With artworks that focus on the preservation of something as traditional as the culture, Pg Timbang is surprisingly an advocate for abstract art and the manipulation of materials and media. Pg Timbang gains inspiration from his experiences from journeys made as well as his surroundings. Inspired by Brunei’s cultural heritage, the artist believes that it is important to represent Brunei culture in the form of artworks to enable it to be used as a point of reference for future generations.
What makes Pg. Timbang’s artworks stand out is his contemporary art style. An example of this is Pg. Timbang’s Dance Melody at West Lake where initial glance of the painting shows a repetitive pattern of spirals. The artist explained that it is actually inspired by the ‘Ayer Muleh’. This pattern is culturally specific to Bruneian culture because it represents our national identity. Pg. Timbang also applies mixed media to his painting to create another perspective which is texture, where the artist, by use of a hot-glue gun, created a ‘wavy’ element to the painting adding originality to the abstract work of art.
Adapting abstract art allows the expression of feelings and emotions in Pg. Timbang’s artworks through conceptual idea, rather than give them a descriptive meaning.
“The key to making art a success is the planning done beforehand,” Pg. Timbang explains.
These plans include the principle of art; the feel, rhythm, melody, and harmony, to name a few. The respective principles of designs are applied to his artworks. Vision is another of the artist’s artwork that has been featured in Exhibition: Pause & Rewind where the artist utilizes mixed media in the painting which seems to present a painting of a galaxy. However, upon closer examination and with the guidance from the artist himself, Vision, actually represents the pillars of the houses in Kg. Ayer that has been slowly eroded by water. The dots around the pillars can be interpreted as splashes of water, an effect of the movement of waves crashing against the pillars. While it may not show the whole house, by keeping only the pillar, the artist keeps his work abstract.
Pg. Timbang is one of the early artists responsible for the adaptation of contemporary art in Brunei Darussalam. What makes his contemporary style well-known is due to how rooted they are in the Bruneian culture.