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Yeoh Kean Thai
BEYOND POINTS OF RUST
In his recent solo exhibition entitled ‘Crossing,’ award winning artist Yeoh Kean Thai communicates his primary concerns. Michele Theseira relates his subject matter
 Have you ever visited an art gallery or attended an art exhibition where you surf the gallery, walking through the many artworks and suddenly are captivated by a particular one that seems to speak to you? You stop, take in the piece’s impact and by now, your mind wonders into its own domain trying to make some sense of the arresting visual in front of you.
You glance at the title of the composition and come up with some interpretation, probably significant to oneself and soon after in mingling with the crowd, listening to other’s observations and the artist’s intention – wonder how you ever came up with yours. Nevertheless, the uniqueness of this evaluation process and the experience, is the entitlement of the artist’s audience.
In the world of art especially, black is not always black and white is really never white. Penang-born Yeoh Kean Thai, fondly known as Thai, has always been fundamentally drawn to painting to achieve visual balance and perfection, conveying a message through his language of art. He relates, “In my sixth form of high-school education, my art teacher was particularly inspirational and introduced me to a broader view and context in art.”
“Although I had always been considered a skilled painter at school, on completing secondary six, I worked as a field enumerator with the statistics department as reading art academically was out of the question due to financial constraints at that time. The head of my department and my art teacher were the ones who encouraged me to further my study in art and improve my skill.” This led Thai to begin his formal and in-depth education in art at the Kuala Lumpur College of Art after a short stint working with the government.
Today, the internationally known artist continues his artistic journey, which has run from infant stage to maturity. “I paint and create because this is what I love to do. My inspiration is to continually develop my aesthetic language to be able to communicate the environmental messages and social aspects which my paintings are known for, to reach a wider audience,” he states. One who has since early years been an activist in environmental concerns, Thai recalls an art camp at Shah Alam’s Bukit Cahaya which gathered international environmentalists and advocators. “I was taken up by the talks and wanted to develop an aesthetic based on global green issues even though landscape and still life were not the trend then, shares Thai.”
Thai’s recent works have taken him across borders, further studying conservation as well as Mother Nature’s effects in the process of corroding metal. Since 1992, he has been working with metal and rust, which portray his concerns about the degradation of the environment in this contemporary world. “My new subject matter encourages viewers to look beyond and consider how we should continue to live – to avoid the rusting of our personal, social and environmental lives. I believe life has become too focussed on trivial matters such as the accumulation of numerical wealth, just a lot of numbers that represent a changing and often deceptive net worth,” shares the philosophical painter.
Looking over his art career, Thai remembers many a jubilant time, such as having his works selected when he was still a fresh art graduate. “Naturally, I was very happy when I sold my first painting, and this was my first show,” Thai recollects, gleaming as though remembering every detailed emotion of that very first sale. Another proud occasion for Thai was when he won the coveted Phillip Morris Award Malaysia, after being selected together with four other Malaysians to compete in the Philippines amongst Asean painters.
His winning piece took nearly a year to complete, and entailed a lot of blood, sweat and tears apart from inspired patience and focus. Much time was spent researching the oxidation process of metals and the progression of rust, after which selected objects were put to the test. They were composed, cut and shaped then monitored while in decomposition, not using any modern tools or machinery, only Thai’s bare hands, regular pliers and nature’s weather.
Having recently won the prestigious Freeman Fellowship and completing his tenure in Vermont, usa, humble Thai states, “I am happy enough when people attend my exhibition, let alone appreciate my works by giving their comments. Personally, I am satisfied even looking at my collection being displayed at an exhibition as I know I’ve done my best in them,” claims Thai, who is sometimes tickled to hear individual perspectives and comments on his artwork.
From first wanting to become a fireman, doctor or lawyer, Thai is content that he remained true to his calling even though he was the only one who delved into the arts, while his six other siblings excel in the sciences. His vocation has taken him abroad, crossing the global arena, with hangings in New York’s Park Avenue during the Asian Art Fair; at the Vermont Studio Center during the Freeman Fellowship’s Portfolio Exhibition; in Beijing at the East Asia Show during the recent Beijing Olympics; and in the Paths of Thought exhibition in Naples, Italy.
But most noble about Thai is the dream he works towards achieving – “to make an excellent impression on the history of art, travel the world, continually learn and be challenged while trying to make a global imprint.”
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