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LITERATURE
Chuah Thean Teng Retrospective 1994, Dr. Tan Chong Guan, Penang Museum and Art Gallery, 1994, illustrated plate 19.

The strong muscular figure illustrated in this ink on rice paper is husking coconuts in the traditional time-consuming way on a stake using his bare hands. The dark skinned husker is clad only in a blue loincloth and red bandana. The predominantly grey and colourless hues allude to the pre-dawn hours of his work time. An unusual subject matter in the discipline of Chinese ink, the husker reappeared in Teng’s later batik Husker at Work (1989). Known as the Father of Batik Art in Malaysia, there are only few artworks created by the artist in Chinese ink medium, which was believed to have been a form of training and influence to his batik creation.

Born in China in 1914, Chuah Thean Teng, or popularly known as Teng, studied at the Amoy Art School. He adapted the age-old craft of batik as a medium of fine art and thus was acknowledged as the Father of Batik Painting in Malaysia. He received international fame when his paintings entitled Two of a Kind and Tell You a Secret were selected by UNICEF for its greeting cards. He had exhibited extensively around the world, and was honoured with a retrospective exhibition at National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur in 1965 and Penang State Art Gallery in 1994. A memorial exhibition was also held in 2008 by National Art Gallery to pay tribute to Teng. For his contribution to art, he was awarded the title ‘Dato’ by the Penang State Government in 1998.