At my art opening at the beautiful ChinaHouse in Penang, up now until 28th January:
1: Artworks destroyed (by a dripping air conditioner)
3: Reporters spoken to
2: Appointments made with other reporters
1: Photo for society pages (ugh)
150+: People who came to see mine and other artists' exhibitions
7: Friends who showed up (though I didn't do planned email blast)
2: Directors who are interested in exhibiting all or part of Imaginary Landscapes in Penang
0: Artworks sold (to be honest I prefer the Imaginary Landscapes to the fabric pieces of Visions of Penang)
1: Successful exhibition.
Some selected images below:
George Town Festival director Joe Sidek and a friend, with some of my Cliche-Verres
The reporters came early, here's one from The Star taking photos of my artwork – a silhouette formed of Malay writing:
Invited visitors trickled in first. I brought along the video of my USM exhibition to give another perspective of Penang
Fabric Cyanotypes. These ranged from 6 x 10 feet to 8 x 10.
The tailor who sewed these pieces used old-school techniques, and vintage Shanghai sewing machines. I'll upload photos of them soon. The thin cotton – used by Malaysian artists for batik – was quite difficult to hang straight, once tailored.
Ang Huah, of the Hainan Clan temple, Penang, stands in front of an artwork I made of his reminiscinces about Penang while growing up, and how it's changed.
I translated his English to Traditional Chinese via Google Translate, and he approved it (though said "it looks funny!")
Things got busier after a while, with more guests stopping by. Though a new venue, China House is considered one of the best arts spaces in Penang.
(And it's famous for the excellent wine, cheese, dessert and mezze at its openings)
All in all, ChinaHouse was the ideal venue to show my work for the first time in George Town, and they were a very good partner to work with — particularly Eeyan Chuah, the curator.
At the end of a long evening…
Connect with me