Hidden Multiplicity

The Watercolor Painting of Cynthia Cheng

In general, human being has been regarded as having a single self that is the result of the individual’s thoughts, feelings, temperament and behaviors which can be described through their traits. These traits consistently reflect their genetic inheritance, growth-stage backgrounds and past social experiences. However, the ‘self’ can have many different and competing aspects. Hidden subconscious behaviors are normally suppressed by people as they do not want to accept or expose these behaviours but when triggered by certain circumstances, conditions or pressure, these behaviours may surface.

This series of watercolor paintings is created and constructed based on the notion of hidden multiplicity. Some angels in the paintings look beautiful and innocent, but conceal a dark trait that is not revealed under normal situation while some devils look evil but possess a veiled enchanting character. Each concealment of the contrasting tendencies are revealed symbolically through various animals. The art pieces adopt a surrealistic approach and various techniques are applied to enhance their presentation.