Ng Eng Teng
Wall Relief Restoration

The Artist

Ng Eng Teng

Ng Eng Teng (1934–2001) is widely regarded as the father of Singaporean sculpture. His figurative works — characterised by rounded, expressive forms rendered in ceramic, bronze, and cement — can be found in numerous public locations across Singapore. We have been fortunate to work on several of his works, including the restoration of Mother & Child at Gardens by the Bay.

The Project

A Multi-Month Undertaking

APSN engaged us to manage the full lifecycle of this project: carefully removing the 10-panel wall relief from their old campus, making good the wall behind, storing and restoring the panels, and finally reinstalling the work at their new campus.

The work had been installed for over 40 years without any professional restoration or maintenance. Each panel — cast in cement fondu and painted — weighs between 60 and 70kg. Nobody at the school retained knowledge of how the panels had originally been fixed to the wall, which presented a significant challenge at the outset.

We had seen one previous attempt at a similar project where the contractor spent weeks hacking away the entire wall to access the fixings. By carefully investigating the original installation method, we were able to develop a more considered approach — one that enabled us to remove all ten panels safely and intact in a single day.

The Restoration

From Old Campus to New

With the panels safely in storage, restoration work began. Decades of grime, discolouration and surface deterioration were carefully addressed across all ten panels before the gold paint finish was renewed. The restored panels were then transported and reinstalled at APSN's new campus, where they now take pride of place in a purpose-designed interior setting — displayed as they were always meant to be seen.

We are grateful to the wonderful team at APSN for trusting us with this important project and for their excellent support throughout.