The Reflection series is relatively small (24" x24", acrylic on canvas) and is better seen as a group; each painting is like a microscopic image of something bigger, and one would only get an idea of what they might be when they are seen together.

The shapes and palettes are further reduced compared to the earlier works. I see the paintings as being opposites; a shape is repeated as opposites, the same hue with two different tones; they are in pairs yet the same colours are located in opposite directions, and the colours are muted yet release a glow. There is movement and at the same time there is stillness, like meditation. In meditation there is always sound, and different signs of activities (the pumping of the heart, the circulation of blood and oxygen, and the electrical charges that run through the body, that one can only feel rather than see) accompanying the stillness. Though the overall painting surface is smooth, the geometric shapes seem precise; but the work is not about perfection. If one spends time looking at them, one may feel a pulsation in the work. The series is titled Reflection, a term borrowed from Buddhism.

I tend to use colours that I have some connection with. This body of work was created during the intense period of the COVID-19 pandemic. I had taken up regular evening walks in the countryside where my studio was located and by the waterfront near where I lived, to de-stress and create some headspace. The colours of late afternoon and evening as the sun retreated behind the hills, and the changing skies, had become the primary inspiration of the work. The painting process is a slow one for all of my work. Many layers of colour are applied until they achieve a visual harmony.

Previous
Previous

Paintings 2021

Next
Next

Paintings 2019