Wood-Burning Art by Raymond Koh

Last August I met pyrographer, Raymond Koh, at his solo art exhibition presented in the theme, Captivating & Mesmerising Chinese Opera, at a local art gallery.

Pyrographer, Raymond Koh, at the Opening Reception
for his solo exhibition, Drawing with Fire, at Think City JB

This body of work that featured stunning portraits of Chinese opera artistes, ranged from a charming maiden to a commanding general, was the result of his 30 years in a journey into pyrography.

So, what is pyrography?

Pyrography or pyrogravure is the art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks resulting from the controlled application of a heated object such as a fireplace poker.

The art of pyrography started from the 17^th century and reached its highest standard in the 19^th century. If a fireplace poker was used, the form of artwork was also known as pokerwork or wood-burning.

A section of the exhibition in Think City JB

While I admired his artwork in the Chinese opera theme, I was curious to know Raymond's dialect and his inspiration for creating this body of work.

He then introduced himself as Teochew and that his family used to live at No. 94 Jalan Ngee Heng, incidentally on the same road as our grandfather’s house!

Raymond considers himself a self-taught pyrographer who achieved the results in his finished artwork, mainly through trial and error because in those days, there were no reference books or internet for him to seek guidance in this form of art.

A former student of Sekolah Dato Jaafar in Johor Baru, Raymond recalled with pride that he scored a Distinction in Art for his O-Level examination.

Green Lady, pyrography in acrylic colour
on acrylic colour paper

During his secondary school in the late 1970s, a lady American Peace Corps volunteer introduced Raymond to the basics in the art of pyrography.

At that time, this was a little-known art technique and the instrument then used for wood-burning was a soldering iron.

After secondary school, Raymond went on to pursue his studies in Interior Decoration with the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) in Singapore and upon graduation, he applied his skills and training to a job in interior decorating.

While he had a full-time career in interior decorating, Raymond continued to dabble in art – mainly painting in watercolours and acrylic paints – as a hobby.

I saw his obvious skills and passion for pyrography from his exhibits and I took the opportunity to introduce Raymond to the Iskandar Malaysia Beyond Boundaries Programme (IMB2P), a mobility fund offered by Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA).

Zebra Lollipop 2, pyrography
on Birch ply wood

I explained that the IMB2P was a grant that aimed to support the Art & Culture pursuits by artists, practitioners and performers who are keen to explore or get involved in a collaborative project with international partner/s in Iskandar Malaysia, within Malaysia or abroad.

I am familiar with the IMB2P because I had the privilege to be part of the Award Committee to meet the first batch of applicants and was delighted to witness how the IMB2P grants have helped successful applicants to achieve their project goals.

As a member of the Award Committee, I was honoured to be part of their journey in the pursuit of preserving art and culture in Iskandar Malaysia and would do my part to encourage and support applicants as they take the next bold step forward.

Confident of the potential for development in Raymond’s art, I encouraged him to submit his application and to be patient, because there was a process for applications to be reviewed by IRDA before shortlisted applicants were invited to make their pitch to the Award Committee.

A section of the Drawing with Fire exhibition in Think City JB

The next time I met Raymond was at IRDA’s office last December, when he was among the shortlisted applicants to meet the Award Committee to make his presentation in a 20-minute pitching session.

When it was Raymond’s turn, he came in armed with samples of his artwork to impress as well as his art equipment to provide the Award Committee with a clearer idea of his art, the objectives he had in mind and to convince them that he deserved the IMB2P grant.

As I was already familiar with his work, I remember remaining passive while I observed how my fellow members of the Award Committee reacted to Raymond’s pitch.

I had the privilege to say a few words at the Reception

After Raymond had left, I was pleased to hear from the other Committee members who agreed with me that we should support the development of the art of pyrography here.

Fast-forward to February 2020 when I received an invitation from Raymond to the Opening Reception of his solo exhibition, Drawing with Fire, hosted at Think City JB, for the entire month of March.

I read his message, “Since it was you who encouraged me to apply, so this honour aptly goes to you.”  He was referring to the IMB2P grant and I made a (correct) guess that his application had been approved.

Raymond presented me with a piece that
featured a Beijing Opera artiste

Closer to that date, Raymond followed up his invitation with a gentle reminder that specifically said, “You will be my invited Guest of Honour and as usual, expected to make a speech.”

Grateful for this broad hint, I felt deeply honoured to grace this event and honoured Raymond with a few words of encouragement.

As a token of appreciation, Raymond presented me with a piece of his pyrography art that featured a portrait of a Beijing Opera artiste.

Throughout the month of March, visitors are welcome to view the exhibits in the showcase, Drawing with Fire, displayed at Think City JB.

Workshops in basic pyrography, limited to only eight participants per session, will be conducted every Sunday at 2pm at Think City JB in March and April 2020.

Each one and a half-hour session offers hands-on experience for participants to try their hand at pyrography and the best part is all materials are provided Free of Charge and you may bring home your artwork.

Raymond Koh with Think City JB representatives, family and friends at the Opening Reception

To register with Raymond to join the the Sunday workshops, Tel +6019 736 3600.

Drawing with Fire (Pyrography) a solo art exhibition by Raymond Koh is on from now till March 30, held at Ruang (ground floor) Think City JB, No. 27 Jalan Dhoby, 80000 Johor Baru. Tel: +607 – 220 0536.