Merging Culture with Art

Suzi Sitai’s art catalogue is predominantly Borneo-inspired – ranging from painfully delicate illustrations of a Lunbawang girl, portraits of ethnic girls in the bold colours of their traditional costumes, a flowery detailed sketch of Borneo island and a quirky colourful illustration of assorted Malay kueh. Identifying as a multi-disciplinary artist, Suzi combines different media and styles to create art forms in unconventional ways, continuously experimenting with new forms of expressions using established art forms. And her aesthetic tends to be unmistakably Bornean.

Born in a family of creatives and niece to Awang Sitai – a local veteran artist – Suzi credits her heritage, family and home as her biggest inspirations. But her inspiration to focus on Borneo-themed art arose from her struggles with her own identity as a person with a multi-ethnic background. With her own views on the importance of preserving cultural identity for the benefit of future generations, Suzi started on her cultural art career at her final year in Universiti Brunei Darussalam, exhibiting a showcase aptly named “Beauty of Diversity” at the final year art exhibition. The set of four paintings featured her own cultural background of Lun Bawang, Iban, Dusun and Hakka female characters, and was an expression of her own identity as a multi-ethnic and multi-disciplinary artist passionate about preserving the beauty of culture.

Suzi also accepts commissions for customised artwork. Check out her beautiful artwork below or contact her for more details. Website: susannahsitailiew.com IG: @suzi_sitai Email: Susannah.sitai43@gmail.com