048

b. Terengganu, 1959
Chang Fee Ming
Wayang Wong In Keningan
1992
left: signed ‘F.M.CHANG Bali’ (upper left); right: signed ‘F.M.CHANG’ (lower right); titled and dated ‘Wayang Wong in Keningan 1992’ (reverse)
watercolour on paper
17 x 12.5cm, diptych
Provenance
Private collection, Kuala Lumpur; acquired through Five Arts Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
Estimate
RM 5,000 – 8,000
Price Realised
RM 10,450

The Wayang Wong, also known as the ‘Masked Ramayana,’ is a classical Javanese dance based on the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. The masked version known as Wayang Gedog or Wayang Topeng is derived from the Javanese inspired Panji tales of the Jenggala kingdom. In watching Kuningan ceremonial performances at Mas in Bali, which is held 10 days after the Galungan festival, Chang Fee Ming brilliantly captured the rhythmic movements and dramatic gestures of the dancer in these two vibrant water-colours.

Ranked among the finest of Asia’s watercolour artists, Fee Ming was born in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia in 1959. Since winning the Malaysian Watercolour Society Award in 1984, he has gone on to gain many accolades both locally and internationally such as the “Rockport Publisher’s Award of Distinction” (USA), and became a Signature Member of the National Watercolour Society (USA) in 1994. For over twenty years his subject has been the people of Malaysian, Southeast Asia and Asia. He has exhibited and collected widely around the world. The artist is based in Kuala Terengganu, spending part of the year in Bali and much of the rest travelling through Asia.