GEORGE TOWN, Aug 13 — A monk in a bright vermillion robe sits with a walking cane in his wrinkled hands but instead of the face of a man, the head is that of a brown rabbit with a bright curious shine to its eyes.
Flanking the rabbit is a tiger dressed in fur-lined royal robes of gold and an ox in a formal royal blue suit sitting at a table going through a sheaf of papers.
These are part of a collection of 12 paintings depicting the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac; it’s a surreal yet seamless combination of human and animal forms by English artist Thomas Powell.
The acrylic paintings are meticulously done where the heads of each animal stand out almost in stark contrast to the human bodies dressed in various costumes against different settings.
There is a snake above a body of a woman dressed in an ancient Chinese costume holding a cup of tea or a sheep in a plain white tunic holding a flute.
The 28-year-old, who has been “commuting” between George Town and England regularly since his first visit here back in 2009, wanted to depict how a zodiac is supposed to represent someone’s character or behaviour.
“I wanted to expand on the idea of combining a human body with an animal head after Macalister Mansion commissioned me to paint one of a deer with a human body before this,” he said.
From there, he decided to put on canvas his own interpretation of the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese believe the zodiac controls the destiny of those born in a certain year.
According to Chinese beliefs, the Chinese zodiac is based on a 12-year cycle where each year in one cycle corresponds to an animal sign.
The 12 animals in the zodiac arranged according to a set order are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
The Chinese Zodiac exhibition of the 12 life-like paintings is at the Macalister Mansion along Macalister Road here during the George Town Festival 2014 (GTF 2014) this month.
He first pitched the idea to hold his exhibition of the Chinese Zodiac to Macalister Mansion before he decided to pitch the idea to hold the exhibition as part of the GTF programme.
“I thought it would be interesting to come up with my version of the Chinese zodiac and wanted it to be a part of GTF,” he said.
This is not the first time Powell has worked with GTF as he was the artist who designed the first GTF logo when the annual festival debuted in 2010.
How Powell first got roped in to help in the first GTF was almost accidental because at that time, he was merely here as a tourist with a friend before festival director Joe Sidek “found” him.
“Joe stopped me and my friend in the street and asked if we wanted to be models in a show. My friend wanted to be in it so we both cast aside any reservations of getting into cars with strangers and got into his car,” he said.
That was how he eventually met Irene Yeap, of Malihom, and later took part in a six-month Malihom Artists in Residency programme.
Since then, Powell has become a full time artist who gets commissions to paint or sculpt works of art for private establishments.
The Fine Arts graduate from the University of Loughborough also took part in a group exhibition titled Think About It two months back at the Hin Bus Depot Art Centre.
The talented artist, whose main medium is acrylic on canvas, has been dabbling in the arts from young as a hobby.
“Now, I do it because it is fun and I would love to explore having more exhibitions in other Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and even Hong Kong,” he said.
Powell has another solo exhibition coming up in mid-December this year at the Hin Bus Depot.
Though not permanently based in Penang, Powell loves living in Penang for long periods of time before taking off on his travels back to England, sometimes to France.
“I think Penang is the heart and soul of Malaysia. It used to be a busy port where goods were traded and now, it’s more of a place for the exchange of ideas, art and culture,” he said.
He is particularly impressed with the mix of cultures, the warmth of the people and especially the food.
“I just love the food here. I remember eating wanton noodles for a month and I’ve been trying a variety of food here such as nasi kandar and nyonya food,” he said.
“I just love Penang, it’s so wonderful living here,” he added.
The Chinese Zodiac exhibition is open daily between 10am and 6pm and ends on August 31.
To find out more about the exhibition or Powell’s upcoming solo exhibition in December, go to his Facebook page at Thomas Powell Artist.
GTF 2014 is held annually for a whole month in celebration of George Town’s inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This year, GTF 2014 starts on August 1 and ends on August 31, and a total 147 programmes are lined up for the festival.
Find out more about GTF programmes at www.georgetownfestival.com.
