Monday February 2, 2009
Drawing from experience
MALAYSIAN ABROAD By WONG LI ZA
Lydia Chai can finally make art her full-time career.
LYDIA Chai may be the only artist in her family, but she grew up in an environment abound with creativity.
Her parents, both lawyers, painted for leisure – her mother’s forte were portraits and watercolours while her father’s was Chinese painting.
“For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be an artist. After my father passed away, I inherited his Chinese brushes. Both my older sisters also have an artistic flair, so there was always creativity in our house,” said Chai, 28, via e-mail.
Now based in Auckland, Chai graduated from the city’s Elam School of Fine Arts in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. However, she was already exhibiting her work outside of school before graduation.
Chai’s work ranges from Chinese ink and watercolour paintings to socially interactive projects.
One example of her interactive projects is a series of works she did in 2007 based on the theme “footnotes”. In the project, she asked people to send her things related to the idea of footnotes, such as an associative word, an object or image.
Lydia Chai Xiao Nian : ‘I have always wanted to be an artist.’ Based on the responses received, she made drawings on postcards which she exhibited. Her viewers also had a chance to receive a postcard for free after the exhibition.
“In that way, I acted as a filter for other people’s ideas by making art out of their interpretations of ‘footnotes’ and then dispersing the artwork into the world. That way, the ideas travel back and forth like footnotes do.
“A footnote is exciting because you don’t know where it will lead to. I also liked that people could have a small piece of original art for free,” said Chai, from Petaling Jaya.
In 2007, Chai also exhibited in a group show Tell Me To My Face organised by The High Street Project, an artist-run organisation based in Christchurch.
In the same year, she curated Footnotes: Walking Backwards Toward Meaning, an online and magazine exhibition for Malaysia’s Off The Edge magazine.
“Curating Footnotes was challenging and ultimately satisfying. That was my first and only stint as a proper curator which is a tricky role indeed, as it’s a hit-and-miss affair.
“First of all, you have to pick artists you believe will deliver not only quality work, but who would be manageable and not stretch the deadline too much.
“Secondly, after choosing the artists, you have to trust that they will deliver work that is relevant to the exhibition. It’s very much an exercise in both faith and risk-taking!”
Last August, Chai was back in Malaysia to hold a joint exhibition, Chin Chai, with fellow artist and friend Sharon Chin, who is based in Kuala Lumpur.
The exhibition featured a series of drawings, text, installations and kinetic sculptures which explored ideas of distance and friendship in relation to artistic collaboration.
“The exhibition was titled after our surnames and was successful in that we managed to present art in a form that is not often seen in Malaysia. It was poetic and thought-provoking at the same time,” she said.
Chai, who also likes to watch car races and grow her own vegetables, had to do a little toiling before becoming a full-time artist.
After graduating, she married a fellow artist, a New Zealander she met in art school.
However, soon after the wedding, she felt she had to return to Malaysia not only to sort out the paperwork for her New Zealand permanent residency but also because of a strong desire to contribute to the KL art scene.
“It was hard-going not living with my husband for so long but making friends in KL was easy because everyone was warm, friendly and helpful. The art scene is so small that artists are willing to help each other out more often than not. That is what makes the KL scene special to me.”
In 2006, she returned to Auckland and worked as a legal administrator in a commercial law firm. However, Chai intends to quit at the end of this month to pursue her art full-time.
“I’m at the crossroads of my life right now. After trying the corporate world for the past two and a half years while making art on the side, by dint of resourcefulness and thrift I’ve managed to save enough to become a full-time artist for at least a year. In effect, I’ve sponsored myself an art residency and I’m very excited about it.”
Chai’s creative streak is not limited to strokes on canvas but stretches to paper as well. The artist, who likes hiking and runs to keep fit, also writes about art for different publications.
In addition, she privately dabbles in writing poetry and short stories, the latter to hone her fiction-writing skills.
“Writing about art is much easier for me because at least I’m able to use other people’s art as a starting point, whereas with fiction, one starts from scratch, in a sense.”
Books and films rank high as Chai’s sources of inspiration in her art pieces.
“Being a writer myself, words are often a starting point for my artwork. I admire German filmmaker Werner Herzog because of his assured sense of self, and his films reflect that. No one else makes films and documentaries like he does,” said Chai, who also composes songs on the piano for fun.
Rehman Rashid’s A Malaysian Journey, which she picked up recently, has also become one of her favourite books.
“I found it to be a very engaging and highly personal account of recent Malaysian history. His writing is humorous, poignant, nostalgic, enraged and impassioned. I can identify with that passion for our tanah air,” she said.
In the end, someone back home remains Chai’s biggest motivation in life – her mother.
“She is a shining example of discipline, drive and passion. She taught her three daughters how to be strong and confident women, to believe that the world is for our taking, but at the same time how to be gentle with people, because you are nothing if you have lots of success and no compassion,” she said.
Fact File
Full name: Lydia Chai Xiao Nian
Age: 28
Hometown: Petaling Jaya
Education: SRK Bukit Damansara; SM Taman Sri Hartamas; SM Damansara Utama; Fairfield Methodist Secondary School, Singapore; Yishun Junior College, Singapore; Elam School of Fine Arts, New Zealand.
Occupation: Artist
Current base: Auckland, New Zealand
Total years abroad: 12
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