The Art of Khik Weng Keat

  Colossal Captivation , acrylic on canvas, 2023. 20" X 30" The painting depicts a colossal squid at the bottom of the deep sea. The squid is shown with bioluminescence - the ability to produce its own light. The squid appears to use its light to captivate its prey of choice: fish. The fish become attracted to the light, and the squid would use its long tentacles to capture the fish. The deep sea background contains hydrothermal vents and tube worms. Like hot springs and geysers on land, hydrothermal vents form in volcanically active areas—often on mid-ocean ridges and release heat and chemicals such as sulphur which cause "smoke" to come out. Hydrothermal vents act as natural plumbing systems that transport heat and chemicals from the interior of the Earth and help regulate global ocean chemistry. Giant tube worms ( Riftia pachyptila ) anchor their tails to an underwater surface and secretes around their bodies a mineral tube, into which they can withdraw their who...

Know Your Position , acrylic on canvas, 2023. 30" X 24" The painting depicts a food web of the ocean, and every creature in this painting has a role to play in this complex food web based on their trophic level, which is their position in the food web. Producers Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. There are two types: zooplankton and phytoplankton. Phytoplankton or plant plankton serve as the chief producer in the oceans. They are mostly green due to having chloroplasts, which enables them to carry out photosynthesis. They drift in the ocean's surface to take in sunlight. Low-level consumers Zooplankton or animal plankton comprise of various types of small animals such as fish fry, small invertebrates and their larvae. They usually feed on phytoplankton, which are generally smaller. Corals get their food from algae living in their tissues or by capturing and digesting prey, especially plankton. Most reef-building corals hav...