작품 상세

A group of rubber tappers is seen carrying white tubes containing latex collected from rubber trees. It’s one of the common occupations found in most rural areas back then. The sky is painted in bright blue probably suggesting morning time where people start collecting as usually the cutting is done at night time so the latex will drip longer before coagulating and sealing the cut. Nai Tong returned to Malaysia, and had his first solo at the British Council in Kuala Lumpur in 1964, the year he won 2nd Prize in the Chartered Bank mural design competition. He furthered his studies at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts (1967-1968). The 1980s saw him winning several awards including the Shell Best Award (watercolour, 1981), Esso Best Award (1982) and Dunlop Best Award (watercolour, 1983). He taught at various art academies namely the Malaysian Institute of Art (1969-1980), Central Academy of Art (1982-1985) and the Saito Academy of Art (1986-1988) before he decided to go fulltime in 1992. In 2007, he had a major survey exhibition at the National Art Gallery Malaysia, called Odyssey. In 2009, he won the Asia Art Award in Seoul, South Korea.