MASiF Art Quest: Journey to Malacca

Written by Meekaylaa Denise

Journey to Malacca

The prospect of interviewing 2 of the artists in Malacca made my day just a little bit interesting than usual. As I stepped out of the office, I can feel the slight chill to the weather, signifying the oncoming of rain. We’re off to a good start it seems.

Arif later told me that we were going to be making a quick stop at ArtMalaysia gallery to pick up Mr. Liew Kian Yap, the director of ArtMalaysia. Arif informed me that Mr. Liew will be the one leading us to the location of the artists. ArtMalaysia’s office is still under renovation when we entered, with the many artworks being pushed at the back of the gallery. First thing I realized about the gallery is that it has a calming environment and a vibe that promises great artworks to be displayed here.

When Mr. Liew arrived moments later, he briefed us on the two artists that we were going to interview today. Their names are Mr. Martin Wood and Mr. Lim Kim Hai. These artists will be featured in the upcoming MASiF event in September. Their fabulous artworks will be displayed in the event to showcase the uniqueness and talents that Malaysia’s art industry has to offer.

I admit that I’m quite intimidated by the artist’s experience and vastness that they portray in their work, but Arif assured me that all will be well.

Driving through the highway, the weather turns out to be quite pleasant. Mr. Liew kept us entertained in the car whilst he converse with us recalling funny anecdotes that seems to just popped out of his head. Humbling sceneries, laughs, friendly chattering and interesting company makes for a perfect trip to Malacca.

As we arrive in Malacca, I got excited at the prospect of interviewing the first artist- Mr Martin Wood. Malacca is always one of my favorite places to go. Just looking at the buildings, the people and the culture displayed in each and every one of the building stirs up something inside of me, I can literally feel the cultures of Malacca seeping into my skin.

Parking is never really an easy thing in Malacca especially if you’re headed for Jonker Walk, but Martin and his lovely wife were generous enough to provide us with parking coupons, first class if I might add. We thanked them for their graciousness and they humbly invited us inside their gallery. Martin Wood is a man around his 50’s, tall, soft spoken and extremely well mannered. I can tell that Martin is very dedicated to his work as I saw splashes of paint on his jeans and strokes of brushes that landed on his shirt. I respect him for that matter because to me it shows that his art never sleeps. Mr. Liew mentioned that he is of mixed Scottish but Martin quickly explained that he is more on the Chinese side of his family.

Martin Wood Gallery is a small and quaint place which he shared with another artist. At a first glance, one might think that this is just another gallery, but of course one must never just judge a book by its cover, because when I entered the hallways I was amazed to see there is another door leading to a huge room from whence Martin and his wife creatively expressed their creative juices on blank canvases. The first hallway that we passed through was where Martin showcased what he called as tourist arts. He started off painting the famous sites of Malacca for tourists as many of them often asked for some sort of souvenir for remembrance of their trip in one of Malaysia’s famous historical state.

He admits that he does tourist arts as an added income but for now he gave that responsibility to his missus who I might add has me amazed by the quirks of her painting. Martin however stopped doing what he calls as commercial art to focus more on fine arts.

Leading us to a walkway full of artworks and into another room, I can immediately sense the calming vibe that oozed out of the walls of the studio. A vase containing small fishes, plants aligning the very walls of the studio, tiled red bricks, wooden staircase and attap roofs- this truly signifies the cultures of Baba Nyonya. I can immediately tell why it is easy for Martin and his wife to focus on their artwork here. Any other artist would be inspired to draw and paint when they are put in an environment such as this.

Martin Wood kept to his roots by drawing the famous historical sites in Malacca. Any famous sites in Malacca that you can imagine and think of, he has drawn it. He still draws sites in Malacca in his fine arts, but the twists that he does is that he uses the term that he coins as cubism realism. He explained that Picasso, a famous artist has popularized cubism in paintings but Martin has added realism which is the buildings and places that can be seen in real life. He uses acrylic on canvas but what makes his painting special is that he uses contrasting colors to make up the shape of the buildings. But he did mention that he doesn’t simply choose the colors. The colors should always complement the building and also have some sort of relation to the original color of the building. His identifier in each and every one of his fine arts pictures is the slides or lines at the top and bottoms half of his canvas. Martin Wood has truly shown that Malacca is in his blood by truly being loyal to his culture. There is no question why he is picked for one of our artists in this year’s event.

After visiting Martin Wood’s gallery, we proceeded to Lim Kim Hai’s Gallery. After the last visit, I truly do not know what to expect. But when we stopped in front of the gallery, my expectations preceded me. A big sign at the shop with huge lettering of Lim Kim Hai Gallery against a gold plate, it’s impossible that you can miss this. Entering the gallery, it seems that I was entering an antique shop. The shop was filled to the nines with exquisite wood furniture, expensive marble vases and one of a kind objects that are surely hard to find. Lim Kim Hai greeted us with a wide smile and a friendly face. Instantly the first thought that came to my mind was that this person must truly be vibrant and happy with his life. That huge beam of smile on his face, you can’t help but to just mimic that smile back to him. He showed us in and told us wait and be patient as he is handling a customer at the moment.

As he hurried to attend to his current customer, I took this as a chance to look around the gallery. The lights filled the wide open hallways as I gazed at each of the different artworks that are hanged around the gallery. The only sounds that could be heard are the clicking of Jasmin’s DSLR camera as she eagerly took pictures of the artworks displayed. I can tell by her face that she was amazed by the painting that hanged neatly on the walls. Lim Kim Hai’s gallery is very modern, exquisite and extremely neat.

Mr. Liew told me that Lim Kim Hai’s nickname is Apple King and it is clear why he is called that. Almost all his artwork featured the same object which is Apples. But when one observes clearly at his artwork, he paints the apples in a way that brings the apples to life in his painting. It’s as if when you reach out your hand, you can actually touch the apples which makes his painting somewhat of a 3D effect to it. I was very impressed and amazed by the fact that each of his painting cost thousands of ringgit but it is no surprise however because his artwork exhibited in countries such as Singapore and France.

When I stepped further inside the back room where he sits and paints, there was a burst of smell from the paint and canvas and brushes of every sizes and shape can be seen neatly placed where beside it a huge canvas of 200cmx200cm dimension was. Next to that was a table are strategically placed apples which was clearly the source of his inspiration.

As we sat down on the wooden chairs and marble tables, I began questioning Lim Kim Hai on his artwork and his inspiration with Martin by his side to help with the translations. Lim Kim Hai said that he graduated from Nan Yang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore and from Ecole Superieure National Des Beaux Arts in Paris, France. His painting of apples has been his main focus since the 80’s. His art works on apples portray a hyper-realism style placed in an abstract setting. He said that the apples project messages that are related to life. In his works, the apples are the personification of life and mankind. They symbolize human interaction and feelings. His painting also portrays messages such as unity, peace, harmony and joy.

As Martin and Mr. Liew translated for Lim Kim Hai, it strikes me that Lim Kim Hai doesn’t need to use words for me to understand his artwork. Through his facial expressions, I can see how much his artwork means to him. The way his face lights up as he explains the way he highlights even the smallest details in each and every one of his apples is proof enough for me. As they say, pictures describe a thousand words, and this can clearly be seen through his artwork.

After a brief conversation with Lim Kim Hai, we bid him goodbye. Before we left, he graciously presents us a book filled with his artworks which he signs and wrote his best wishes to Mr. Adam. He showed us out and even as we were walking back to our car, I can still see his beam of smile lighting all the way.

As we made our way back to Malacca, I can say that this small trip has definitely made me realized the full impact of talented painters in Malaysia. Without them, we cannot fully appreciate the beautiful things that Malaysia has in store. They are the ones who have opened up our ignorant eyes to the uniqueness of Malaysia and what it has to offer.

The sun sets to another beautiful day and I am truly blessed that I was given the opportunity to be invited to this trip. It made me appreciate the small little things in my everyday life and they, the artists have made me grateful of the simple things in life that I took for granted.