MY ART, MY STORY — From an Idea in April to a Little Corner at TSUTAYA

Today, while standing in front of our little pop-up at TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE Bukit Jalil, I suddenly realised something.

We actually made it here.

Looking at the books, artworks and merchandise sitting together, everything looks quite calm and pretty now. But behind this little corner is a story that started many months ago — with lots of conversations, changes, late-night messages, tiny decisions and, of course, carrying boxes around Kuala Lumpur.

So instead of writing something too formal about the exhibition, I thought I would share the story of how MY ART, MY STORY came to life.

It started with a book...

We started preparing MY ART, MY STORY around April.

From the beginning, I didn't want to create another catalogue that simply showed an artwork, its title, medium and size.

I wanted to know the person behind the painting.

Why did you paint this?

Where were you at that moment?

What happened in your life?

What do you remember about this place?

How did you become the artist you are today?

Sometimes we look at a painting for only a few seconds and decide whether we like it.

But when someone tells you the story behind it, suddenly you go back and look again.

And somehow, the same painting feels different.

That became the idea behind MY ART, MY STORY.

The book brings together three Malaysian artists — Alex Leong Yim Kuan, Angelo Chia Seng Chai and Yeo Eng Peng — each with a very different journey and artistic language.

But putting their stories into one book was definitely not as simple as I first imagined.

Three months of changing... and changing again

We engaged a writer from China and worked with a professional graphic designer to develop the book.

Before the writing even started, there were interviews to prepare.

What should we ask the artists?

Which part of their journey should we focus on?

Which stories actually tell us something about who they are?

Then came the photographs.

Which artwork should be included? Which photograph tells the story better? Does this page feel too crowded? Should this image be bigger? Is this paragraph too long?

And then came the changes.

Look at it again.

Change again.

The details, content, photographs and layout went through almost three months of refinement.

There were moments when something looked perfectly fine, but after looking at it for another day, I would think:

"Hmm... something is still not right."

And back we went.

But I think that's part of making something you care about.

Even the paper matters

When we reached the printing stage, another world opened up.

Paper thickness.

Colour reproduction.

Binding.

Finishing.

Image quality.

For an art book, printing quality matters so much because the artwork has to speak through the page.

A beautiful painting can completely lose its character if the colour reproduction isn't right.

So even something as simple as choosing paper became part of the process.

I wanted people to pick up the book and feel that it was something worth keeping — not something you flip through once and forget.

After months of interviews, writing, designing, editing, selecting photographs, changing details and preparing for print...

the book finally became real.

There is something quite special about holding an actual book after seeing it on a computer screen for months.

And then came TSUTAYA...

When it came to creating the pop-up at TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE Bukit Jalil, I didn't want to simply put the books and merchandise on a table.

After all, we are Art & Lifestyle Gallery.

So I wanted the space to feel like art meeting lifestyle.

On setup day, all the decoration pieces went into a Lalamove.

Suitcases, plants, gramophone, telephone, frames, merchandise, books...

I arrived together with the Lalamove driver, carrying everything in one by one.

That is also part of curator life.

But once everything arrived, the fun part started.

Building a little world

I wanted the pop-up to have a slightly retro feeling.

The old suitcases represent journeys.

The gramophone and telephone bring a sense of another time.

Then I added green leaves and plants to soften everything and bring in a more natural, lifestyle touch.

Wood.

Greenery.

Books.

Art.

Old objects.

Little things to discover.

I didn't want it to look like a normal merchandise counter where everything is lined up simply to be sold.

I wanted someone walking past to become curious.

Maybe they notice the gramophone first.

Then an artwork.

Then they pick up the book.

Then they discover a postcard, a print or another little piece featuring an artist's work.

And perhaps they start wondering:

Who painted this?

That's enough for me.

Because curiosity is where the story begins.

Bringing art into everyday life

This is also why we created merchandise around the artworks.

Not everyone is ready to collect an original painting.

And that's perfectly okay.

Maybe your first connection with an artist is through a book.

Maybe it's a postcard.

Maybe it's an art print, a coaster, a magnet, a T-shirt or something small that you bring home because the image makes you happy.

Art doesn't always have to begin with understanding.

Sometimes it simply begins with:

"I like this."

And from there, perhaps you become curious about the artist.

You read the story.

You see another painting.

And slowly, Malaysian art becomes a little more familiar.

And now, the book is finally here

After starting this journey in April, MY ART, MY STORY is now published and available at TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE Bukit Jalil.

Seeing it sitting on the shelf feels different.

Because I know how many conversations are inside it.

How many photographs we looked through.

How many words were changed.

How many layouts went back and forth.

And how many stories the artists shared with us.

But more than selling a book, I have one little wish for this project.

I hope more people notice our Malaysian artists.

We have artists who have spent decades painting, teaching, experimenting, travelling, observing and quietly building their own artistic language.

Sometimes we know the artwork but not the person.

Sometimes we walk past a painting without knowing the life behind it.

Through MY ART, MY STORY, I hope we can bring those stories forward.

You don't need to be an art collector.

You don't need to know art history.

You don't even need to understand what you're "supposed" to see.

Just come, have a look.

Flip through the pages.

Read a story.

Look at the painting again.

Maybe you'll see something you didn't notice the first time.

And if you find something you love, you can take a little piece of the story home with you.

For me, that's what Art & Lifestyle Gallery | 芸生画廊 is about.

Not putting art somewhere far away where people feel they need to understand it before they can enter.

But bringing art a little closer to everyday life.

One painting.

One book.

One story at a time.

And this time, our story has found a little home at TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE Bukit Jalil.

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MY ART, MY STORY

Featuring Alex Leong Yim Kuan · Angelo Chia Seng Chai · Yeo Eng Peng

TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE, Bukit Jalil

Book & art merchandise now available

Pop-Up: 1–30 October 2026

Book Launch: 22 November 2026

Art & Lifestyle Gallery | 芸生画廊