Vọng Nguyệt (Fish Watching the Moon) and Ngư Trì (Fish Pond)

Watercolour, fineliner and pencil on watercolour paper. I intended to explore my Vietnamese cultural heritage through an interplay of landscapes and a symbolic animal, the koi fish. Through the display of a landscape painting of a traditional scenery seen in various areas of Vietnam, I conceptually highlight the key connection between the beautiful naturally occurring organic lines, shapes, colours and textures found in nature. Various stories illustrate the koi fish as a helper of the heavens transforming into a dragon, in turn, symbolising success, wealth, luck, perseverance and strength.