CLOSE friends and fellow artists, Wong Perng Fey and Chen Wei Meng come together to put their own life journeys onto canvas, resulting in Heartland.
Wong whose works leaned to the abstract said his painting process was a reversal of the norm.
“I paint to dicover things as opposed to discovering something then putting it on canvas.
“It starts out as an urge, almost like an unanswered question at the back of my mind, then it is straight to painting,” he said.
Painting gives him a sense of calmness and perspective as it allows him to find direction in life.
Long road: Another familiar scenery painted by Chen in “Banana Palm”.
Wong: His paintings have many layers to them, similar to memories and events in life.
In his six artworks for Heartland, Wong explores his memories and impressions, portraying its layering effect on canvas.
“Like memories, there are hidden layers on the canvas. Somedays, I wake up to find that I need to put another layer or I would feel the need to scrape one off,” he shared.
Unlike his previous works, Wong incorporates different styles this time especially in the way he divides the painting using colours.
“Painting is a very personal thing. I believe any painting reflects the personality of the painter,” he added.
Articulate: Chen said that his paintings connect with him on a personal level.
Co-exhibitor Chen Wei Meng, on the other hand, documents specific moments and locations in his five works for Heartland.
“The places you see in the paintings are meaningful to me because I existed there at that time and my life took place there,” Chen said.
His current pieves bring the viewer to important places from Chen’s life in Selangor over the past five years.
“I hope when people see this, they too can experience a sense of familiarity and connect because, after all, this is our homeland,” he said.
He added that his journeys always took him away from the city.
“My journey in life is something that just happens.
What do you see?: Wong sifts through his memories to come up with “Brief Encounter”.
“I don’t deliberately choose a place to go to or do heavy research then paint.
“I paint because I connect with the subject on a personal level,” Chen said.
“It took me about three months to complete the six pieces for this exhibition. I don’t set deadlines for painting and normally I don’t do the same theme over and over in each new piece,” Wong said.
Painting the pieces for Heartland was a good experience for him and completion of one work just lead to the start of another.
Dramatic: “Nostalgic” by Chen sees an empty landscape with majestic clouds in the background.
“There are many things in my mind that I want to paint, the memories and layers to be expressed but they’ll stay there until it is time for them to be translated onto canvas,” Wong said.
It is the same for Chen who does not plan his paintings but allows it to come naturally to him.
“Landscapes are my favourite subject for sentimental reasons. I don’t know when I’ll paint but what’s certain is my continuous journey and absorbing everything around me,” he said.
The exhibition is currently held at Wei-Ling Gallery located at 8, Jalan Scott, 50470 Kuala Lumpur until July 30.
For more information, visit weiling-gallery.com or call 012-260 1106/1107.