Realism and fantasy intertwine deliciously in Chin Kong Yee’s latest body of works.
AMERICAN writer and playwright Truman Capote once said that the art of paintings is just like the art of writing because its rules of perspectives can be rearranged to suit the artist.
I don’t know if Chin Kong Yee has heard the quote, but he is, nonetheless, a master of the art of perspective.
It’s easy to recognise Chin’s work: reality is interweaved with fantasy, and he pushes the boundaries between “what is” and “what if” by fusing the ordinary and the surreal.
His paintings, which range from portraits to sceneries and streetscapes, have retained this pseudo-fantasy identity since his first group show in 2000, through his first and second solo appearances with Undulating Spaces and Cerulean Skies in 2003 and 2005 respectively, and in this latest show, Reality in Wonderland (which begins tomorrow at the Wei-Ling Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.)
This is largely attributed to Accorded Actuality Painting (AAP), a technique that Chin developed and has perfected over the last 10 years. AAP, according to what Chin said in an earlier interview, “... is the act of ‘seeing’ when the past, the present and the future come together as one when you look at an object”.
“It’s like looking at life, which is always in constant motion,” Chin adds now and continues, “I seek to replicate the same movement and evolution of a particular scene in my paintings.”
The 36-year-old Fine Arts graduate from the (now defunct) Central Academy of Art in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, cites Post-Impressionist French artist Paul Cezanne as the main influence on his work.
Cathedral in Red: The vivd patch of blue draws the viewer into Chin Kong Yee’s strange perspective of tourists enjoying the view.
Reality reinterpreted
Reality in Wonderland showcases 11 of his most recent large-scale works, executed over the last two years, in the same fantastical, distorted style.
Each painting is a wondrous reinterpretation of his travels in (Western) Europe – his fourth odyssey there, to be exact – and Bali.
Tourist spots, architecture, scenery and people are captured vividly in oil paint – but only after a lengthy mental process that begins with the snap of a photograph.
“I take photographs first before I start painting. It’s a rather traditional technique, but it is relevant because the camera captures everything, while your eye – more often than not – sees only what you want it to see,” Chin explains.
Compared to the works in his earlier shows, Undulating Spaces and Cerulean Skies, the paintings in Reality in Wonderland exhibit greater flair and maturity.
And, like (Eye)-illusions (his two-man show with German photographer Volker Hamman in 2007), the new works display a marked boldness in terms of colour: denser, more vivid, intoxicating, even.
A master in the manipulation of perspectives, Chin combines present, past, and future through the convergence of two perspectives, realistic and unrealistic, which results in a convex, fish-eyed look with superimpositions at various points in the painting – typical characteristics of the AAP technique.
For instance, some of his cityscapes depict people or vehicles fading gradually into a building facade; the same theme has been observed in some of his figurative works.
“When Kong Yee paints, or takes photos, for that matter, he tries to capture the fact that there is life and movement, that things are changing before our eyes, and that we cannot really capture a particular moment in time,” says Lim Wei-Ling, founder of Wei-Ling Gallery.
“In his portraits, the sitter is never truly still; when his final portrait is revealed, more often than not, the face of the sitter looks a bit distorted. In his cityscapes, cars are cut off to capture the speed at which they are travelling, and people move around with no legs, as by the time he manages to ‘take in’ their legs, they would have already walked down the road, away from the spot he’s looking at.”
In Duomo Florence, for example, Chin observes how the dome of the Duomo (cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore), bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, remains a distinctive and permanent feature of Florence’s skyline as the pedestrians bustle by – with missing legs.
Similarly, in Venice at Night, he depicts how life begins to wind down in the evenings, as a passer-by hurries past, his body fading into the painting, presumably on his way home where loved ones await him.
But why the fish-eye view in particular?
Chin pauses a moment before launching into an explanation.
“Each stroke or mark that an artist leaves on the canvas must make a difference, and I find the fish-eye composition very expressive.
“Fish, like birds, can view things at 360°, unlike human vision that can only take in the view up to a certain point. But in these times, there is the constant need to know everything that goes on around you so that you won’t feel insecure.
“And, personally, I want to ‘see’ more,” he says.
Reality in Wonderland also features figurative works – Walking, Bali, and Nice 2, among others. The figures are executed on an elongated horizontal canvas, and were first photographed continuously with the images thereafter rearranged one after the other to create a perpetual sense of movement.
This, essentially, encapsulates the artist’s philosophy of capturing a time and place in a most captivating way.
Eiffel: An interesting view of the Eiffel Tower, Paris, that tries to forge a connection between land, sky, and the famous iron structure.
Slight variation
Although the basics of his style have remained the same in the last decade since he began his career as an artist, slight variations are noticeable in Chin’s current works.
In the recent past, it was common to find the artist featured in his own paintings; it was his way of involving the audience in his experiences. While some of the current works in Reality in Wonderland still feature this autobiographical approach, a number – especially the most recent paintings – are far more intimate.
This time, it is as if the viewer is sitting in Chin’s head and looking through his eyes. Compared with works in Undulating Spaces, Chin has certainly employed a more personal interaction with his viewers this time round.
In a website dedicated to art and artists (artmajeur.com, search for “Chin Kong Yee”, then click on “articles”), Chin’s paintings are collectively estimated at approximately US$117,000 (RM416,520). But, frankly, I feel there is still room for more recognition and appreciation of his ability to breathe life into what would otherwise remain another ordinary painting. At the end of the day, it’s all in the perspective.
‘Reality in Wonderland’ is showing at Wei-Ling Gallery (No. 8, Jalan Scott, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur) from tomorrow until July 30. Gallery hours are noon to 5pm, Mondays to Fridays; 10am to 5pm, Saturdays; for more information, call 03-2260 1106 /07 or go to weiling-gallery.com.