap Series: The Lure of the Tun Tun CreatorYeoh Jin Leng (b. 1929 Malaysia) DescriptionThis is a layered composition. Three wooden effigies are line upfrontally at equidistant across the forefront of the pictures width. Behind them, at eye level, is a narrow panel with images and words that are spelt backwards. This panel blocks off the torsos of the standing figures with animal heads standing behind it. Frangipanni flowers provide the final backdrop. Tun Tun refers to the wooden effigies used by the Ibans of Sarawak, East Malaysia to lure pigs into traps.“Yeoh Jin Leng’s The Trap Series: The Lure of Tun Tun is a complex allegory casting mystic traditions as ghost busters to the demons of contemporary life. Wooden effigies of tuns tuns, used by the Iban of Sarawak to lure animal prey into traps, appear in the foreground. The background is a composite of parodied references to contemporary society: a band inscribed with words printed in reverse; bizarre apparitions with animal heads and human bodies; and bar codes alluding to contemporary consumer culture. Above these, frangipani flowers, associated with graveyards by local Malays, complete the symbolic narrative of the painting.” (Highlights of Southeast Asian Collections)“Yeoh Jin Leng’s ‘The Trap Series: The Lure of the Tun Tun’, 1997, is a layered composition, entailing a number of formal and symbolic zones. The term ‘Tun Tun’ refers to the wooden effigies, featured in the forefront plane; these are employed by the Ibans (in Sarawak, East Malaysia) to lure animal prey (especially pigs) into traps. Behind these figure a band stretches the width of the picture, inscribed with words printed in reverse. Standing figures with animal heads are placed to the rear of this band. The rear plane of the picture supports narrow strips of colour that collectively appear as bar code; towards the top edge are painted frangipani flowers; in vivacious, redolent hues. The picture is a complex allegory, alluding to debilitating aspects of contemporary life. (Past, Present , Beyond: Re-nascence of an Art Collection, Page 65 - 66) Production placeMalaysia Production date 1997 Object categoryPainting MaterialAcrylic on Canvas Dimensions H: 132 cm L: 203 cm

CollectionSouth & Southeast Asian Collection

Object numberS2000-0008-001-0

TitleThe Trap Series: The Lure of the Tun Tun

CreatorYeoh Jin Leng (b. 1929 Malaysia)

DescriptionThis is a layered composition. Three wooden effigies are line upfrontally at equidistant across the forefront of the pictures width. Behind them, at eye level, is a narrow panel with images and words that are spelt backwards. This panel blocks off the torsos of the standing figures with animal heads standing behind it. Frangipanni flowers provide the final backdrop. Tun Tun refers to the wooden effigies used by the Ibans of Sarawak, East Malaysia to lure pigs into traps.“Yeoh Jin Leng’s The Trap Series: The Lure of Tun Tun is a complex allegory casting mystic traditions as ghost busters to the demons of contemporary life. Wooden effigies of tuns tuns, used by the Iban of Sarawak to lure animal prey into traps, appear in the foreground. The background is a composite of parodied references to contemporary society: a band inscribed with words printed in reverse; bizarre apparitions with animal heads and human bodies; and bar codes alluding to contemporary consumer culture. Above these, frangipani flowers, associated with graveyards by local Malays, complete the symbolic narrative of the painting.” (Highlights of Southeast Asian Collections)“Yeoh Jin Leng’s ‘The Trap Series: The Lure of the Tun Tun’, 1997, is a layered composition, entailing a number of formal and symbolic zones. The term ‘Tun Tun’ refers to the wooden effigies, featured in the forefront plane; these are employed by the Ibans (in Sarawak, East Malaysia) to lure animal prey (especially pigs) into traps. Behind these figure a band stretches the width of the picture, inscribed with words printed in reverse. Standing figures with animal heads are placed to the rear of this band. The rear plane of the picture supports narrow strips of colour that collectively appear as bar code; towards the top edge are painted frangipani flowers; in vivacious, redolent hues. The picture is a complex allegory, alluding to debilitating aspects of contemporary life. (Past, Present , Beyond: Re-nascence of an Art Collection, Page 65 - 66)

Production placeMalaysia

Production date 1997

Object categoryPainting

MaterialAcrylic on Canvas

Dimensions

H: 132 cm
L: 203 cm

Details