Remember me
A seminal work in Singapore’s contemporary cultural landscape will receive a major retrospective as The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye: The Exhibition launches across three sites from 6 to 28 December 2025.
Celebrating a decade since the publication of Sonny Liew’s landmark graphic novel, the exhibition invites the public to engage with its artistic complexity, socio-political significance, and global influence.
Photo by Crispian Chan. Images courtesy
of Sonny Liew
The exhibition spans Chaos Gallery (Waterloo Centre), and two venues in the Bras Basah Complex — Basheer Graphic Books and InkInk Collectibles — offering varied experiences at each location.
Published in 2015 by Epigram Books, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is a metafictional biography of a fictional comic artist whose story parallels and reinterprets Singapore’s historical narrative. The novel’s blending of history, satire, and comic craft propelled it to critical acclaim and public resonance.
Image courtesy of InkInk Collectibles
Despite initial controversy — including the National Arts Council’s withdrawal of an S$8,000 grant — the book rapidly became a bestseller. It won Book of the Year at the Singapore Book Awards and made literary history as the first local graphic novel to win the Singapore Literature Prize. Its international reach expanded through publication by Pantheon Books and three Eisner Awards in 2017.
Chaos Gallery: The stories and visual worlds of Charlie ChanAt Chaos Gallery, located within the studio Knuckles & Notch at Waterloo Centre, the focus is on Charlie Chan’s diverse comic creations. Visitors can explore eight narrative worlds from the novel, including Ah Huat’s Giant Robot, Bukit Chapalang, INVASION, and the superhero parody Roachman.
The gallery will present original ink pages and rare oil paintings of Lee Kuan Yew, Charlie Chan, and his mother — created by Sonny Liew for the novel — as well as Roachman covers produced by American master printer Ben Diep.
Self-Portrait oil painting from
The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye
Prime Minister oil painting from The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye.
Visitors can also purchase a special collaborative risograph print by Ryan Benjamin Lee and Knuckles & Notch, and browse exclusive exhibition merchandise.
According to co-curator Nurul Kaiyisah, the exhibition aims to amplify alternative narratives. “This anniversary brings forth the hunger for histories written against the grain,” she said. “It is not just a commemoration, but a gathering of stories that dare to rock the boat of monolithic, national narratives.”
The store space at Knuckles & Notch.
Image courtesy of Knuckles & Notch / Chaos Gallery
At Basheer Graphic Books, the exhibition takes a process-oriented approach, tracing the making of the graphic novel. Visitors will view original pencil sketches and ink drawings that document the transformation from thumbnail drafts to final artwork.
Sample thumbnail sketch from The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye
The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, p. 307
The section also highlights Liew’s hybrid approach to illustration — blending analogue and digital techniques to produce rich visual textures.
A further layer is added with a tribute to comic legends referenced throughout the novel, including Winsor McCay and Osamu Tezuka. Viewers can explore how these artists influenced Liew’s visual language, and browse related titles in Basheer’s extensive collection of comic and art books.
Co-curator Rachel Lim explained, “The book challenges official state narratives while simultaneously paying homage to comic greats. It’s a story about what drives artists to resist, dream, and create, even when society may not support them.”
InkInk Collectibles: The book’s legacy and cultural reachThe final section at InkInk Collectibles explores how The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye has resonated across media and borders. Visitors will find original ephemera such as the “Ah Huat” doll featured in the book, a drawing of a traditional five-foot-way library, and nine reimagined book covers by artists from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and the United States.
“Ah Huat” doll by Zaleha Othman, from The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye
Five Foot Way Library, ink and wash on paper, from The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye
Cover artists include Bob Layton, known for his work on Iron Man, and Huey Jing, a rising talent whose introspective, Escher-inspired design reflects the novel’s layered themes.
These covers are available for purchase and have also been compiled into a zine. The zine includes a blank “sketch cover” that allows visitors to create their own designs — a nod to comic industry traditions.
An online design competition invites submissions using the custom zine cover, with exclusive prizes to be announced.
Other highlights at InkInk include Liew’s Eisner Awards, Yale-NUS student responses to the novel, and concept art from potential film and video game adaptations currently in development.
Artwork by Edison Neo;
image courtesy of InkInk Collectibles
Admission is free at all venues. Visitors can participate in a stamp rally across the three sites, collecting unique prints of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye each week.
The 10th anniversary edition of the book, exclusive prints, and original artwork will be available for purchase.
More information is available via email at [email protected] or on Instagram at @artofcharliechan10.
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