Making magic happen
Lileng Wong combines childhood memories and whimsical ideas to create ceramic marvels.
LILENG Wong, a graphic designer by profession, and an artist best known for her whimsical ceramic sculptures, will be the first to tell you about the importance of childhood memories.
The 50-year-old – who was born in Kuantan, Pahang, but grew up in Sabah – says her love affair with ceramics began back during her school days. During the holidays, she would follow her late father Wong Kim Meng to a red brick factory in Kota Kinabalu. “Seeing dad fire up the kiln and workers stoking woods in it, captivated me. The love of working with clay has been embedded in me ever since,” reveals Wong in a recent interview in Penang.
Fuelled by this innate desire to create beautiful shapes, she took a ceramic course while studying at the Kuala Lumpur College of Art and there was no turning back.
Clay is her favourite medium to express her feelings. And she finds ample inspiration in recollections of childhood incidents.
“My dad and I worked with the same
material, clay, but the outcomes are so different. He made bricks, while I use it to create something fun and mystical,” she says of her sculptures.
Her recent solo exhibition titled Forever Magician was held at Art Space 1 of China House in George Town last month.
It included the titular piece Forever Magician that has a humanoid figure with an animal mask, floating balloons and clock parts, above ground.
Wong says the piece represents time – the past, present and future – and is a homage to her beloved father, who passed away in 2014. “Everything my dad gave me was colourful and magical. As a child, he would amaze me with stories or the things he did,” recalls Lileng, who now lives and works in Kuala Lumpur and The Netherlands.
She points to examples like how her father would set up the prayer altar at their home with lots of lanterns and offerings, during festive seasons.
The family also had many animals in their home, including turtles. One day, upon returning from school, she saw only the shells lying around.
“My dad didn’t want to upset me by telling me they were slaughtered, so instead he said they changed houses. I only found out the truth when I was older. But it was magical how he created a story, for a child to move on,” Wong looks back fondly.
Understandably, animals often feature in her works.
“Clay is just another medium as opposed to canvas. I prefer its three dimensional nature. You can turn it into almost anything you want,” she says.
A typical ceramic sculpture starts with a lump of clay, which Wong then shapes and sculpts. It is then left to dry and harden slowly over a period of two weeks, otherwise it would become brittle.
The piece is then fired in a kiln at 900°C, following which it is painted with coloured glazes and then fired again at 2,000°C.
More intricate works can often comprise of several individual pieces, which are joined together at the end. This can be a delicate task, as the artist has to account for the clay shrinking about 20% throughout the process, explains Wong.
“Sometimes, if a part is not right, you just have to cut it off or throw it away and start again. Over the years, I’ve thrown quite a few heads away.
“Forme,theeyes are the most important part as they are winthe dows to character’s soul,” says Wong, who was delighted to hold her exhibition in Penang.
She is fascinated by the island’s culture, history and architecture, and felt that the rustic exhibition space, with some exposed bricks showing through the walls, brought her full circle.
The show was her 18th, dating back to 2001. Previously, she has also showcased her works in exhibitions in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, the Philippines, the United States of America, Denmark and Italy. Notably in 2007, she was accepted as one of the artists in residence for the Tsugaru Kanayama Pottery programme at the city of Goshogawara in Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan.