My first acquaintance with fungi was during my trip to Italy in 2019, where I met some hikers in the Sicilian hills looking for edible mushrooms (or truffles). Filled with curiosity, I later watched a Netflix documentary titled Fantastic Fungi and having received photos of beautiful fungi found in my very own country in Penang Hill from a hiker friend, sparked off my interest to embark on painting this subject.
Because of using the contemporary fine art batik method, I wanted to create something that could be applicable to commercial items such as pocket squares (as you can see in the photos attached. We have tweaked the colours to produce 6 designs of pocket squares) for now. It can be applied to designing a dress or shoes or household décor items with this artwork titled "Tranquility."
As an artist since 2017, I have learnt to harness the power of contemporary batik painting techniques, constantly experimenting ways of layering, "bubbling" ad "cracking" the wax to bring colours and textures to life the intricate vibrant hues found within the fungal kingdom. In a world where fungi often go unnoticed, I seek to create an awareness of their vital role and profound impact on balancing our ecosystem. My interpretation of this connection is surreal as seen in the floating cultural elements of the East Malaysian "tribal tattoo" with hands raised in support of the fungi, against an imagined peaceful forest backdrop.
This series of mine not only attempts to showcase the depth of what could be created beyond traditional batik techniques but is an open invitation to further explore, appreciate and protect the remarkable fungi that shapes our world in ways we, perhaps, have yet to fully understand...and hope you'll do the same with my medium called contemporary fine art batik.
