Siaw has already started working on his latest project at La Promenade Mall.
KUCHING (Feb 16): Leonard Siaw, the muralist best known for his works ‘The Last Ring Ladies’ in Kota Padawan and ‘Coolie Keng’ at Kuching Old Bazaar, is undertaking another record feat – this time, at La Promenade Mall near here.
The artist has already begun working on a giant canvas, measuring 15m by 5m – wider than two terraced houses combined, and taller than a one-storey building.
“I’m as nervous as I am excited. I want to do something truly special and out-of-the-ordinary for my first solo exhibition,” said Siaw in a press statement, adding that his solo show at the mall was originally scheduled for December.
“But the more I spoke to Hock Seng Lee (HSL) and Hoan Gallery, the more ambitious we all became. This could end up as Malaysia’s largest canvas painting,” he enthused.
Siaw had postponed other commitments to focus on the La Promenade project, having estimated that the gigantic painting would reach completion in within six months.
According to gallery proprietor Hoan Kee Huang, the project, once completed, would be a great personal achievement for Siaw and moreover, it would be an important piece for Sarawak’s arts scene as well.
Siaw and Hoan Gallery are working as collaborators in the project, for which they have photographed some 60 members of the public at the mall, as well as workers at construction sites and oil palm plantations, as references.
For now, Siaw has yet to reveal details about the artwork, other than its size.
Meanwhile, HSL property administration manager Shirley Loo said the frame and canvas for the art project had to be custom-designed and built.
“No canvas is 15m wide in Kuching – it’s so big. We even called up suppliers (in) as far as Penang, but in the end, the things had to be built to order,” said Loo.
Siaw’s art pieces can be found all over Kuching – the list includes the ‘Symphony of the Tinsmith’ at Carpenter Street, ‘Sampan, The River Taxi’ at Jawa Street, and ‘The Lane Hawkers’ at Kai Joo Lane.
The largely self-taught artist was invited to paint a mural at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, US, in 2019, and he had also painted murals for the ‘Wall-to-Wall Art Festival’ in Melbourne, Australia.
La Promenade Mall celebrated its first anniversary last month.
For more information, go to lapromenademall.com.my, hoangallery.com, or search @LaPromenadeMall and @HoanArtGallery on social media.
Siaw’s social media handle is @leonardsiawart_.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3uTxypz
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