Majesty of strength
From ceramic tiles to paintings, multidisciplinary artist Alice Chang shapes her feelings about universal emotions through art.
THERE’S a picture hanging on one of the walls of the L2 Art Gallery that depicts a tired elephant lying down to rest under a starry sky which immediately catches the eye.
“That’s me,” says Alice Chang Oi Lai when asked for her interpretation of the work.
The large brush painting using oils on canvas is part of the artist’s private collection on display at the gallery which is tucked away in a quiet residential area in Kuala Ampang, Selangor.
“I don’t intend to sell it because I have a connection with it and feel it is very much like me. I enjoy a certain solitude when I’m done with all my work at the end of the day – creating at the studio, taking care of my children, cooking for the family. I like having my own time then. Even when I travel, it’s usually solo, and I am comfortable being alone. I find those times inspiring, and I gather many ideas,” she says as she gently caresses the stars in the painting.
“It’s always good to have a time to sit down and rest, alone.”
Chang’s art is varied, and it’s hard to pinpoint a particular genre that exemplifies her body of work.
The 52-year-old who grew up in the ricefields of Jerantut, Pahang uses many techniques, from oil paintings to mosaics, embroidery and relief sculptures, in order to express and communicate her inner feelings with the outside world.
Spend a little time getting to know her and you will discover her passions revolve around children, family, the environment, animals, sustainability and art.
L2 Gallery doubles up as her studio, Lai Lai Art Studio, where she has the freedom and privacy to work on her unique creations in a quiet, creative space.
During this interview, she is working on a life-sized bull mosaic. Armed with a tile nipper, she carefully cuts silky red tiles into various shapes and sizes, then cements them onto a large bullish sculpture which stands majestically in what must have been the wet kitchen area of this converted space. Bedroom and living room walls have been torn down so the gallery/studio is open and breezy.
“It’s for Chinese New Year,” she says about the stately sculpture on which she is working.
“He’s looking upwards as I wanted to depict his fighting spirit. I hope he can fight off the rat!” she adds with a smile, referring to the creatures of the Chinese Zodiac calendar. The year of the Rat, which was filled with the doom and gloom of the Covid-19 pandemic, ends on Feb 11.
The year 2021 is the year of the bull, or Ox, and Chang’s sculpture seems ready to ward off any negative vibes that may still be lingering.
Chang will call the piece Return Of The Mythical Red Auroch .She offers: “The large wild cattle’s life force was believed to possess great magical qualities in ancient times, and it is said that it will bless anyone fortunate enough to encounter it with strength, stability, fertility and virility. Exactly what we need in these times of uncertainty!”
Mosaic therapy
The mosaic work, which upon completion will be showcased at the Four Points by Sheraton Kuala Lumpur in Chinatown, is painstaking but Chang is passionate about it.
“I started doing mosaics because it’s a very therapeutic process for me,” Chang relates, sharing that after holding exhibitions in Italy in 2018 (Brescia) and 2019 (Milan), she felt herself thoroughly exhausted.
“It was all too much for me, and I wasn’t even comfortable being in my studio after that. I felt drained, and I wanted to try out other things that would help me relax. I heard that one of my Scottish friends was into mosaics, and she shared with me where to get the materials and how to get started. After that I just picked up the skill by learning online.”
L2 gallery currently houses several mosaic sculptures, including elephants, fish, whales and furniture, all of which were part of the Ars Simia Naturae (Art Imitates Life) exhibition which kicked off when the gallery was launched in October 2020.
Chang reveals that the mosaic work gave her liberation.
“I was finally able to go back to working on canvas. It was like a breakthrough and I could once again paint.”
Finding her path
“I always loved painting,” Chang says as she reminisces about her growing up years. “When I was young, I would draw birds. We were surrounded by rice fields and fruit trees, so it was natural for me to draw and paint what I saw.”
After high school, Chang moved to Kuala Lumpur to find work in the city.
“I then travelled to Japan to study Japanese and I returned to work at a Japanese travel agency. Soon after that I ventured out on my own, selling bags. Finally I met my husband, Roberta Guerra in 2000 and settled down.”
Chang recalls kickstarting her art career soon after her son was born in 2010.
“Although I always wanted to paint, I didn’t have the time. I think one needs to settle down first, otherwise you will find that your mind is not free to explore creatively.
“You need to have time, and of course, finances. I have been very fortunate that my husband has been so supportive of my passion and pursuit of art. He has not just been a source of encouragement but also gives me the time and space to explore my creativity.”
Her early work consists of a lot of paintings of elephants, and they have turned up in her mosaics as well.
“When my son was growing up, we would visit the zoo frequently. I was always enamoured by the elephants. To me, they are very human in the way they care for their babies, carrying them for 24 months, then watching over them when they are young. It’s an uncomplicated, unconditional kind of love. And I found their social code similar to human beings, as a new mother then, I could relate to that love and it was easy to express in my art.”
Chang said she began classes with a few teachers in Malaysia but was not able to find one that suited her.
“I could not seem to follow the traditional ways of learning how to paint. The teachers were very good but I found it hard to follow. I wanted the freedom to explore. I wanted to express my inner feelings onto the canvas, and not folon low a set of instructions. I was eager to get my work canvas whether it was good or bad,” shares Chang.
“I strongly believed then, and now, that as an artist you must be honest in your art.”
Chang’s husband suggested she go abroad and so she set off to visit museums and exhibitions in Paris, Spain and on the French Riviera. “I enjoyed this time of travel and learning very much.”
The artist says that these days her process of working is free and easy.
“I don’t have a plan of what I am going to do. I usually just follow my feelings while I am in the studio. Some days I can’t wait to get to the studio because I have to work fast as inspiration is often fleeting,” she says.
As we walk around the gallery she points out a series of walrus relief sculptures made with resin and marble dust.
“I only managed to make eight of these. And if you ask me to replicate them now, I probably can’t because the way I felt then has changed over the course of time.”
There are many quirky wonders to behold in her quaint studio/gallery – a rabbit, which was part of the Hops & Dreams exhibition at Kwai Chai Hong in KL for the Mid Autumn Festival last year – covered in beads and lace, and lights up at night; a piece of furniture which looks part chair, part elephant and is covered in yellow tiled mosaic. A whale designed out of various pieces of cut ceramics, which looks almost like a post-impressionist artwork.
Chang’s studio is filled with
ceramics, old plates and cups, which she someday hopes to repurpose into different works of art.
Recycling mission
“I enjoy using recycled materials. I believe we have a responsibility when it comes to using the earth’s resources. With my mosaic sculptures, I want to upcycle these used and discarded material into something of value and beauty. My intention is to create something long lasting, not something that will someday end up in a landfill. I hope that the people who acquire my art will keep it for a long time.”
A planned Christmas exhibition, Legacy, had to be postponed because of the extended movement control order (MCO) here, and is now slated to be displayed at the Four Points by Sheraton in May. The idea for this show, which features what looks like gift box mosaics, was born out of the challenges everyone, everywhere, is facing.
“Navigating through the wave of emotions during this pandemic has brought our community closer together and tested our resilience in more ways than one. My idea was to present gifts to everybody,” says Chang.
The five colourful pieces in this
series, all feature “one eye”. This was done deliberately. “I’ve hidden an eye, because during times like this, we need to look around us not just with our sight but with our hearts too. The hidden eye is in your heart.”
Plans for the future
Together with gallery partner and friend Kok Lee Min, Chang has a few ideas for engaging the community around her in her creative journey, including working with children and raising funds for charitable causes.
“In May, we were planning to do an exhibition to create awareness and raise funds for Sun Bear conservation,” says Kok, who takes care of marketing and the business side of the gallery.
“We want to contribute to the those in need but we are also serious serious about treating this as a
business so that we are sustainable, and we have drawn up plans until next year,” says Kok, adding that even though the pandemic has thrown a spanner in the works, they are ready to go with the flow. She is also excited to confirm that they have recently drawn up an agreement with the Four Points by Sheraton KL for a series of collaborations, including an exhibition and workshop in conjunction with World Autism Month.
“We also have plans to work on a children’s exhibition later in the year, something we hope to take forward as an annual event. It’s very close to Alice’s and my vision to engage with all children and to give them an inclusive environment to work in, as well as a platform to showcase their works to the public, so they are able to develop commitment, learn strategies and gain confidence in a creative sphere.”