Her face reveals cracked craquelure lines, a network of fine lines forming on the surface with time (aging) and wear (brittle). The only concession to beauty of this Kenyah grandmother with a sporty cap is a pair of brass ornament earrings at the end of her elongated ears. Tan Wei Kheng, the extraordinary artist who regularly followed groups into the rainforest interiors of Sarawak, revealed that he met Oyang Jok in a longhouse in the Sungai Asap resettlement centre in Belaga, near the massive hydro-electric Bakun Dam which flooded her previous home. Yet her skin betrays a radiance from being exposed to the natural environment around her. She might have worked in the farms or even helped catch fish in the adjacent rivers, but she now spends her time taking care of her grandchildren in the commune of some 15 longhouses. Nearby is the Ukit waterfall.
Self-taught Tan Wei Kheng became a sensation when he held a self-explanatory solo, Nostalgia Of Tribal Borneo, in Zurich, Switzerland (Gallery Avanthay) in 2009, although he had been exposing the brave people of the interiors more than a decade earlier. He had also exhibited in Brunei. His prestige is such that he had taken part in biennials in Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Singapore besides the now defunct Art Stage Singapore. Through his portfolio of the Orang Ulu like the Kenyah, the Kayan, the Kajang, the Penan, the Kelabit, the Murut and the Iban, he is akin to a tribal warrior wielding his brush instead of a blowpipe or parang.