My Other Family: An Artist-Wife in Singapore, 1946-48

by Patricia Morley

Patricia Morley joined her husband, who was an officer in the Colonial Service, in Singapore in 1946, and as a professional portrait and sculptor began a period of intense artistic activity. Her main inspiration was her Malay or Malay-speaking household and the relatives and friends who gathered around. Through the medium of her art, Patricia Morley gained an understanding of and empathy for her ""other family"" which few European expatriates ever achieved. This book is a memoir of her life and includes a range of her most striking portraits.

Genres: History

168 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 1994

Reviews

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting look at life in Singapore during the dying days of the British Empire, immediately following World War II. The author was British and lived in Singapore for several years while her husband worked some kind of job. She became very close to the Malay and Chinese servants in the household and writes about them with sympathy and compassion. Morley seems very tolerant and understanding of her servants' lives and their challenges -- perhaps too much. She wrote that they constantly shirked their work, stole from her and lied, and yet she kept them on. Reading about the impoverished and primitive conditions in Singapore in the 1940s, I was amazed at the progress the country has made in terms of industrialization, standard of living, etc.

As was noted in the title, Morley was an artist and a very fine one. She specialized in portraits and often drew her servants. Several of the portraits are included in the book. I wish they had been placed in the chapters about that particular person, rather than all together in a centerfold. I think they would have had a greater impact that way.