Imaya Wong is an expressive figurative portrayal of a woman, an embodiment of youth and beauty placed elegantly amidst the setting of a lush oriental garden. The young lady reflects a desirable quality, which evokes associations with the story of Eve, situated in a garden of paradise where beauties and flowers exist side by side. Her glowing matt flesh is complemented by pale shades of blue in the background. The floral specimens add interest to the composition and are imbued with symbols of perseverance despite their delicate and fleeting quality. The magnolia represents nobility and purity, the white lily signifies virtue and devotion, while the peony is known as the symbol of riches and honour. By combining the notions of ideal beauty from eastern and western perspectives, this painting is rendered with oil painting techniques and imparts Chinese ink painting aesthetics. For the artist, the portrayal of the figure in nude seeks to express a spiritual side of the human body. Chong Siew Ying’s bold figures have opened new vistas into the art, psychology and physiology of painting the body, what with her latest body of work where Chinese philosophy and ink and brush starkness are infused in a solo exhibition titled Crying with Trees (2014). Her figures were transformed after studying at the L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Versailles (1991-1994) and then the L’Atelier 63 (1994 - 1996). Her early tutelage was at the Petaling Jaya College of Art and Design (Graphic Design, Diploma, 1990). Upon her return from Paris, she was selected for Rimbun Dahan artists’ residency from 1999 to 2000, which was followed by another at the Vermont Studio Centre in the United States of America in 2001. In 2002, she clinched a Special Award in the Young Contemporary Artists competition and she was a finalist for the Sovereign Asian Art Prize in 2005. Her solo exhibitions includedIdylle: New Paintings by Chong Siew Ying (2008), Many Splendoured Things (2006), Going Away, Coming Home (2002) and Chong Siew Ying: Selected Works 1996-1997 in Kuala Lumpur, 1998. In Paris, she has held solo exhibitions at the MaisonTch’A, Atelier D.Maravel and Gallery Café Panique. Her works are collected by the National Visual Arts Gallery in Kuala Lumpur as well as respected private collections in Malaysia, Singapore, France and the USA. She now lives and works as a full-time artist in Malaysia. Her works was recently exhibited in two group exhibitions at Art Stage Singapore 2015 titled Being Human: Figuratism of 16 Malaysian Artists and Stepping Out.