The Old Lady Painting

Ty Cheong received his Diploma in Illustration (2001) and Fine Art (2004) from the Dasein Academy of Art in Kuala Lumpur. The award winning artist is noted for his innovative mixed media paintings of human figures and the environment that revolves around aspects of memory, time and space. While contemplating on the shifting of time and its passages, Tuck Wai’s keen eye for the subtle, poignant and sublime in the everyday are made more compelling through his choice images and expert use of materials that enhances the ambience surrounding the subject matter. A regular participant in the local art circuit, Tuck Wai won the Malaysia Nokia Arts Award in 2003. He has shown at the Philip Morris Malaysia Art Awards (2003) and the Young ContemporaryAward (2004 & 2010), both at the National Visual Art Gallery, Malaysia. He received the Gold Award from the United Overseas Bank (UOB) annual competition under the Painting of the Year category in 2013. In 2009 and 2011, Tuck Wai was among the finalist in the Malaysia Emerging Artist Award (MEAA). In 2013, Tuck Wai, together with four other contestants, emerged as the winners of the MEAA. ARTIST STATEMENT My art creativity is all about memory, in which peoples, matters, scenes and objects are described and defined. I create images and effects of deserted, abandoned or discarded things through various mixed materials. It is to present a specific artistic beauty and ambience within the work that has been carved through time, and to making a compelling visual statement for the viewers to contemplate on the shifting and replacement of consumption value. If we are able to slow down the pace in our life, then the sense of living can be settled down gradually, and perhaps the memory of our existing will return. Many wonderful memories and well worth values keep losing in our daily mundane and mediocrity life, and I do hope that I can preserve and keep them through my artwork.