Jehan Chan is noted for his popular Malacca River crinkled ricepaper collage and watercolour oeuvre with dalliance in Chinese brush painting, until his large collage works of Japanese koi (carps), which created a frenzy. This harbourside scene is a departure from his Malacca stilt-house vistas. Jehan Chan studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore (1956-60), where he was mentored by Cheong Soo-Pieng. He was given his first two solos by the fastidious Frank Sullivan at his Samat Art Gallery in 1968 and 1970. He won the 1st Prize in Category D of the Salon Malaysia for his work, Sad October, in 1969, and a Merit Award in the Art India exhibition in 1961. After teaching at the Pay Fong Middle School in Malacca for 22 years while doubling as a dog trainer to make ends meet, he turned fulltime in art in 1983.