Star Metro ~ 2011

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?sec=central&file=/2011/6/25/central/8933284 

Artist holds solo exhibition at restaurant

By THO XIN YI thoxinyi@thestar.com.my

A PAINTING reflects the artist’s deepest feelings and thoughts, offering a glimpse into her inner world.

Aptly titled “Colours of My Journey”, Honey Khor’s solo art exhibition at Penang Village in Great Eastern Mall, Kuala Lumpur, invites visitors to follow Khor on her life’s journey.

The bright and colourful pieces injected a sense of playfulness and livened up the white and classy interior of the restaurant.

Happy time: The people featured in Khor’s paintings always have the corners of their mouths tilted upward

It was impossible not to smile along with the people featured in the paintings, who have the corners of their mouths tilted upwards.

Be it the sarong-clad woman pouring a ladle of water down her long hair, the family portrait of Khor and her two sons in her parents’ sundry shop, or the Balinese woman dancing in front of the Mother Temple of Bali, each of the characters in Khor’s paintings seemed to be very contented with their lives.

But not all her paintings told a happy story.

Two of her paintings — painted four years apart — depicted the change in her feelings towards motherhood and marriage.

The first one titled “Love” had a serene and smiling woman sitting cross-legged amid plants and flower, holding a newborn in her left arm and a cactus on her right palm.

Another took on a pessimistic approach, featuring a gloomy woman buried in the soil with only her head and neck exposed.

A bird was painted on her forehead while three other birds - each carrying a face symbolising Khor’s then husband and two sons - flying next to her.

Wanting to be free: This painting reflects Khor’s misery in having to set art aside for her family.

“I got married soon after I graduated from the Malaysian Institute of Art, and gave birth to my first son. I enjoyed motherhood and envisioned a beautiful life ahead.

“Since I was preoccupied with my family, I put painting aside and did not produce any artwork for a few years.

“In the second painting, I portrayed myself as a plant (the woman buried in soil) - I couldn’t move because I needed to nurture lives. But my mind wasn’t peaceful and I needed my private time to paint.

“It was then I realised that I wanted art to be present in my life. The bird on the woman’s forehead indicated my desire to fly,” Khor, 38, from Butterworth, explained.

Her sons are now 15 and 10, hence she has more time to pursue her love for art.

Five years ago, she chanced upon a yearbook, in which the younger her scribbled a wish to travel around the world.

“It’s the wish I had almost forgotten. To make this wish come true, I decided to go for my first holiday to Bali,” she said.

She recorded the local lifestyle and culture in her sketchbook as she travelled. Since the maiden overseas trip, she had been to Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Yogyakarta in Indonesia.

During her trip to Cambodia three years ago, she came across Colours of Cambodia, an organisation founded in 2003 to introduce the arts to the children in Siem Reap.

Besides volunteering to teach there two to four times a year, Khor had also organised two art shows to raise funds for the programme.

Other than the children, another pull factor that kept her returning to Cambodia was captured in a painting titled “Seam Reap in My Eyes”.

“The scenery there reminded me of my childhood, where we chased after dragonflies, frolicked in the river and catched ‘fighting fish’,” she said.

Nature played a huge role in Khor’s paintings. Trees, plants and dragonflies in bright hues and intriguing patterns were the evidence of her creativity.

Khor, who teaches art in a centre she established in Puchong, said the children’s innocence, sincere smile and imagination inspired her painting.

This exhibition also featured some of Khor’s sketches and watercolour paintings.

The exhibition is going on till July 11 at Penang Village, Lot 8 & 9, Level 3, Great Eastern Mall, 303, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur. Opening hours are from 11.30am to 9.30pm.For details, call 03-4257 1698.