Inspired by the Geopark landscape in Langkawi, first to be declared in Malaysia and Southeast Asia as an UNESCO Geopark, Anthony Chan Sai Weng draws upon a wealth of natural beauty to create an expressive and vivid interpretation in abstraction.
From the inherent rock formation found in the landscape, the inland mountains and caves that make up the Machinchang range which dates back some 400 - 550 million years ago, Anthony Chan Sai Weng rediscovers the natural beauty of the land, the people and their culture in his latest series.
Soon after his teacher training course in 1971 Anthony Chan Sai Weng was posted to teach secondary school at Sekolah Menegah Mahsuri, Langkawi. It was then when he first glimpsed upon the folkloric and eerie ancient landscape that is associated with the island of Langkawi. His return last year to re explore the islands was the inspiration for his new works.
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The artist notes “Pulau Langkawi Geopark can be visually recorded on camera, but the power, mystery and hidden majesty of nature is often unseen to our eyes. With this in mind, I intend to reveal the unseen to the viewers with my latest series of paintings entitled Langkawi Geopark”.
Langkawi’s interesting ancient heritage of rock formations, landscapes, fauna and flora, form the basis of Anthony’s creation. He uses different strokes, lines, textures, colours and tones to evoke moods, emotions and feelings rather than what the physical world looks like. Each painting is painted spontaneously and intuitively from memories and thoughts in direct response to his personal experiences and research.
The new works continues in the vein that remains a signature of the artist, from the multi layerings and explosive use of colours, and his attention to detail continues to differ in theme, from his previous series, From a Distance, which was a look at panoramic architectural vistas. This time Anthony Chan Sai Weng returns to nature, a subject close to his heart.
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