THE ANT ARTIST 蚂蚁画家

　Article by Salina Khalid 　　 　　 " Cockroach -Ants"　Goh Ah Ang　Ink on Paper 　　 　　 　To everyone, cockroaches and ants are pests. But to Goh Ah Ang, they are a source of inspiration. 　While most Chinese artists go for the legendary dragon, tiger, lion and horses, Goh opts for the insects. 　The 41-year-old self-taught artist displays his admiration and fascination for them in his latest series of paintings at the exhibition Expression. 　About 40 pieces of his paintings done over a period of 15 years are being exhibited at Balai seni, Menara Maybank, until Aug 12. 　Among the paintings featured at the exhibition-cum-sale are his series of works on Journey of the Ants, Exhortation, Frame, Windows and Cherish. 　Goh said he chose the insects as a subject because of the role they played. 　“They are sensitive, hardworking and co-operative. 　“Yet it is a pity that we overlook the big role they play in our ecological system because of their small size,” he said. 　Goh said the creatures ...

Article by Redza Piyadasa Extract from Masterpieces From The National Art Gallery of Malaysia "Where There Is Life, There Is Hope" by Goh Ah Ang, 1996 Goh Ah Ang is an artist trained in the Chinese mode of painting and he was initially involved with traditional brush painting techniques. In recent years he has become well-known for his delicately rendered ant paintings. Using textured rice paper as a base, his colonies of busy worker ants are minutely and painstakingly rendered, one by one, with the aid of a very fine pen. The tiny ants are spread out on the white base and highlight the empty void of the white paper surface. There is a sense of busy movement and activity as the ants move in different directions across the paper surface. The inherent qualities of traditional Chinese painting values, with its emphasis on technical dexterity and black and white contrast, have lent to Goh’s paintings a contemplative quality. The viewer is inclined to study each minutely rendere...