Ben Chong conveys his encounters with mother nature and human nature through the interpretation of his own feelings on canvas in the style of lyrical abstraction. Chong’s paintings incorporate a strong sense of craftsmanship, placing emphasis on strokes created with palette knives. To the artist, painting is a medium capable of expressing emotions and feelings, and he is also influenced by traditional Chinese culture and philosophy. To quote the Chinese philosopher Zhong Zhi, “By discovering nature, you will discover yourself.” Never underestimate the power of thought, it is the greatest path to discovery. In Human Mind, an animal is carefully embedded into the skull, hinting at an innate ability to respond to the changes in the environment. His current series — Optimism — is both the result and the opposite of his previous series Autism. Optimism has a utopian element attached to it and has a more positive direction / point of view. This series focuses on mother nature and human nature. Ben Chong combines Chinese and Western influences to convey the sensation of a journey through natural wonders. To achieve these imaginative paintings, Chong embarked on a journey through many landscapes both real and imaginary, from his early figurative paintings to his current semi abstractions. His previous series — Autism — is a tribute to our expression of human nature, inspired by his own son: “We are always searching for the perfect person. Why not learn to see imperfect individuals as perfect?” Life does indeed favor those who see things differently. In this way, autistic children are very unique: they get to experience the world in a very different way. They can listen to the sound of mother nature, hear the bees buzzing and are capable to feel incredible emotions flowing from those who care for them. Most people don’t understand them. Nevertheless, this group of autistic children have feelings, they think and have emotions, they simply act in very different ways. They have difficulties creating social and emotional connections. They have difficulties using and understanding gestures or facial expressions. They are special, they are awesome, they are kind, they are compassionate and caring. Autistic children look just like us on the surface, but they are much more complicated beneath. Ben Chong is a contemporary artist based in Kuala Lumpur, whose interests span across advertising, interior design, and fine arts. As a graduate from Malaysia Institute of Arts, he has participated in numerous open and group art exhibitions in Malaysia and abroad. His works have been collected by the Museum of Korea as well as important private collectors from Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.