Award-winning local artist Huifong Ng unveiled two series of paintings during her Hijau and Nanyang Chinese Ink Painting Exhibition on the first floor of Mabohai Shopping Complex yesterday.
Huifong said she started preparing for the exhibition three years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On her inspiration for the painting, she said, “I grew up with stories narrated by my late grandmother; I grew up living in these stories, and I aim to share them through my paintings. Stories are the bridge transcending generations and fostering connections and understanding amongst peoples.”
In the past, the Chinese called Southeast Asia ‘Nanyang’ or the Southern Oceans. In her series Nanyang, Huifong depicted the stories of Chinese people travelling to Southeast Asia and eventually settling down in Brunei from the perspective of a fifth-generation Bruneian Chinese.
Meanwhile, Hijau (green), refers to the evergreen local culture of the Sultanate which Bruneians continue to enjoy even in the midst of rapid modernisation.
Alliance Française de Brunei Darussalam President Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hazair bin Haji Abdullah was among the invited guests along with members of the Diplomatic Corps, senior officials from financial institutions and prominent figures in the local community. – James Kon
