Malacca-born Chung Chen Sun is known not only as an artist, but also as an art educator. Twelve years after graduating from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1955, he became the founding member of the Malaysian Institute of Art (MIA). He later began a career as a professor in 1981, at the Chinese Cultural University, located in Taiwan. He founded the International Contemporary Ink Painting Association and promoted this form of art, contemporary ink painting, to the world.

In this piece titled 'Tin Mine', the artist utilised ink painting as a medium to illustrate a breath-taking tin mining landscape. He displayed the wet and washed-up sand in the foreground, and industrialised structures in the background to encapsulate the mining industry back in the day.

TIN MINING
1989

Keng Seng Choo
Watercolour
75 x 55 cm

Born:
1945, Alor Setar, Kedah

Collection of Bank Negara Malaysia

Between 1969 and 1985, Chin Kon Yit worked as a cartoonist in three major Chinese newspapers in Malaysia, before becoming a graphic designer. One of his most renowned successes as an artist is his 'Sketchbook' series publication where he detailed and characterised several major cities in Malaysia.

In 'Gedung Raja Abdullah Kelang', Kon Yit illustrated a very old building built around 1856 in Klang, Selangor. Currently closed for conservation work, it was originally used as a warehouse to store tin ore for one of the Malay tin-mining pioneer, Raja Abdullah. It has also been used as a government office and Police Head Quarter for Klang district.

Chin Kon Yit, a master of watercolour, prefers soft tones with tints of hues to emphasise and accentuate. This piece is one such example with detailed textures given to the trees and the roof of the building resulting in a tranquil atmosphere.

GEDONG RAJA ABDULLAH - KELANG
1988

Tajuddin Ismail
Watercolour
45 x 60 cm

Born:
1949, Negeri Sembilan

Collection of Bank Negara Malaysia

Raphael Scott Ahbeng, a native of Bau, Sarawak, was especially known for his landscapes of Sarawak. His artworks varied between abstract and landscape paintings, as well as figure drawings. He even sketched people in cartoon form, complete with witty snippets of conversations.

'The Bau Goldmine' centres around light and contrast with inordinate lines. Raphael seemed to be engrossed in the heaviness of the shadows, the solid contrasts of the mountains, and the reflection of the lake. Depicted also is the artist's imagination of the people gathering after mining.

The goldmine depicted in this painting, which began its operations in the 18th century, was closed in 1921. This painting preserves the legacy of the long lost goldmine of Bau for future generations to come.

RAJA ABDULLAH BUILDS GEDONG TO STORE TIN
1985

Long Thien Shih
Ink
49.5 x 59 cm

Born:
1946, Selangor

Collection of Bank Negara Malaysia

BUMI BAHAGIA LOMBONG BIJIH MALAYA
1960

Abdullah Ariff
Watercolour
36.4 x 54.1

Born:
1904 - 1962, Georgetown, Penang

Collection of Balai Seni Negara

Hu Te Hsin was born in 1926 with innate artistic capabilities. His style combined Chinese art techniques and batik painting, laced with poetic elements.

'Tin Mining' illustrates a few Chinese dulang washers panning for tin ores using dulang, in a knee-deep mine. Before the arrival of the British in Malaya, the mining process was a completely manual task, not aided by machineries. The tin ores were pumped into an elevated 'palong' where they were placed and separated from the sludge.

Vibrant colours, such as red and orange, were generously used in this piece. This is evident by its warm coral background and the bright reddish blouses worn by the workers, a colour associated with good luck in Chinese culture.

TIN MINE
1962

Long Thien Shih
Watercolour and soft pastel
28 x 76 cm

Born:
1946, Selangor

Collection of Artist

DULANG WASHERS
1980s

Wong Kean Choon
Watercolour and soft pastel
60 x 82 cm

Born:
1942, Perak

Collection of Artist

TIN MINING
1978

Tham Peng Choon
Oil Paint
82 x 118 cm

Born:
1946 - 2017, Perak

Collection of Private Collector

DULANG WAHSERS
1970s

Eric Peris
Digital C-print
52 x 75 cm

Born:
1939, Johor Bahru, Johor

Collection of Artist