The participating artists are Anas Afandi, Anisa Abdullah, Chen Wei Meng, Cheng Yen Pheng, Cheong Kiet Cheng, Chin Kong Yee, Choy Chun Wei, Hamidi Hadi, Ivan Lam, Khabir Roslan, Sean Lean, Wong Chee Meng, and Yau Bee Ling (All photos: Wei-Ling Gallery)
We have all heard the aphorism: The greatness of a nation may be judged by the way its animals are treated. Sadly, Malaysia has a long way to go in distinguishing itself here. With almost 10,000 cases of animal abuse reported since 2021 — the most recent being the inhumane killing of Kopi the dog by Terengganu’s municipal council of Besut during a stray-culling operation last year — there should be stronger lobbies to the government to enforce stricter laws that truly address mistreatment and punish perpetrators.
But just as the legal system needs refining, so too does public awareness. Constantly doing its part, Wei-Ling Gallery has dedicated its upcoming 18@8 — pLAy auction to raising funds for Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Selangor. This is not the first time the gallery has rallied behind the Ampang Jaya-based integrated non-profit animal welfare organisation, which has been well respected and trusted for decades.
“I have always been a supporter of SPCA, as I sit on their committee and I know how dedicated our chairman Christine Chin Radford is in championing the cause,” says Lim Wei-Ling, founder of the eponymous gallery. “Acts of compassion and kindness towards animals should form the backbone of any civilised and educated society, and if all children can be taught from a young age to treat them well, we would live in a peaceful world. It is unfathomable to me how people can give away or, worse, abandon their pets. I have three myself: Popo the Pekingese, the smallest, yet the doyenne of the household; Oreo, a gorgeous husky who came to us after being surrendered to SPCA during Covid; and Tyson, our handsome Dobermann, whom we found abandoned as a three-month-old pup. My dogs are like my children. I am their protector and will do anything to keep them from harm.”
The auction is scheduled for the evening of Feb 13 and will be held at Kikyo at The Troika. Interested bidders may view the pieces on the gallery’s Instagram page or pop by Wei-Ling Gallery at Jalan Scott, Brickfields, anytime from now until Feb 12. “It’s a closed-door event, but all are welcome to place a bid on any of the art objects,” she says. “Most of the artists have been working with us for over a decade and are supportive of past iterations of 18@8. This year, we have included younger-generation talents such as Anas Afandi and Khabir Roslan, both of whom have participated in our WLG incubator programme.”
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In a creative twist for 2025, popular stationery retailer CzipLee gave each of the 13 participating artists special Décopatch Dog and Cat figures, which they have transformed into one-of-a-kind art pieces for the auction. “Call it serendipity,” says Lim.
“Since the 18@8 project came to life in 2005, we have been fortunate to have enjoyed the support and enthusiasm of the Malaysian artists, both emerging and established, we represent. This time around, it was my nine-year-old niece [who was the catalyst and source of inspiration]. She told me her favourite shops are stationery stores and we happened to be browsing at CzipLee in Bangsar Village, which is a stationer of an altogether different level. I saw the Decopatch animals for the first time and knew it would be perfect for our artists to create something truly unique and collectible. Alvin Chen, one of its executive directors, was there that afternoon. I told him I had been on the lookout for a partner who could provide papier-mâché dogs and cats for our artists to transform into unique art objects and Alvin quickly shared the idea with his principals from Decopatch.”
Guests may expect an exciting live auction, attended by just under 100 of the city’s passionate animal lovers and art collectors. “We need to remember pets are for life,” Lim says. “They are living beings, dependent on humans for their survival and existence. Animals are aggressive only when threatened or mistreated. They are not naturally that way. It is irresponsible humans who make them so. Thankfully, the Animal Welfare Act provides for stricter penalties and fines against those who abuse and harm animals, but the only way to stop this is to continuously educate the public through programmes and community outreach work.”
Notable successful past 18@8 exhibitions include collaborative fundraisers with Robonut (RM90,000 raised for Animal Concerns Research & Education in 2011), pewtersmiths Royal Selangor (RM146,000 for SPCA in 2014), luxury timekeeper Corum (RM153,000 for SPCA in 2017) and Volkswagen Malaysia (RM133,200 for the Breast Cancer Welfare Association in 2021). “The bids start from RM1,000 but will vary, depending on the artist,” says Lim. “I never like to project a figure for fear of jinxing things but I really hope we will be able to surpass our past record of RM153,000. Fingers crossed!”
This article first appeared on Feb 10, 2025 in The Edge Malaysia.
