This piece of installation art is exclusively for my daughter. It took me as long as 3 weeks to complete. In order to cope with my mural painting career and child care duty at the same time, I had only managed to squeeze a little bit of time everyday to work with the art installation.
Initially, I wanted to paint a mural portrait of my daughter but later on I changed my mind. I felt that mural painting was too typical and ordinary for me. This would be her first birthday present for her first birthday from me so it had to be extraordinary. Besides, I wanted to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone too.
Before I started this project, I did some research on social media to learn more about installation art done with spray nozzles but found out that there was none in Malaysia. I believe I am the first in Malaysia to create a portrait installation artwork with used nozzles.
The whole process was not easy for me. I am just a wannabe in this world without formal education in the field of architecture and art after all. I did encounter several occasions where I was totally clueless on how to carry on so I consulted with my production manager, Mangorong. As a senior, he offered me a lot of professional advice. However, I ended up using my own methods which was dumb by the way.
I started off the project with the 'just do it' mindset. To be honest, I thought of giving up when I could not make out the shape of my artwork in the initial stage. I was worried and feeling doubtful of myself.
Therefore, I took a short break to reorganize my thoughts before I carried on my work. The process of sticking the nozzles to the wall was really long and painful because it caused back pain, leg and shoulder cramps. Sometimes if I was really not in the mood to do it, I would rest for a day and then continued the following day.
I am especially fond of dark tones so I decided to focus on black and gray in this installation art. With 9 different gray gradation colors, they gave the portrait a rich layering with a sense of era. Although the whole production process was slow, I was very excited to see the finished look. I look forward to showing my production process with you guys on Youtube.
This installation artwork is 6 feet high by 6 feet long. It is made out of almost 7000 pieces recycled spray paint nozzles that cost RM2.5 each. I have been keeping those clogged nozzles for three years hoping that someday I could make use of them. I have also collected lots of empty spray cans but I have not decided on what to do with them yet.
The reason I decided to use two pieces of 6 x 3 plywood instead of two 4 x 8 pieces was because I wanted to show appreciation of my mother's dedication to the family. When she first bought a car, she chose Nissan Livina 6633 - a family car that could bring the entire family out together. To be able to stay side by side as a family means a lot to my mother. Hence, I want to convey the ideas of a family in this artwork: peaceful, healthy, united, and happy.
When I was single, I did not feel burdened and pressured with responsibility at all.
Now, my mindset has changed entirely. Ever since I became a father, I feel the importance of family even more deeply. Time has become especially precious for me. If I could, I would be willing to exchange time with money. Although sometimes I am envious of those fellow artists who can spend their time leisurely to paint, I understand that I have moved on from this stage of life. If I were to take my time to paint, it would be a waste of time for me personally. I always tell my friends who are still single to enjoy their lives while they can or else it can be difficult to juggle work and family life after they have a child.
I enjoy listening to music when I am creating my artwork. Every time I hear a song about the relationship between father and daughter, I will be moved to tears and all the memories with her comes rushing back: witnessing the birth of my daughter, changing her diaper for the first time, putting her to sleep, washing her baby bottle, playing with her, feeding her, showering her, and even the first time I lose my temper with her. I feel so grateful that I can be a part of her life. Children grow up in the blink of an eye so the time I can spend with my daughter is really short. Every nozzle on the artwork represents a memory of our time spent together.
To Kong Ai Wei, my soulmate from my past life:
Daddy does not know how long I can stay by your side as my heart is unwell. I hope I can do something meaningful for you and make you proud in my lifetime. I will try my best to stay healthy and strong to participate in all the major milestones in your life. You are the best! Daddy will always love you!
