Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Artists with Autism

Of late we have bought ourselves 3 paintings. One was at a recent Henry Butcher's Auction, a work by Malaysian artist, Tan Choon Ghee. The other 2 were when my husband and I stepped inside the Have A Heart booth at the preview of the Art Expo Malaysia 2010 at the MATRADE EXHIBITION & CONVENTION CENTRE.

Have A Heart is a parents' support group which provides a space for special needs artists to create artworks such as paintings, sculptures, photography and prints. We were greeted by Pn Wairah Marzuki who gave us a brief insight into the work of autistic children. This was the 4th time the organisation participated in this huge event. It certainly is invaluable exposure to networking with national, regional and international artists.

We bought the Red Rooster and the Green Parrot by Sea Ng Jun Xi who is known as SEAN. My daughter calls it the Spanish Rooster ! I like the cheery, confident stride of the rooster. Now as we have breakfast in the kitchen, no one can be moody !! The rooster will gently remind us to perk up and smile for it is sunny world. 'Look on the birght side! ' he crows!

The volunteer who delivered the paintings after the Expo told me that Sean is 13 and is struggling to talk just like his sister, Tynia who is also an autistic artist. Sean has a passion for all kinds of birds and he enjoys his painting lessons more if he paints birds. Besides drum lessons, he enjoys the therapeutic healing of clay as he indulges in pottery.


Red Rooster by Sea Ng Jun Xi

Green Parrot by Sea Ng Jun Xi


Incidentally, I bought a print titled Ethnic 1 by artist Tan Seng Kit . I feel Seng Kit 's painting has the vibrancy of the 1Malaysia we want for ourselves. Though it is just a print I decided to buy it when I saw his prints at a booth his mum was manning at Klpac a year or so ago. Seng Kit was diagnosed with autism at the age of 6. He is on a home school programme and has a flair as an artist and a bowler. His print now hangs in my ' creative junk room'. This is not to say I do not care for it anymore. In fact it is in this room that I create crafts and whatever ideas for my storytelling sessions. In truth it has a special place in my heart.

Autism as we know is a brain disorder that impedes communication, learning and social behaviour. According to the Ministry of Health, 1 in 600 children is diagnosed as autistic in Malaysia.

But see how these artists with autism communicate with us in their own way. Given the chance for more exposure I'm sure more good tidings will come their way. In the meantime, they work best at what they know best!



Tan Seng Kit -Ethnic 1

Sea Ng Jun Xi - Blue Peacock Acrylic on Canvas 78x 62 cm 2010

Birds are Sea Ng Jun Xi's favourites

Art by Nurul Akmal Ab Rahman

Art by Nurul Akmal Ab Rahman

Art by Nurul Akmal Ab Rahman

Tan Seng Kit - Pretty Blooms Acrylic on Canvas 72 X 103 cm 2010

Malaysia's iconic Twin Towers by Tan Seng Kit

Art by Tan Seng Kit

Art by Tan Seng Kit

27 comments:

  1. Beautiful paintings, and what a talented artist. Like you, I love the colors..

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  2. This is a fantastic post with vibrant paintings. Thank you so much for publishing it! I am going to share it with my friend who is an artist and has a son with autism. His obsession is butterflies.

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  3. I love the way Sea Ng Jun Xi painted those pictures -they have vibrancy and movement. thanks for a lovely post.

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  4. Very beautiful paintings. Good cause too.

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  5. I have been following your blog since I start blogging and I always enjoy reading your post. The paintings are lovely, I would like to have one as well. My first son is 4 years old and have language disorder but at this stage we are not sure yet whether he has mild autism or not. His passion is dinasour and I have to spark or help him learn new words evolving dinosaurs.

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  6. Malay-Kadazan girl, thank you very much for being an ardent follower of my blog. If you would like to check out the paintings,do contact: wairahm@yahoo.com or jennytan@hotmail.com. They will be able to advise on autism. All the best.

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  7. Wonderfully talented people. I like the parrot one!

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  8. What a beautiful and creative painting!
    Autism didn't stopped them to continue create art works...
    Love to see all their art work!
    And thanks so much for coming to my site the other day... I much appreciate it.

    all the best,
    nensa

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  9. Thank you so much for sharing this pleasant post.Kudos to these beautiful minds.Each one of the art displayed here is awesome .

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  10. I wonder what it would be like to see the world through autistic eyes, Keats, and find comfort in birds and animals and facts and figures because they do not lie, do not deceive, do not have complex facial expressions or demand that you make eye contact with them.
    Another wonderful autistic savant, Yeap Ping Lean, is now 15-16 and has since emigrated to Australia. I trust he is doing well.

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  11. Dear Keats thank you for visiting my blog an d commenting. Yours is a lovely place to visit. I have friends in Malaysia. A good friend of mine married a Malaysian gentleman. She is working here, returned to India after several years. Their eldest lives in malaysia.

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  12. God gives unseen gifts to those who have losses.
    These artists are all so gifted.Beautiful paintings.

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  13. Hi Keats! Lovely post and wonderful paintings!!

    Blogtrotter Two is facing the legendary question: «What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening?»
    Enjoy and have a great weekend!

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  14. It's something to think about, how talented and brilliant autists are, even though they're held back in many different ways in life. Beautiful art work, can't believe that children painted this. Lovely. Thanks for sharing!

    Hugs.

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  15. The paintings are really beautiful, it is hard to believe that they are painted by children with autism. They are gifted in more ways than some of us put together. Thank you for sharing this!

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  16. The paintings are so beautiful. The children are so talented! Remember the Sound of Music movie, when Julie Andrews talks of children who are blind, and says, when god closes one door, he opens another. It seems so true in this case too.

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  17. They are so colorful, clean, bright colors...
    Greetings from freezing Helsinki (-2 C / 28.4 F),
    have a nice weekend!

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  18. They are beautiful. We need more expos like this in the world. Autism doesn't affect creativity. In fact, sometimes it can enhance it. Well done for bringing this to the fore.

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  19. The paintings are beautiful. The characters are alive even with the chicken... ~bangchik

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  20. We all have our own handicaps. The kid may have autism, but he draws so much much nicer than me, who has an artistic handicap.

    Love the pics, especially the parrots.

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  21. Very beautiful artworks! I can see why you feel in love with them. To know the story behind makes them even more precious. Have a wonderful week, dear.

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  22. How beautiful, what a talent! Thanks for sharing those lovely pictures. It amazes me the vibrant colors. It reflects passion and joy.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such a kind comment.

    Doris

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  23. Beautiful!! My fav is the one with the parrots!!
    That was a fantastic post, Keats!!

    Sorry I missed your Deepavali do - we were stuck at the first house we visited!! An old friend whom we haven't met since Form 5 turned up and we ended up chatting until late at night!!

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  24. It seems autism is on the rise just this decade alone. I wonder if it's an external factor like the environment or chemicals in our daily products that is behind this.

    The paintings are surely beautiful.

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Great to have you popping in!