Cheong Kiet Cheng Residence Exhibition "Life as a Stream of River"

Cheong Kiet Cheng (Malaysia) has stayed in Fukuoka for about a month since May 7 and created fourteen paintings.

The series of Cheong Kiet Cheng’s works for many years are related to the theme elements of nature, cosmic law, the animal kingdom, and natural cycle. In her works, natural objects, arrangements of animals, the interspersing form of the picture, the shape of the objects, and so on, have a certain metaphorical nature. The stories told through her works also have a subliminal quality. Nature and beauty, love and cosmic energy, eternal mystery, are the characteristics of her works and personal style. Looking at her works is like reading a set of ancient myths, or choreographing a play of timeless deification. Cheong usually takes materials from the natural world, meditates in it, and observes the principles of the nature music, so as to get her own understanding and insight.

During her stay, Cheong Kiet Cheng walked around the Hakata area and visited nearby islands including Iki island. By collecting the fragments of mythological stories that have still remained in Fukuoka, the artist depicted gods, women, and natural objects like trees and birds in very fine ink drawing. With support from an NPO organization, Sansonjuku, Cheong also visited the Yame region affected by the 2012 flood. The exhibition also introduces a series of works Cheong created in Yame with the community residents according to their stories.

[Artist’s Profile]
Cheong Kiet Cheng was born in 1981 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She received the 2018 United Overseas Bank Painting of the Year Award and stayed in Fukuoka for one month.