Jimmy Lu on the Work of Cindy Ng Sio Ieng

Because she uses ink, Cindy’s paintings represent the continuity of tradition, but she does seem to have been inspired by Liu Guosong, who said, “Revolutionize brush painting.”Her abstract ink work feels as if no brush was used, primarily because she chose another method, expressing her ideas through flows of ink. Of course, in terms of creative principles, she could have returned to Tang-Song aesthetics or searched for a beautiful mountain as a prototype, but she has chosen to use flowing, abstract ink to replicate the structure of traditional ink paintings. As a result, her compositions are very carefully constructed. However, the expressive methods of Chinese ink painting are very spontaneous, and their highest purpose is the expression of abstract emotion, capturing the painter’s feelings about the power of nature. Cindy still utilizes the traditional ideas of height, levelness, moderation, and concept, but they are simply expressed through abstraction.  

Cindy has used this technique for many years, sometimes recording her process in video. She has mastered composition and color, but she must still rely on her own aesthetic sense for the final result. However, a new technological development, inkjet art printing, has been of the greatest help to Cindy’s work. Inkjet prints of ink paintings allow her to print a picture that will resist color fading over time, so she has used inkjet prints in some of her work, fully benefiting from this new technology.

In Cindy’s work, innovation does not necessarily mean leaving tradition behind; Cindy has protected the roots of traditional ink painting, but pursued a unique and contemporary mode of expression.

                                                                                                                                                                               Jimmy Lu                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Senior Consultant of Art (Taiwan)

Note: In the Song Dynasty work Mountains and Waters, Guo Xi proposes three techniques of perspective: “high distance,” “deep distance,” and “level distance.” “Moderation” comes from the “balance and moderation” often found in Chinese painting; from balance we arrive at grandeur, and from moderation we arrive at harmony between man and nature. “Concept” might be the easiest to understand, as it is often referenced in discussions of Chinese painting.