FLIGHTS OF FREEDOM Wall Art Print

Cambodia is home to 533 species of birds, of which 35 are featured in this illustration, including the critically endangered red-headed vulture, white-shouldered ibis and giant ibis. Buddhists ritually release captured birds and animals back into the wild as a form of merit accumulation, and this illustration expresses my hope that the birds of Cambodia will one day fly safe and free in this mainly Buddhist Kingdom.

• Material: Printed on premium art paper.
• Size: A3 Size: 29.7cm (width) x 42.0cm (height). A4 Size (21.0cm x 29.7cm).
• Shipping: The print is packaged in a plastic sleeve and shipped in a sturdy mailer.
• Origin: Made in Singapore.
• Note: This purchase is for print only – frames are not included. The actual art print does not have a watermark.

About the Artist: Joshua Chiang

This art piece is created by Joshua Chiang, a self-taught illustrator who has watched too many cartoons. His illustrations, often described as whimsical and surreal, reveal his love of comics and animation, and pop art in general.

Joshua is a Singapore-born artist now based in Phnom Penh.

Ever since he successfully sold the only copy of his first original hand-drawn comic book The Adventures of Hercules and Odysseus* to his mother for a meal at the age of nine, Joshua Chiang has been filled with an unquenchable belief that he will achieve greatness in the realm of visual storytelling.

Notwithstanding the fact that he was also diagnosed around the same period with a condition known as ‘Delusions of Grandeur’,  (on top of an already devastating disability known as the red-green deficiency). Joshua persevered in his craft, and in 2003, co-wrote and co-directed the digital feature film S11, which has been screened at various international film festivals such as the 9th Shanghai International Film Festival.

Joshua then became heavily involved in the Singaporean animation scene. He has written for many locally produced animated series such as Nanoboy, Master Raindrop, Zigby, and The Exolight as well as international productions such as Robot ARPO,  and also helped conceptualize and storyboard various other series.

In 2013, Joshua relocated to Cambodia. And a strange thing happened.

Joshua began illustrating. A lot. In fact pretty soon, illustrating, especially children’s books and comics, became his full-time job. In that way, he found out that he had come full circle back to the thing he loves most as a kid – drawing. And not just any form of drawing, but drawing to tell a story.

In 2017, Joshua started Candid Cambodia, a collection of illustrations about what’s peculiar in Cambodia. He draws his inspiration from the day-to-day happenings in the streets of Phnom Penh. Joshua is probably most well-known in Cambodia for his pile-up art illustration of a motordop ferrying a large number of passengers and much more, capturing the spirit of anything that goes on in this country.