BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): Rising Brunei artist Hui Fong will be featuring 17 of her paintings in a solo exhibition taking place in Lyon, France, from February 3 to 8.
Hui Fong’s solo exhibition is organised by the Association des Amitiés Franco-Chinoise (AAFC) Franco-Chinese Friendship Association and supported by la Mairie du 3ème arrondissement de Lyon (the Town Hall of the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon).
The theme is ‘The World is A Garden,’ which is the continuation of Hui Fong’s ‘The Garden Rhapsodies’ series.
In an interview, Hui Fong shared her excitement, “This is my first solo exhibition in France. In fact, it is also my first solo in Europe. It is a dream come true. To reflect on this achievement, I have many people to thank who have been cherishing and supporting my work.”
On recalling how the exhibition came about, “I was elated when Laurent Pingault shared with me that AAFC and la Mairie du 3ème arrondissement de Lyon will host my solo exhibition in France. Actually, in 2014, the Alliance Française de Brunei Darussalam hosted my solo exhibition at their premises.
"It was then that I was first introduced to the French community in Brunei, where Laurent Pingault and his wife Isabelle came to know about my works and introduced me in an article in 2022. One thing led to another and 11 years later, I have my first solo exhibition in France.”
She revealed that the artworks will showcase a garden series, where Brunei’s local fruits and plants are also part of the collection.
‘The World is A Garden’, she described, “has some plant paintings from Italy and France too.
"For the local flowers and plants, I find inspiration from my father’s garden, which, during the time of painting, I also learned to tend with him and my mother, hence giving me a deeper sense of appreciation of Mother Nature. For example, the pineapple plant, the passionfruit and the turmeric plants are from our garden. The poinciana tree painting was inspired by a tree along the roadside in Kuala Belait.”
She added: “It’s about appreciating everyday life and its little details and completing them into artworks and weaving a little poetry into them. It’s a great honour to be given this opportunity to share these artworks with art appreciators in France.”
After returning from France, she revealed, “I’ll focus on some cross-cultural events in Brunei while also building up my portfolio for another Singapore solo exhibition in 2026. This time, I’ll showcase my other permanent series, like the ‘Nanyang’ and ‘Hijau’ series, alongside the Garden series.”- Borneo Bulletin/ANN
