Artist Mark Evans carves a polo game on leather

Evans’ leather art piece Grace Thunders welcomes visitors to St Regis Kuala Lumpur. Photo: St Regis KL

Step into the lobby of the St Regis Kuala Lumpur hotel, and you will be greeted by a magnificent sight on the walls. A diptych (two-panel work) showing polo players in the heat of a thrilling game: the riders straddled, mallets raised, their horses charging toward the ball.

At first glance, the realism of the images may make you think you are looking at a black-and-white photograph, or perhaps a photo-realistic painting. Yet take a closer look, and you’ll discover the images are not on canvas.