In response to the invitation from the National Art Gallery of Malaysia, a new body of paintings and sculpture entitled Childhood Memories, has been created by Malaysian-British artist Hock-Aun Teh who uses his trademark colour and calligraphic expression to reimagine the stories and happenings of a wild upbringing.

I was born in a remote, jungle village called Sungei Gedong, near Taiping, Perak where there was no electricity or tap water. We had carbide and kerosene lamps and we used the muddy river in front of our house to wash ourselves, our clothes and as a water source for drinking and cooking. Along with the other village boys, my life was centred around catching fish in the paddy fields, swimming in the river and hunting for insects. We climbed to the treetops to search for bird’s nests, flew kites and never knew that something called a toy ever existed.

It was these experiences that set him on the path to becoming an artist and it is truly fitting, that after years of exhibiting all over the world, he is now back in the country of his birth with an exhibition at the flagship National Art Gallery.

Hock-Aun has lived in Glasgow for the past forty years and makes regular trips to Malaysia where he has a studio in Taiping. Both the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow and the National Art Gallery of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur have work in their permanent collections.