The Art of Khik Weng Keat

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...

Abyssal Light Show, acrylic on canvas, 2020. 18" X 24" There are animals in the deep, dark abyss of the ocean depths that could produce their own light, which is called bioluminescence. Some of these animals include the angler fish, the viper fish and the gulper or pelican eel. In the dark depths of the ocean, not all bioluminescent animals are fearsome predators which use their lights as lures. Some including lantern fish and flashlight fish use their lights to escape from predators. Invertebrates in this zone are also able to produce their own light, and these include firefly squid and comb jellies. This piece is inspired from a documentary about deep sea predators. The Process Deep-sea anglerfish Gulper eel and Sloane's viper fish The animals in the artwork are painted with bright colors against the dark background. This gives a sense of luminescence in the artwork.

Emperor of the Seas , acrylic on canvas, 2020. 30" X 24" The blue whale is the largest whale and the largest animal that has ever existed, and no other animal, even land ones, could ever reach its size. Thus, it is described in the painting as the “Emperor of the Seas”. Surrounding it in the painting are other marine life in various shapes and forms. Some of these animals include the manta ray (the largest ray), the spider crab (the biggest marine crab), the leatherback turtle (the largest turtle) and the sailfish (the fastest fish). The Process Oceanic manta ray - the largest ray Leatherback turtle - the largest turtle Sand tiger shark The hoodwinker sunfish ( Mota tecta ), a member of the sunfish family which contains the world's heaviest bony fish. Japanese spider crab - the largest crab Orange frogfish - a relative of the anglerfish which specializes at bottom feeding. Its fins are modified and used by the animal to crawl on the sea floor. An abundance of jellyfish: N...

The Mollusc Throne , acrylic on canvas, 2020. 24" X 30" The octopus, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus belong to a class of molluscs called cephalopods, which means “head-foot”, because their arms/legs are located on the base of their heads. In this painting, they share the undersea landscape with various marine creatures such as cowries and a Triton shell, which are also molluscs but under the gastropod (snails and slugs) class. The Process Giant Pacific octopus The opalescent squid ( Doryteuthis opalescens ) is one of the best-known species in the squid family.  Common cuttlefish ( Sepia officinalis ) Chambered nautilus An assortment of jellyfish, including a purple jellyfish and the almost-transparent moon jellyfish ( Aurelia aurita ) Scalloped hammerhead sharks are one of the several species of shark that travel in schools. Artist's notes  The artist explains that life is beautiful yet mysterious, just as shown by his choice of unique creatures in the painting which have...