Sichuan-born Liu Yao Dong is an alumnus of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). Specialising in sculpture, he graduated with a Diploma in Fine Arts in 2014. Liu was trained under the tutelage of Singaporean sculptor and NAFA lecturer Lim Soo Ngee. In 2012, Liu participated in a conceptual sculpture workshop organised by the Institute of Southeast Asian Arts of the Academy. Together with three other NAFA students, Liu took part in a bronze casting field trip to Verona Bronze Foundry, Italy, in 2013. He believes that the core of art is about expressing the intensity of one’s true feelings.
Cherub and Bust with Pigtail (Busto con codino) were conceptualised and created during Liu’s excursion to Verona. At the workshop in Verona, he experienced the traditional process of bronze casting under the guidance of Italian sculptor Anna Chiara Spellini. Liu acquired new skills and techniques in mould-making, such as silicon and plaster-of-Paris. These new skills have enhanced Liu’s enthusiasm for sculpture-making, igniting his explorations using clay sculpture and encouraging him to assimilate new concepts and ideas in his artmaking.
