{"id":25702,"date":"2025-10-01T13:11:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T05:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/?post_type=portfolio&#038;p=25702"},"modified":"2025-11-12T10:30:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T02:30:24","slug":"cheng-yen-pheng-salt-of-the-land-9-october-8-november-2025-press-release","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/portfolio-item\/cheng-yen-pheng-salt-of-the-land-9-october-8-november-2025-press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheng Yen Pheng &#8211; Salt of the Land | 9 October &#8211; 8 November 2025 &#8211; Press Release"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='artists-title'  class='avia-section av-2m2bp8m-c3f4f16a69590f6764a454e122fb1682 main_color avia-section-default avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-0  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-bg-style-scroll  container_wrap fullsize'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><main  role=\"main\" itemprop=\"mainContentOfPage\"  class='template-page content  av-content-full alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-25702'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div class='flex_column av-20tszc6-2fc75e64db31d0b8850d2a3a97de884a av_one_full  avia-builder-el-1  el_before_av_one_full  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div '   ><p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-1h9nm6e-db676ad41e8981c52d84e4bb96af747c\">\n#top .hr.hr-invisible.av-1h9nm6e-db676ad41e8981c52d84e4bb96af747c{\nheight:20px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='hr av-1h9nm6e-db676ad41e8981c52d84e4bb96af747c hr-invisible  avia-builder-el-2  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first  '><span class='hr-inner '><span class=\"hr-inner-style\"><\/span><\/span><\/div><br \/>\n<section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><h3 class=\"p1\" style=\"font-family: 'eb garamond'; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 2px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/portfolio-item\/cheng-yen-pheng-salt-of-the-land-9-october-8-november-2025-works\/\">WORKS<\/a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/portfolio-item\/cheng-yen-pheng-salt-of-the-land-9-october-8-november-2025-press-release\/\">PRESS RELEASE<\/a>&nbsp;| <a href=\"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/portfolio-item\/cheng-yen-pheng-salt-of-the-land-9-october-8-november-2025-insitu\/\">INSITU<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Salt-of-the-Land_Cheng-Yen-Pheng.pdf\">E-BOOKLET<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CYP-artwork-statement.pdf\">| ARTWORK STATEMENT <\/a>| <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com.my\/lifestyle\/culture\/2025\/10\/31\/artist-cheng-yen-pheng039s-latest-solo-brings-out-a-taste-for-life\">NEWS<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><div class='flex_column av-15eh3mu-9b7a1dba6413fed0f6d588828d81412c av_one_full  avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_one_full  avia-builder-el-last  first flex_column_div column-top-margin'   ><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '  style='font-size:14px; '  itemprop=\"text\" ><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'open sans thin'; color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: 25px; letter-spacing: 1px;\">Salt of the Land<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u2018<em>Salt of the Land<\/em>\u2019, Cheng Yen Pheng\u2019s fourth solo exhibition, takes its name from the phrase \u201csalt of the earth,\u201d which suggests humility and resilience. In Chinese culture, salt is one of the seven basic daily necessities, alongside firewood, rice, oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. A grouping that dates back to the Song dynasty. The Guanzi, an early text on governance, illustrates the importance of salt, describing it as both vital sustenance and a means of maintaining social order that connects the household to the state.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The exhibition at Wei-Ling Gallery gently shifts away from her earlier series, \u2018<em>Frugal Living \u2013 it\u2019s Mulberry Season<\/em>\u2019 (2022), which focused on daily rituals, her daughter\u2019s drawings, hand-stitched embroidery, and the mulberry trees she grew at home. This time, she looks beyond her doorstep, exploring the natural forces and fragile ecosystems that shape the world outside.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this series, salt functions as a subtle symbol of continuity. Cheng engages with the four classical elements: water, fire, earth, and air. Each stage reveals a deliberate, attentive approach, reflecting the artist\u2019s ongoing relationship with her materials. Water becomes pulp for handmade paper. Fire and wormwood ash purify and stabilise materials. Earth, mixed with plant fibers, is shaped into bricks. Air aids in drying paper and lifting feathers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cheng produced these works in Batu Arang, Selangor, a former mining town that continues to exhibit evidence of its industrial history while confronting land repossession. In response to these conditions, the artist cultivates materials in her garden, thereby integrating acts of care into her artistic practice. The evolving environment and the community\u2019s adaptation directly inform her creative process.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">By sourcing materials from her immediate surroundings, the artist foregrounds traditional craft techniques and situates them within a contemporary context. The use of pulp, clay, ash, and fiber demonstrates the transmission of artisanal knowledge and the preservation of cultural memory. For her, continuity signifies renewal, a living link between the past and what is still to come.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u2018<em>Salt of the Land<\/em>\u2019 is featured at Wei-Ling Gallery from 9 October &#8211; 8 November 2025. Wei-Ling Gallery is located at No 8, Jalan Scott, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Admission hours are Tuesday \u2013 Friday 10am \u2013 6pm, Saturday 10am \u2013 5pm. Exhibition is open by appointment only. For appointments and further assistance, please contact +60322601106 or e-mail siewboon@weiling-gallery.com<\/p>\n<p><strong>ABOUT THE ARTIST<\/strong><br \/>\nCHENG YEN PHENG (B. 1982)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cheng Yen Pheng, born in Penang, now lives and works in Selangor. Having graduated from Dasein Academy of Art with a Diploma in Fine Arts in 2004, Cheng\u2019s works are deeply personal and autobiographical, reflecting the struggles and decisions that have shaped her life. Her art examines the process of reconciling conflicting realities, overcoming loss, and navigating the unknown, while remaining steadfast in her beliefs. Despite life\u2019s uncertainties, her determination to stay true to herself and her principles remains a constant throughout her journey. This commitment to authenticity is mirrored in the powerful and intimate nature of her art, which captures her emotional and personal experiences.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Recognised as one of Malaysia\u2019s most daring contemporary voices, Cheng made a significant impact in 2014 when her provocative work \u2018ABU\u2019 was censored as a finalist in the National Art Gallery\u2019s Bakat Muda competition\u2014a moment that underscored her boldness and refusal to compromise her vision. She was awarded the 2019 UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) and received the 2020 CENDANA Visual Arts Inspire Funding, which supported her research into local arts, crafts, and communities in Terengganu. In 2023, she was selected for the prestigious UOB-Fukuoka Asian Art Museum\u2019s Artists Residency Programme.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Her art serves as a visual narration of her life, with the act of making becoming a means of organising, materialising, and preserving experience. Through themes such as femininity, maternity, motherhood, death, and the shift from urban to rural life, Cheng reflects on her personal transformation; capturing both its joys and hardships. Her thoughtful use of materials and textures enhances this emotional landscape, with each medium chosen to express different facets of her identity and journey.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cheng Yen Pheng\u2019s exhibitions, such as \u2018PRICKED!\u2019 in 2012 and \u2018It\u2019s Been Four Years Since\u2026\u2019 in 2020, continue to explore themes of identity, gender, and societal expectations. In the \u2018PRICKED!\u2019 series, she used balloons as symbols of gender and sex to examine the fluidity of identity and the challenges of societal norms, especially from the perspective of a woman seeking empowerment. Her 2020 exhibition marked a transformative period, with her work addressing her personal struggles, the complexities of motherhood, and the search for self-discovery. In \u2018Frugal Living \u2013 it\u2019s Mulberry Season\u2019 (2022), she explores resilience through the act of stitching, using mulberry paper as a symbol of fragility. This series reflects her journey from city life to the countryside, capturing personal growth and the challenges of transitioning into a more sustainable, nature-based lifestyle.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><br \/>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-39nsyu-c5e13ff3fe5f18ae55eab824c6fa6069\">\n#top .hr.hr-invisible.av-39nsyu-c5e13ff3fe5f18ae55eab824c6fa6069{\nheight:40px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='hr av-39nsyu-c5e13ff3fe5f18ae55eab824c6fa6069 hr-invisible  avia-builder-el-6  el_after_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-last  '><span class='hr-inner '><span class=\"hr-inner-style\"><\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WORKS&nbsp;|&nbsp;PRESS RELEASE&nbsp;| INSITU | E-BOOKLET | ARTWORK STATEMENT | NEWS Salt of the Land \u2018Salt of the Land\u2019, Cheng Yen Pheng\u2019s fourth solo exhibition, takes its name from the phrase \u201csalt of the earth,\u201d which suggests humility and resilience. In Chinese culture, salt is one of the seven basic daily necessities, alongside firewood, rice, oil, [...]","protected":false},"featured_media":25704,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[],"class_list":["post-25702","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/25702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25702"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/25702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26528,"href":"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/25702\/revisions\/26528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25702"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=25702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}