Description
Oil on Canvas
46x61cm
Sun Wukong also known as the Monkey King, is a legendary mythic figure best
known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West. He is a brave, wit, kind, and loyal monkey who’s born from
a stone with supernatural powers. Wukong accompanies the monk Tang Sanzang and two other disciples on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from the
West (Indian subcontinent) where Buddha and his followers reside. Wukong is
clever, courageous, loyal, and capable of transforming in 72 different forms. He
protects the monk from the dangers of devils all the way to the West. He never
leaves the monk even the monk tried to get rid of him.
Gollum, was a creature of the Lord of rings who bore the One Ring. He lived in
the Misty Mountains for most of his life. In T.A. 2941 he lost the Ring to Bilbo
Baggins. For the rest of his life, he sought to recover his “precious” “birthday
present”. In T.A. 3019 he followed the Fellowship of the Ring and met Frodo
Baggins. After leading Frodo into Mordor and betraying him to Shelob he finally seized the Ring in Sammath Naur. In his euphoria he died and destroyed the
Ring after falling into the cracks of Mount Doom.
This painting depicts the different characteristics of Wukong from Journey to
the West (Eastern) and Gollum from The Lord of Ring (Western). Both characters are on the journey of searching. Wukong is determined to protect the
monk selflessly, while Gollum, on another hand is driving by his own mortality’s sake to pursuit the magic ring.
