 |
| (From left) Marina, Ong, Abdul Karim, Donald, and Choi at the launch of ‘About Ramsay’ yesterday. |
KUCHING: The life of an artist is fraught with many challenges and eking out a decent living from your passion of the arts is near impossible, except for a handful of those who managed to dedicate their entire lives to it.
Ramsay Ong is one of those artists whose name instantly evokes recognition, having spent over five decades of his life honing and demonstrating his artistic pursuits in Sarawak and abroad.
Speaking at the launch of ‘About Ramsay – Paintings on Tree Bark’ at the Pullman Hotel lobby yesterday, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said that Ong needed no introduction to the art community of Malaysia.
“I have learnt that Ong has evolved from being an acclaimed Batik Artist to working with Handmade Paper and has led the way in this unique medium of painting on tree bark since over 20 years ago. This is an excellent example of growth and progression,” said Abdul Karim.
He added that it was a form of art that could gather a lot of followers.
This exhibition featuring over 100 of Ong’s work with tree bark starts today (Oct 3) and will run until Oct 16.
Ong’s paintings are images of an untouched land filled with rich cultural diversity and identity, his works are perhaps one of the state’s strongest tourism marketing avenues since day one.
Even when living nearly 10 years in the United States of America and over 10 years in Sri Lanka, his chosen subject matter for his works always stemmed from his roots, his homeland of Sarawak.
In his brief speech, Ong hoped that people would enjoy this exhibition of his work.
“It was a great pleasure producing this work,” he said, adding that he originally intended to produce 75 pieces, one for every year of his life, but he exceeded that.
‘About Ramsay’ is one of the exhibitions held as part of What About Kuching (WAK) 2017, a festival celebrating the arts, culture and lifestyles of the people of Kuching.
Abdul Karim, who weighted in with his support since the beginning, said that he was really pleased that this is a festival organised by the community for the community.
“It has been strongly embraced by all the creative talents such as Ramsay Ong as a platform to showcase their works to their local countrymen and also to our important visitors. This way we can educate and inculcate an appreciation for the arts and evolve ourselves into a cultured and progressive country.”
Also present at the launch were WAK 2017 festival co-ordinators Donald and Marina Tan, and Pullman Kuching general manager Charles Choi.
The full calendar of events in print form is being circulated and is also available online at aboutkuching.com and there truly is something for everyone.
Whether you are interested in art, music, dance, history, martial arts, poetry, or culture, there is certain to be an event for you.
For updates, like WAK 2017 on Facebook at http://www.fb.com/aboutkuching or follow them on Instagram at @aboutkuching. Check out the hashtags #WAK2017 and #aboutkuching. Their website is aboutkuching.com. -TheBorneoPost
No comments:
Post a Comment