Kỳ Hữu Phước
The ninth-generation heir keeping alive the soul of Sinh village folk painting, over 400 years old.
When it comes to the revival and enduring vitality of Sinh village folk painting, no one can forget the name of artisan Ky Huu Phuoc (73). As the ninth-generation heir of a family rich in the painting tradition, he has spent more than half a century “keeping the flame” and preserving his homeland's heritage.
With skilful hands, a creative mind and an unwavering love for national culture, artisan Ky Huu Phuoc has not only successfully restored ancient woodblocks but also brought Sinh village painting out of the purely spiritual realm to become a distinctive work of art serving tourists.
Sinh village painting was born more than 400 years ago, tied to the settlement of the land and the spiritual and religious life of the people of the Thuan Hoa region. From its very beginnings, although Sinh village painting shared many features with the Dong Ho style, “to suit the ritual needs of peace-praying and misfortune-warding ceremonies in Hue, the artisans devised different carved designs. That is why Sinh village painting became renowned as a genre of worship painting.”
Sinh village paintings are made on do (poonah) paper, each sheet printed with a wooden mould to capture the outlines, then coloured with folk pigments such as mother-of-pearl powder, the colours prepared from natural sources such as leaves, ash and brick. These materials were gathered from many different areas such as lagoons, hills and home gardens.
Later, for convenience and lower cost, people switched to industrial paper and industrial dyes. Sinh village painting is entirely handmade. Each painting must go through a full seven stages: trimming the paper, brushing on the mother-of-pearl base, printing from the woodblock, drying, mixing colours, applying colours, and finally the finishing “eye-dotting.”
Today, alongside worship paintings, modern tastes have also turned to decorative and wall paintings. Decorative pieces on folk themes and “eight-instrument” (bat am) paintings have enriched Sinh village painting, and this line is much loved by tourists. It may be wrestling scenes with sitting, lying and standing holds; games such as tug-of-war for men and women, or blind-man's buff; and images of the eight instruments — the nhi, nguyet, drum, flute, dan bau, ty ba and dan tranh.
In recent years, Sinh village painting workshops have welcomed a great many individuals and tour groups who come to visit, learn about the cultural beauty and buy paintings as souvenirs. Many visitors even try painting their own pieces.
