City Alleyways During Dusk, 2017

This painting was one of my earliest works and at that time, I had just started to explore contemporary arts by the masters like De Kooning. I remember I was particularly crazy about his colorful style and bold colors.

This work depicts the alleyways and little backstreets of the town that I stay in Georgetown, Penang. I remember I would cycle in the back alleys of Georgetown, during my school holidays, in search of motorcycle spark plugs.

I would collect them to be used as fishing weights then.

There are motorcycle repair shops in the town because many people move around using these mopeds as their main mode of transport.

The shop owners would throw these plugs by the back alleys behind their shops and that was where I would find these little treasures for my fishing trips.

I would cycle around during the dusk of day, hunting for these plugs just before going fishing as the sun was about to rise.

Those were my days full of adventure and exploration.