I TEND to go for the understated but when Soon Lai Wai's ongoing Sensuous
Oriental exhibition arrived at the New Straits Times, my preconceptions
about Oriental art vanished. I was drawn, time and again, to a florid
violet painting of lotuses with a huge `gap' of space on the side. That
space meant more than just emptiness as I discovered later.

Soon graduated from the Saito Academy of Art Design with a diploma in

graphic design. During the six-month foundation course, his focus was on

oil, acrylics and sketchings.

He started out in advertising from 1993 to 1996. Under a team of

creative people, he learned how to position and market a product or

oneself, eventually becoming senior visualiser cum junior art director.

Soon picked up Chinese ink painting seven years ago, intuitively drawn

to the way Chinese ink smears onto paper. This prompted a further

exploration into the tradition and philosophy of Chinese ink painting.

His Sensuous Oriental series of lotus flowers and landscapes are the

result of this exploration. Influenced by traditional Chinese art

painting, Soon chose the lotus flower to express his virtuosity. Besides

growing lotuses in his garden, he has travelled widely to admire their

beauty in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.

The broad leaves, succulent petals and long stalks allow him to paint

with powerful strokes and break away from traditional art painting. The

wild and energetic brush strokes enliven the works with jagged lines,

splashes of colours and the use of white which harmonise on canvas.

His aim, as expressed in the Chinese notion: "dispersed to allow a

horse's passage, yet dense to keep out the wind", is to create a visually

impressive painting that's `complete'. This allows the space or qi (life

energy) to flow out and gives the viewer `time to breathe'. The

`emptiness' in Soon's pieces are deliberate and exquisite.

Rhythm is also an essential element in Soon's compositions - there is

sometimes action between the object and the environment. Hence the

inclusion of fish in some paintings which gives the viewer a sense of

`movement'.

Rockscapes, a progression from his Earth Series drawn between 1991 and

2002, conveys the abstract mood on canvas. Inspired by his travels to

Pulau Perhentian, Redang, Koh Samui and Koh Phi Phi, Soon `captures' light

on cascading pristine waters.

In his pursuit of the Malaysian identity in art, Soon also deals in

mixed-media, pasting silk-screen and batik pieces.

He has to date participated in the National Art Gallery Malaysia Bakat

Muda fine art selected show, Penang, the 15th Chinese ink painting

exhibition, Kuala Lumpur (1998) and the Open Tang Lung Group Show, Malacca

(1999) which brought together 99 artists for a Chinese ink painting art

exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, among others. He won the Philip Morris Group

of Companies `Asean Art Award' in 1997 and 1999.

* His Lotus and Rockscape works are on until Dec 31 at the main lobby,

The New Straits Times. For information, contact Soon at 012-668 1121 or

email wayac@streamyx.com