Over the past few years, Sylviye Lei Ieng Wai has been seeking his own artistic direction in the creative journey. His works have consistently brought to viewers new breakthroughs and outlooks, delving into the creative journey from ‘cage’ to ‘interior’ before stepping into a long-hidden and lonely sphere. When I first came across Lei’s works, I was overwhelmed with a sudden visual shock – one that was full of fantasies and wonders. His works carry with themselves a metaphorical connotation, thereby leaving with viewers an immensely strong impression.
Lei is dedicated to the creation of oil painting whilst engaging himself in teaching oil painting as well. He explores and creates upon his living space and persistently probes on conceptual expressions and techniques. This exhibition showcases 20 masterpieces of oil paintings created over the course of some 20 years of Lei’s creative journey. This series, titled ‘Sympathetic’, aim to express the inner mental status, i.e. the interrelationship between the inner self and the outer sphere. What is shown upon our eyes is also Lei’s own perception of life - his favour on different feelings and experiences. From his works, one could see the indifference left behind with the lapse of time: it is the lifelessness of the vast and empty space, the tall yet enclosed walls and the stillness in the air. Such silence created is the baffling feeling of insecurity and death. What the enclosed walls convey is coldness of light and shadow, confusing yet mysterious. The rectangular and geometrical-like straight lines are suggestive of the helplessness existed in the living environment. The hidden space separated from the natural world and the purely artificial structural design conjure up the composition of a maze. Or perhaps this is the living city, strange yet mechanical, intertwined in the spatial perspective. This is exactly what Lei explores in his works – the relationship between the living space and humans. The long dark shadows of doors and windows are magical symbols of escape, of light, or of suspicions about life. Together, they structure the desolation and strangeness of the city.
In this ever-changing society with information updating every single day, it is rather difficult to differentiate between the reality and virtuality. The Sympathetic Series might ignite thoughts for transformation and re-transformation to what is called innovation and later re-innovation. In fact, what do people need? What do they need to do? What could be brought to people in the age of fast consumption are perhaps endless desires, which ultimately take people to a rather unknown destination.
- Tong Chong
