It’s a bird competition and most of the birds are in decorated cages except one white bird perched on the fingers of a girl, presumably the owner. It doesn’t look like a bird that could sing but it’s trusted enough to be in the open, though it looks unlikely that it will stray too far from its owner. The one in the combed-back hair in the forefront relishes in seeing a bird free, but is more secure having his prized bird in its cage. As an artist, Tew Nai Tong aspires to be a bird, free of human encumbrances, but like the bird trainers, he delights in the pleasure of the well-honed trills of songbirds, some of which can be found only in the jungles while others flock to paddy-fields. But do pay attention to the colour modulations in the background, too, from tawny green to chromatic splats to serene mauve, diagonally from left bottom. Tew Nai Tong followed the art study trail prevalent in the early days: Nanyang Academy of Fine Art, Singapore (1957-1958) and Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris (1967-68). His major exhibition is the survey exhibition at the National Art Gallery titled Odyssey in 2007. His awards included the 2nd Prize in the Chartered Bank mural design competition in 1964, the Shell Best Award (watercolour, 1981), Esso Best Award (1982), Dunlop Best Award (watercolour, 1983), and the Asia Art Award in Seoul, South Korea, in 2009. He taught at various art academies for 23 years before he decided to go fulltime as artist in 1992. He co-founded the Le Beaux Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur.