From growing to pruning olive trees, from harvesting olives to pressing oils, from the grove to our table, olive oil is only made possible when all the natural condition are right and all the hard work put in. With the experience of working at the grove and factory, seeing how things were done to produce a single bottle of oil, I deeply feel that nothing comes easily.

*I am revisiting my first solo exhibition “Oily Records” (2015) and rearranging the images at lohyipei.com*

Oily Records is a series of artworks inspired by the experience of staying with a kiwi family in an olive grove in Hoteo North, Auckland. I worked as a helper in the grove and olive factory for 6 months. These artworks are made on olive-oil-filtered papers that were utilised in olive oil manufacturing process. These papers, dried and reused, offer an interesting natural background colour along with a unique smell. The reuse of oil filter papers was intended to imply the connection between human activities and the nature, as well as culture and environment.

#watercolor #gouache #landscape #nature #olive #tree #recycle #blackandwhite #byn #illustration #graphic #paper #original #artwork #visualart #artist #Auckland #Malaysianartist