Welcome to the Singapore Website of the Mouth & Foot Painting Artists (MFPA)

Formed in 1956, the MFPA is part of an international self-help association of artists who paint without using their hands. MFPA is wholly owned and run by disabled artists which enables them to live by their artistic efforts while enjoying a sense of work security.

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Meet The Artists
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Scholarship holder since 1 March 2009

Aaron Yeo Kwok Chian
Scholarship holder since 1 March 2012

Christina Lau Lay Lian
Scholarship holder since 1 March 2011

Daniel Tan Beng Leong
Scholarship Holder since 1 September1989
Associate Member since 1 September 1994

Gilbert Tan Yue Liang
Scholarship holder since 1 March 2013

Glen Tan Kai Rong
Scholarship holder since 1 March 2018

Janetta Tan Si Ling
Scholarship holder since 1 September 2012

Kok Tuck Chong
Scholarship holder since 1 March 2002

Rajinder Singh
Scholarship holder since 1 March 2011

Raymond Tan Khee Huat
Scholarship holder since 1 September 2010

Stanley Lim Min-Chieh
Scholarship Holder since 1 March 1989
Member since 1 March 2005

Tan Kok Leong
Scholarship holder since 1 March 2017

Victor Hoon Wei Liang
Scholarship holder since 1 March 1998

Wan Tack Wei
Scholarship holder since 1 March 2012

William Chia Yong Liang
Scholarship holder since 1 September 2013

William Ngo
Scholarship holder since 1 September 2007

Zhang Kaini

Scholarship holder since 1 March 2009

Aaron Yeo Kwok Chian

Aaron Yeo Kwok Chian was born on 24 January 1979. On 12 November 2006 he had an accident on his way home from work which forever changed his life. He sustained a grave injury suffering from C5 burst fracture with complete spinal cord injury at C5-C6 with paralysis of upper and lower limbs. For a long time after the hospital stay he did not know what to do until he met another tetraplegic, Gilbert Tan, who introduced him to mouth painting. In painting he has discovered a hidden talent. 

Scholarship holder since 1 March 2012

Christina Lau Lay Lian

Christina Lau Lay Lian was born on 1 November 1972. Prior to her accident she was a Prison Officer.

On 2 April 2005 she and her husband were involved in a traffic accident in Malaysia. It was raining heavily and the car started skidding and then stopped. The car behind them crashed into their stopped car. Due to the force of collision she suffered a spinal injury at the level of the C6 vertebra, rendering the upper and lower limbs paralysed (tetraplegia).

In 2009 she began to take part in activities for tetraplegic persons. Among other things, she met a group of friends who painted with their mouths. Having become curious, she made the first brush strokes with her mouth and – spurred on by ambition – was gradually able to make artistic progress. Christina’s favourite subjects are exotic flowers and landscapes.

Scholarship holder since 1 March 2011

Daniel Tan Beng Leong

Daniel Tan Beng Leong was born on 5 January 1962. In a car accident in 1982, he suffered a spinal cord trauma (C5/C6), resulting in tetraplegia. He is therefore unable to move his limbs.

Encouraged by some of his friends, he became involved in mouth painting in 2009 and 2 years later he was accepted as a Scholarship Holder of MFPA.  The thought of being able to create something of artistic value made him pursue this goal with persistence. Being an autodidact he was able to make continuous and visible progress, as shown by his colourful animal themes, landscapes and local scenes.

Scholarship Holder since 1 September1989
Associate Member since 1 September 1994

Gilbert Tan Yue Liang

Gilbert Tan Yue Liang broke his neck in a swimming accident in 1983 which left him paraplegic and wheelchair bound. He began to take lessons in mouth painting in 1989 and made such progress in the art that he was able to contribute works to a group exhibition in the same year.

The preferred themes in the work of Gilbert Tan are elaborate subjects such as animals, flowers, bamboo and landscapes, which he portrays primarily in Chinese ink. He pays a great deal of attention to the chromatic effects of the colours, lending a three-dimensional appearance to his two-dimensional painting on rice paper. The lines and shades of his work underline the natural qualities of his motifs. He has studied the old pictures in detail until they have become a source of inspiration for his own creative work. Both his pictures and the circumstances of his life also convey the comforting aspect of art. The fate that is the source of such pictures as those painted by Gilbert Tan reveals more than a little of the heroic deeds in the sagas and myths on which his culture is based.

Gilbert Tan Yue Liang has taken part in numerous group exhibitions both at locally and internationally. His pictures have also been exhibited in Vienna, Osaka, Kuala Lumpur and Taiwan and are shown in permanent exhibitions in San Francisco, Washington D.C. and in London.

Scholarship holder since 1 March 2013

Glen Tan Kai Rong

Glen Tan Kai Rong was born on 22 July 1986. On 30 November 2009, he had a motorbike accident, where he broke his neck, and his lungs were perforated. The doctors in the hospital diagnosed a spinal column injury and a burst fracture in the area of vertebrae C5/C6. A cage was implanted around his spinal column to protect the injured area.

Later, he met the VDMFK scholarship holder and mouth painter Aaron Yeo Kwok Chian, who made him aware of, and introduced him to the art of mouth painting. He was truly amazed by Aaron’s work that sparked interest in him to try mouth painting.  He went to the library to get books on acrylic and oil painting, and began to teach himself to hold the brush in his mouth. From 2013, he has been supported as a scholarship holder by the Association.

Scholarship holder since 1 March 2018

Janetta Tan Si Ling

Janetta Tan Si Ling was born on 15 September 1990. On 19 February 2010, she had a car accident. The driver fell asleep and hit the crash barrier. The car spun round a few times and overturned. She was the first person to be thrown out of the vehicle, and thus suffered a severe spinal cord injury affecting the vertebrae C5 to C6, as a result of which she remained paralysed from the chest downwards. She is tetraplegic on her left side and permanently requires a wheelchair. She was in hospital for almost a year and broke off her studies.

In mid-2011, she decided to continue her degree studies despite the challenges, and with a necessary scribe and special support from the school. At the same time she received physiotherapy from the Handicap Welfare Association (HWA), where she heard of mouth painting for the first time. She had a great interest in art, but at the time she only knew a little about it, and her full educational curriculum prevented her from finding out about it.

In 2014, she finally received her honours degree in maths and economics. While she had been attending physiotherapy, Stanley Lim Min-Chieh (VDMFK scholarship holder) had also been having treatment there. She succeeded in getting to know him better and was reintroduced to mouth painting. With his patience, guidance and sympathy, together with the encouragement and support of her therapists and social workers, she took up mouth painting, where she found much happiness, peace and elation with every stroke on the canvas.

Scholarship holder since 1 September 2012

Kok Tuck Chong

Kok Tuck Chong was born on 19 October 1954. In 1990, he fell off an escalator in one of the MRT station and has been suffering from a traumatic spinal cord injury at the level of the C6 vertebra ever since. The injury to the C6 vetebra is a complete lesion (tetraplegia).

In the course of occupational therapy, Kok Tuck Chong discovered his passion for mouth painting and has already made significant progress. He has participated in various exhibitions locally.

Scholarship holder since 1 March 2002

Rajinder Singh

Rajinder Singh was born in 1969. In December 1995, he had a motorbike accident which left him paralysed from his chest down. Since then he is a C5-C6 tetraplegic.

Before his accident he was undergoing a training as a Process Technician in a petrochemical company. After his accident he tried to earn some money in a telemarketing company but it was very difficult for him.

When Rajinder first found out about MFPA, he thought it was impossible for anyone to paint using the mouth.  After went through many failures with neck and back pains while trying out mouth painting, he gradually developed a deep passion for it. It is all about building up one’s strength, inspiration and knowledge.  The mouth painter is now endeavouring to become a skilled mouth artist.

Scholarship holder since 1 March 2011

Raymond Tan Khee Huat

Raymond Tan Khee Huat was born on 20 November 1965 in Singapore. On 17 August 1993 he had a traffic accident on the way home from dinner with friends. His car was hit by a taxi and rolled over. In the accident Raymond suffered fractures of the C4/C5 vertebrae and became tetraplegic. A few years after his accident he met mouth painting artist Johnny Ang, full member of VDFMK, who persuaded him to have a go at mouth painting. As he was somewhat aimless, it did not appeal to him at first. It was not until June 2009 that he took an interest in art and started to learn the art of painting via the Internet. Practicing a lot, he taught himself to paint with a brush in his mouth.

Scholarship holder since 1 September 2010

Stanley Lim Min-Chieh

Stanley Lim Min-Chieh was born on 3 November 1977. In 2005 he was involved in a grave traffic accident where he was thrown from his motorbike and hit the ground several metres away. He suffered complex fractures of his spine in conjunction with a spinal cord injury (at the C5 / C6 / C7 vertebrae) and as a consequence, he completely lost the use of his hands and legs.

Prior to his fateful accident he worked as an engineer with a local aerospace company. He could not pursue his career aspirations as he was left a quadriplegic.  

Stanley Lim Min-Chieh was introduced to mouth painting in 2008.  The initial stage of mouth-painting was very tough for him but it gave him a great sense of fulfillment and satisfaction after each completed art piece.  Stanley came to enjoy it very much and found new inspiration for his life.

Scholarship Holder since 1 March 1989
Member since 1 March 2005

Tan Kok Leong

Tan Kok Leong suffered a serious injury of the cervical vertebrae after making a somersault during a Lion Dance practice in 1983, which resulted in the complete paralysis of all four of his limbs and left him wheelchair bound. With the greatest strength of will, he taught himself mouth painting in 1988. One year after his first attempt at painting he received a scholarship from the Association, giving him the opportunity to intensify his commitment to painting.

Two dominant stylistic elements can be recognised in the work of Tan Kok Leong. On the one hand, his work is characterised by the classical Far Eastern tradition of painting, which can be seen in particular in his preferred subjects of mythological and fantasy scenes depicting monsters and good and evil spirits, but also in his watercolour studies of flowers and animals. On the other hand, the paintings of Tan Kok Leong also reveal the influence of European and American art. Portraits are his favourite subjects and he has a special fondness for oil painting. He has also studied the technique of traditional Chinese painting, discovering his love of Chinese art in the process and putting the techniques he learned to great effect in his work.

Tan Kok Leong has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Singapore and has also presented his work in one-man shows. He has been awarded prizes and honours for his painting, helping him achieve considerable fame.

Scholarship holder since 1 March 2017

Victor Hoon Wei Liang

Victor Hoon Wei Liang was born on 4 January 1985. He suffered a severe spinal cord injury at the C4 and C5 vertebrae as a result of a traffic accident in 2005. He was introduced to mouth painting at a demonstration which was organised by the Society of the Physically Disabled. He was encouraged by our Scholarship Holder Christina Lau Lay Lian to take up this activity. Christina also showed him some painting techniques. Slowly, his interest in mouth painting grew and he is now constantly trying to improve his techniques. He considers mouth painting a meaningful and significant activity in the wake of his accident.

Scholarship holder since 1 March 1998

Wan Tack Wei

Wan Tack Wei was born on 3 July 1970. He has been a fan of the air force all his life and wanted to join it ever since he was a little boy. When he was awarded a scholarship by the Singapore Air Force, he took the opportunity and began to study electrical engineering at the Singapore Polytechnic. In addition to his studies he was a member of the swimming team and attended training regularly.

In May 1990, shortly before his 20th birthday and after receiving his diploma in electrical engineering, a swimming training session in the Armed Forces had changed his life entirely. He dived into the pool, hitting his head at the bottom which caused his neck to hyper-extend, causing the C5-C6 cervical vertebrae to dislocate, crushing his spinal cord.  This resulted in complete tetraplegia at the C6 level.In 1994, Wan Tack Wei met a mouth painter, Gilbert Tan Yue Liang, who had effortlessly encouraged him to try mouth painting. Only in 1996 he made his first attempt and since then he has been trying hard to improve his skills as an artist.

Scholarship holder since 1 March 2012

William Chia Yong Liang

William Chia Yong Liang was born on 3 April 1960. In 1984, he became a tetraplegic (C5/C6 spinal cord injury) due to a diving accident. In 2007, he suffered a stroke that confined him completely to bed and left him unable to speak. Through perseverance and rehabilitation his condition improved and he is now again able to sit in a wheelchair.

After knowing the existence of MPFA, with the encouragement of his wife he began to ‘play’ with the brushes in his mouth.  In 2012, he was given a scholarship by the VDMFK which gave him the opportunity to deal more intensively with painting. His works include watercolour and acrylic painting.

Scholarship holder since 1 September 2013

William Ngo

William Ngo was born on 14 March 1965. He was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy when he was 17 years old. The muscles in his hands became increasingly weak. At the age of 30 he was forced to give up his job as a Jewelry Craftman.  Today he has lost all use of his upper extremities.

William Ngo took up mouth painting in 2013, attended art lessons with a recognised art teacher and then studied intensively on his own to perfect his skills.  He prefers painting landscapes and sceneries using watercolours.

Scholarship holder since 1 September 2007

Zhang Kaini

Zhang Kaini was born on 2 February 1974 in Qingdao (China) and went to Singapore in the 1990s to continue her education. After completing her studies she taught Chinese Language in a primary school.

In December 2003 she was involved in a traffic accident that resulted in her becoming paralysed from the shoulders down. She suffered a grave back injury (C3, C4 and C5).  Extended stays at the hospital and rehabilitation centre followed.

In mid-2005 she laid the foundations of mouth painting. Her enormous strength, precision and concentration enabled her to make rapid progress. Painting became an important and meaningful occupation for her. Each single painting created by Zhang Kaini is proof of her determination and persistence. The paintings tell of her courage and her willpower and simultaneously reflect her positive attitude to life.

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