Rokiah Mahmud
Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Ali bin Apong launched the opening of ‘The Garden Rhapsodies – Paintings, Poetry and Stories by Huifong Ng’ yesterday.
Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Haji Abdul Wadood Bolkiah bin Pengiran Lela Cheteria Sahibun Najabah Pengiran Anak Haji Abdul Aziz and spouse Pengiran Seti Aminah binti Pengiran Othman, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Tourism) at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) Wardi bin Haji Mohammad Ali, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Brunei Darussalam Yu Hong, Deputy High Commissioner of Singapore to Brunei Darussalam Raymond Chow and Brunei-China Friendship Association President Muhd Firdaus bin Abdul Rahman attended the launch.
The exhibition is part of the Brunei December Festival 2020, with the MPRT as a strategic partner.
The Garden Rhapsodies is a book written by local artist and author Huifong Ng during the self-distancing months. It tells the story of her art journey in France and how she lost, found, sowed and bloomed her dream of becoming a painter one day after her return to Brunei Darussalam.
‘’A garden always fills me with wonderment, beyond its beauty, of life and strength of continuing to exist. There are insects and small animals, buds waiting to bloom and fruits waiting to be harvested. There are also fallen leaves and withered flowers,” Ng said in her welcoming remarks.
“A garden enjoys its days of warm sunlight and gentle breeze and it also braves tempestuous rainfalls and strong monsoons. A garden lives and strives; poetic it may appear to be, but at the same time a garden is very much like life.
“The Garden Rhapsodies is a book about hopes, dreams and friendships. The book also tells stories of losing, seeking, sowing and blooming dreams,” she said.
The four-day exhibition organised by Huifong’s Art Gallery (HAG) at the Simpur Hall of the Horticulture Business Centre in Rimba is open to the public from 8.30am to 4pm until December 24.
