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Two artists work together in canvas swop for a good cause

Over three hours, artists Jamie Teo and Zhang Chunlei collaborated by painting on two canvases and exchanging them every 10 minutes at a canvas swop organised by UOB. The two 60cm-by-60cm paintings, with distinctly Singaporean motifs - hawker fare such as Nonya kueh, satay and roti prata, and Housing Board living with cartoon characters in a block of flats - came to life at the UOB Art Gallery in Raffles Place yesterday. The event also marked a month before submissions close on July 31 for the annual UOB Painting of the Year competition, the longest-running art competition in Singapore.

After the two paintings are sold, UOB will donate the proceeds to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.

The artists, past UOB Painting of the Year winners, volunteered to be a part of this activity.

While Teo's art revolves around abstract colour gradients, Zhang's style combines mosaic-style illustrations and cartoon characters.

Teo, 26, said the collaboration was challenging because she and Zhang have different styles, but the discussions they had beforehand helped.

"When I first saw his paintings, I wasn't sure how we were going to merge our styles together. But in the end, we did," she said, adding that it felt natural after they started painting.

Zhang, 53, said in Mandarin: "Jamie and I could learn from each other. There was an exchange of ideas, much like the Nonya cuisine featured in one of the paintings which symbolises a mix of cultures and traditions."

UOB head of group brand and corporate social responsibility Lilian Chong said: "The theme of Unity In Diversity was selected for the canvas swop activity to showcase the creativity and distinctive styles of our talented UOB Painting of the Year artists... We hope that these imaginative co-creations can inspire and connect us all."

The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission