It was a blazing hot afternoon in Malacca when I was wandering along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street) with a friend. A perfect moment for an afternoon nap with half squinting eyes. The stillness in the air lend itself well to condition one’s mind into an observatory or more like exploratory mode.
I hopped from shop to shop in a zig-zag fashion, entering them whenever something piqued my curiosity. Towards the end of the street, by the river, I spotted Patron Music & Arts, a fine art studio gallery.
I peered into its glass door. It was dark in the main hallway immediately behind the door. A sign next to it says, “Please ring the bell”. I did. A man towards the end of the hallway rose, half asleep and flustered. I wondered had I rudely interrupted him in whatever he was doing. I then looked at the sign next to the door. It read, “Dr. Edwin Ho, PhD (Fine Art)”. Now this is interesting.
I waited for quite awhile before the door was opened for us. The same guy I saw earlier appeared dressed now, happily welcoming us inside. It didn’t take him long to warm up to our presence. He almost immediately swung into a state of hysterical passion. He explained what he does and how much he loved his paintings. He clearly made a distinction up front that he finds his works of art to be a class of their own. He also repeatedly said that there’s no obligation on our part to buy (not that we can afford it anyway) on realising we were hesitant to his explanations and sharing.
Dr. Edwin Ho is a self-taught artist/painter. A quick glance through some laminated newspaper clippings by the door revealed this. He has a PhD from US, and a BA (Hon) from UK. Now I’ll have to say that this is the first time I’ve seen such a qualified professional artist. A PhD at that?! Most would probably be a visual communications graduate, or an art student with a degree, but a PhD? Perhaps I’ve not been exposed enough but I’m truly intrigued by this. So does having a PhD in arts bestows upon you a certain “divinity” and reputable aura rivaling that of Picasso? I’ll soon find out.
He told us to stand back at least 10 feet from a painting (the average distance at which you look at one), which caught my eyes the very first moment we walked in. It was a painting of a wolf howling by the edge of a cliff, set against a large bright moon. He told us to keep our eyes fixed on the painting while he slowly dimmed the lights. As he did, gradually, the moon almost literally came alive; glowing in bright yellow! When it was fully dimmed, I could clearly see small sparkles of white dots; stars that were almost obscure before he dimmed the lights. Awesome! I’ve never seen this before.
Dr. Edwin Ho explained that this uniqueness in his paintings is what sets him apart from other artists. There’s a complex skillset involved in producing such works; the mixture of ink, the brush strokes, and the various layers of colours involved, if I remember correctly. He further reiterated the fact that he paints passionately out of imagination, unlike others who reproduced paintings from an existing image/object (i.e. painting by the waterfall, or copying a picture). In his works, all the images are snapshots of scenes that were conjured up in his mind.
He led us further down the hallway to the central courtyard (typical of an old Malacca house) which was his main working space. I felt as though he was leading us into his inner sanctum cum art foundry, where he churns out master pieces day and night for the past couple of decades. It was at this place that I realised I just got to take a picture of this guy. He continued to provide us another “live demo” of the “chameleon painting effect” where he reduced and increased the intensity of ambient light to induce a different mood of a few paintings being viewed. This time, it was a painting of a golden paddy field, which shone majestically as he brightened up the work space by drawing open an air well above the courtyard.
Dr. Edwin Ho vehemently maintains that while money is important, he paints out of passion. He does not wish to cheapen his works of art (and the art trade as a whole) and place utmost focus to any one of his works being worked at. Sometimes, this takes up to a few years, where a piece is constantly being worked on and reworked until he’s satisfied. As a result of this unsurpassed hunger for perfection, he sells limited copies of works over the years. I’m sure this warrants a hefty price tag on his works. He deserves it.
I proceeded to have him photographed amongst his buckets of paint and brushes. He’s seen here lit with a bare strobe high to camera right.
I then photographed him with a few of his finished works as the backdrop (lit with bare strobe high to camera left. Got to be careful to ensure the falling shadow doesn’t register on the paintings behind him). The bluish one on the right was a partially completed piece which he was improving. As I felt he was such a passionate artist who practiced what he preached, I elicited a “defining” expression from him. I told him to put on a look which he felt, would communicate best his views about how the state of the local art industry should be. A pensive one indeed.
I did not expect to spend almost an hour at his gallery. He was chatty, yes. But I admired his courage and enthusiasm. He feels very strongly for art and he followed his passion. How many of us are able to do just that? He pursued a PhD in arts not because he can price his works more expensively or boast about his reputation. He did it for the sole purpose of seeking and widening his knowledge in a subject matter he literally embraces close to heart.
Painting is not just about dancing your brush across the canvas. There’s a whole lot more than that. Having a profound knowledge about the history of art helps lay the foundation to a better appreciation of art, thereby allowing you to tweak accordingly and make educated strokes. You’ll then be able to know draw upon your vast knowledge of the difference between, say, Leonardo and Titian’s works in the Renaissance art period.
I believe understanding and studying art is imperative in one’s advancement in the field of photography, though not exactly a necessity. However, dipping into it does give you an edge. Famous paintings in the Renaissance period have a sense of grandeur and idealism that are almost surreal. I don’t know much about them. But I do notice artists then have a knack for rendering the human form with such realism; truly a complimentary feat in achieving 3D-like effect on a 2D medium. The way shadows and diffused highlight are depicted, especially the transition-of-diffused-highlight-to-shadows which spells the quality of light being either hard or soft, is well executed by these artists.
The way an object’s edge is blended into its environment, say, a lady sitting by the fireplace (flickering shadow on her garment against the chair) or a subject at the foreground amidst a multitude of people behind it, all owe themselves to perfect strokes that give the illusion of depth and relativity; something that is achievable through the use of different focal-length lens. The relationship between art and photography, whether philosophically or technically is inextricably linked.
I used to look at paintings and take them with a pinch of salt, often being dismissive and unappreciative. I felt they were either too abstract or a gross mutilation of the human form, either an exaggerated perspective or an under-represented depiction.
I guess it’s time to see them in a different light, albeit one with varying intensity, just as how Dr. Edwin Ho had taught me.
An unplanned excursion and stumbling into an old dark gallery has left me with quite a valuable, bright and glowing insight.
Hi,
Thank you for writing this article! My husband and I spent and afternoon with Edwin aswell and were as enchanted with him and his work as you seem to have been.
I meant to stay in touch with him but lost his contact details.
Do you know how to get in touch with him? i really want o buy one of his paintings.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Alexandra
Dear Alexandra,
So sorry for the late reply. Been busy with both work and travel. Will reply you through email directly.
Melvin
Hi,
Just passing by and happened upon this site as I googled my tutor from the 80s when I used to study in Melaka. He was then Mr. Ho to me who taught a whole class of us Kertas Am. Not sure if that subject exists anymore in Form 6.
I wish Edwin well and hope somehow I can be in contact with him to say hi?
Sunn Sunn
Hi Sunn,
Unfortunately, I don’t have his personal contact. Perhaps you can google and get in touch with him directly? Thanks.