'adoring the phoenix is a pair of acrylic paintings done by local artist desmond sim in 2007. set on oval-shaped canvases, the artist has chosen to paint this in the rich, vivid colors favored by the peranakans. once again, there’s the peony and the phoenix, two recurring elements in peranakan arts.'
"While in his 20's Desmond dabbled with watercolours and inks on paper, and collages. But as he grew in appreciation of Chinese art and his mother's Peranakan heritage, he found painting with acrylics on canvas more suitable. In 1990, Desmond was to leave behind his Chinese-themed paintings, to focus purely on painting Peranakan subjects.
Many of Desmond's paintings reveal a passion for the beauty and ornate nature of Peranakan aesthetics. His colours reverberate with the bright and cheerful rainbow of the Peranakan palette. There are many scenes that come from a Peranakan household, and a Peranakan childhood. The world of Desmond's paintings is a wistful one, where there was time to daydream; time to play; and time to spend time together with loved ones.
In the Peranakan-styled art that he is now best known for, Desmond is totally self-taught. He still loves Modigliani, Rousseau, de Lempicka and the Art Deco influence (in fact he lives in the Art Deco walk-ups of Tiong Bahru). He has won many national prizes - for playwriting, poetry and prose - but not (yet) for painting. He paints for the sheer pleasure of the colours; and for the sheer freedom offered by pristine canvases. While his day job has totally to do with words (he is a communications and branding consultant), his passion totally takes up the other side of his brain in his free time. It is a passion that has grown for nearly two decades, and has yet to abate."
Apparently, i borrowed the book of the same title featuring works in the Junk to Jewels exhibition featured in sparklette.net
Desmond Sim's stylized portraits are as colourful as Martin Loh's, which is quite accurate in depicting the vibrant Peranakan heritage. What is similar in my concept is the idea that the main subjects are featured in a portrait-style with symbols lying subtle in the background
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