With emerald green, Sankemakly brings the Boon Wah Co Textile building on Campbell Street and Rope Walk in George Town to life. Photo: Sankemakly
A chance encounter on an Immigration Department bench has led to over a decade of friendship, collaboration and colour.
Two artists from Selangor, who go simply by the names Sankema (Tee Lee Hooi) and Kly (Then Yee Peng), began chatting while waiting in a long queue for their numbers to be called and clicked immediately.
One from Rawang and the other from Klang, they found they were both graduates in the field of fine arts and both loved travelling, which was apt as they were waiting to renew their passports.
After that fateful day, the duo became travel buddies and also ventured into the catering business together in 2014.
“We sold toast for breakfast and gave away a small hand-painted card to each of our customers.
We established a small reputation and when the business closed up three years later, many people still remembered our cards, but not our toast!” laughs the duo, who prefer to answer questions as a pair.
The friends eventually set up a brand called Sankemakly (a name they also use to refer to themselves collectively) that focuses on hand-painted art.
In recent years, Sankemakly has ventured into publishing, with their third book Old Houses Of George Town launched in June this year.
An illustration of Lebuh Carnarvon’s ‘Ladies And Gents Clothing’ tailor shop, one of the highlights in the new Sankemakly book. Photo: Sankemakly
Their first book, entitled Bukit Pelandok – Grandma’s Home focused on the drawing of buildings in Bukit Pelandok and Kampung Baru, near the Nipah River in Negri Sembilan while their second publication was a colouring book that featured local shophouse facades.
Both were printed in Chinese but were received so well that the pair were encouraged to make their work more accessible to a wider audience.
“The people who bought our books came from many ethnic groups and there were even foreign tourists.
Some tagged us after purchasing and we sold a number face-to-face, so we got to know our clientele,” says Sankemakly.
“When we published our second book, Malaysia Pretty Shoplot: The Colouring Book, the original intention was to allow readers to colour along with our works.
“Later, we received many suggestions from readers who wanted to know more about the stories behind the buildings that we drew, so our third book took in all these suggestions,” they add.
Their most recent art book – Old Houses Of George Town – is their first bilingual publication, written in both Chinese and English.
The artist duo behind Sankemakly: Sankema Tee Lee Hooi, (right) and Kly Then Yee Peng seen with their illustrations for their new book 'Old Houses Of George Town' at a recent launch event in Penang. Photo: Lim Beng Tatt/The Star
Although the idea of writing in a language that is not their mother tongue was daunting, the pair says good editors and proofreaders helped them successfully pull off the feat.
“We wanted to get the best presentation for the work we offered up,” they say.
Lost in the city
Language was one thing, but delving into the art – the crux of the book – was a whole other matter.
Old Houses Of George Town is a collection of drawings and a love letter of sorts to the historic city that serves as the capital of the state of Penang.
The book, containing 118 detailed sketches of shopfronts and building facades, is the culmination of a two-month sojourn to the inner city.
“Wherever we travel, we are always in awe of the wonders of local architecture, be it the densely-packed high-rises of Hong Kong or the narrow, slender buildings of Hanoi.
“The architecture of each place is different, with their own characteristics. We believe that architecture, in addition to people, is truly the soul of a city,” say Sankemakly.
Lebuh Pantai’s Central Fire Station, given Sankemakly’s red trimmings. Photo: Sankemakly
“People may choose to leave, but the buildings will always be there, experiencing a baptism of time and waiting for you to come back,” add the duo.
To authentically capture George Town, the talented women knew there was only one route: stay in the city until they no longer got lost.
“To draw local architecture well, we believed that we needed to naturally integrate with it. So, when we started this project, we decided to stay on the island for two months. “Like locals, we went to coffeeshops to drink tea and eat breakfast, eavesdropped on the conversations of neighbouring tables and observed firsthand how old shop owners work hard for their living,” they say.
“In the beginning, we still needed to use navigation tools to guide the way.
“But after a month, we could freely shuttle through the streets and alleys of George Town,” they proudly add.
Falling in love with George Town, which they both emphatically say they did, was not the problem.
In the heritage city that was inscribed into the Unesco World Heritage List in 2008, the challenge was too much to draw and too little time to take it all in.
“George Town has the largest collection of pre-war buildings in Malaysia, all within a unique architectural and cultural urban landscape. It’s an architectural treasure.
In addition to their sketchbook work, the duo captured over 5,000 reference photos during their time in George Town, using the images to inform and refine their drawings. Photo: Sankemakly
“In addition to important historical landmarks, there are temples, association sites, shophouses ... all preserved from the washing of time,” they say.
Their initial plan was to choose 200 shoplots and buildings but they quickly realised how ambitious that target was.
“There were too many beautiful shops in George Town. After discussion, the two of us decided to choose certain streets and alleys where we felt the old shops were most concentrated, then select the buildings we liked.
“Seven is such a significant number; there are seven days in a week and seven colours in the rainbow.
So we went with lucky number seven when it came to roads,” they explain.
The book now uses seven important streets in George Town to anchor its collection.
They include the ever popular Armenian Street, that is Sankema’s personal favourite, Beach Street that is the “money” hub of the area, boasting an impressive number of banks and perhaps even more money changers, Carnavron Street where hawker-fare is never in short supply and Chulia Street, a prime example of the state’s rich multicultural heritage.
A box of colours
With the scope narrowed down and the streets chosen, Sankema and Kly got down to work, drawing maps of each chosen street.
“The route of each street needed to be clear and the location of the stores we drew confirmed again and again.
“Because our funds were limited and we had a deadline, we took over 5,000 photos as references for the drawings,” they say.
The New Asia Heritage Hotel, situated in the heart of George Town, is one of the works featured in Sankemkly's new book 'Old Houses Of George Town'. Photo: Sankemakly
“Generally, one of us is responsible for sketching and the other responsible for colouring. Of course, there are also times when we complete a piece of work independently.
“However, just like an orchestra, whether we draw alone or work together, these works are jointly owned by both of us,” Sankemakly explain.
The style they create together is neither purely realistic nor comic-like but rather, a blend of the two.
With emerald green, they bring to life the imposing Boon Wah Co Textile building that occupies the corner of Campbell Street and Jalan Pintal Tali (also known as Rope Walk).
From the faded shutters to the nostalgic discoloration of the slanted windows, the essence of the historic building that they are able to capture draws both sighs and smiles.
“The silk shop’s official Chinese name was the most eye-catching.
“The green lake-coloured building makes people feel like they have fallen into a scene in one of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s works,” the artists say.
But not all the structures featured in the book are big or iconic.
An illustration of Lebuh Campbell’s The Caffeine Cartel building. Photo: Sankemakly
From ais kacang shops to goldsmiths, the subjects in Old Houses Of George Town are varied, to say the least.
The list includes markets, Chinese medical halls, mamak restaurants, modern boutiques, cafes and shops offering an array of wares.
Scrap metal dealer Karthigeyini Metal on Beach Street is immortalised in sombre shades on one page, contrasting deeply with the baby pink of the refurbished, pre-war double shoplots that make up the new Kimberley Boutique Hotel on Kimberley Street that fills another.
The mystical, playful facade of the 14 Living Story souvenir shop on Armenian Street is lovely to behold while depictions of the hundreds of toys hanging outside the Syarikat Teik Seng toy shop tickles hearts both old and young.
“People ask why we use coloured pencils as our medium of colouring.
“This came from something we used to do while travelling; we would bring a box of coloured pencils around as it was so easy to carry and we could draw without relying on any other tools.
“We also wanted to go back to how we originally used to colour, as kids. Coloured pencils are the first tools of colour that we came in contact with in life and anyone can use it, from a three-year-old child to an 80-year-old adult,” they say.
Since launching their book in the middle of the year, the Sankemakly duo has returned to George Town to share their experiences, encourage colouring and host an exhibition of the book’s original sketches at the COEX cultural hub located in the Hin Bus Depot.
Old Houses Of George Town can be found at selected bookstores, including Books Kinokuniya (in KLCC) and independent bookstores like Penang Book Island and Mano Plus.
