This Malaysian craftsman adds lively colours to traditional wood carving art

'When I reintroduced this (colouring) technique, my hope was to expand the wood carving market and offer more choices to buyers and collectors,' says Burhan. Photo: Bernama

A few years ago, Burhan Ashari was labelled as a "destroyer" of heritage art when he introduced colouring techniques for traditional wood carving.

However, that didn’t stop the owner of Seni Kayu Warisan in Kuala Terengganu from doing what he believed was right and he remains optimistic that someday the technique would be elevated as a fine art in wood carving in this country, especially in Terengganu.