However, as he pedalled 1,300km across Thailand and Malaysia, painting the landscapes that unfolded before him, his journey became something more profound – a meditation on change, impermanence, and memory.
“I love cycling. I’ve been cycling for 15 years,” Alex, 43, shared with FMT Lifestyle. “And I’m always travelling for exhibitions. But this time, I wanted to experience the journey differently. I wanted to slow down, take in every detail, and collect landscapes along the way.”
That impulse led to “Faded Landscapes”, a collection of 16 paintings created during the Bangkok-based artist’s three-week journey from Thailand to Malaysia.
Each painting captures a scene from his trip, some breathtakingly beautiful, others deliberately imperfect – a reflection of the world in transition.
For this father of one, cycling wasn’t just a way to reach his destination. It was a way to understand the past.
“I kept thinking about how people used to travel in the old days, before cars and planes. I wanted to feel that – to move slowly, to experience everything on the way,” he explained.
“And at the same time, I was thinking about memory. Everything is disappearing. Landscapes are changing. So, I wanted to go, sit there, and capture them before they were gone.”
Two locations in particular weighed on his mind. One was Chumphon, where a controversial land bridge project has been under discussion for 20 years.
The other was the Chana district in Songkhla, where plans for a massive industrial port are threatening local fishing communities there and the untouched nature.
“The local people don’t want it,” he said. “If they build the port, the fishermen’s village, the nature – it’ll all be gone. I wanted to go there, see it with my own eyes, and paint it to remember.”
Alex didn’t plan every painting in advance. He let the road guide him. Sometimes, he’d pass a place, only to double back because something about it called to him.
One of his Malaysian paintings was inspired by the sheer heat of the northern landscape.
“On my first day cycling in Malaysia, I rode through rice fields all day. It was so hot! That feeling stuck with me, so I painted a simple field with mountains in the background. Just to capture that heat, that moment.”
Other paintings came from conversations. In one town, a local told him the story of the first Chinese settlers arriving by boat and building their first home there. “After hearing that, I knew I had to paint it,” Alex said. “The history, the connection—it makes the painting more meaningful.”
Alex completed three paintings in Malaysia. The first was the sun-scorched rice field in Alor Setar. The second was a mountain view from Gunung Jerai. And for the last, he set out with a clear vision: a sunset over George Town.
While Alex is known for his landscapes, his signature character – a childlike figure with a third eye – still makes an appearance. This character, inspired by his daughter, symbolises both curiosity and uncertainty about the future.
“When I became a father, I started thinking about the future a lot,” he explained. “The third eye represents that: questions, awareness, a way of seeing things beyond the surface.”
This isn’t the first time Alex has combined cycling with painting – he once did a shorter trip in northern Thailand. But this journey was different. Longer. More intense. More reflective.
“I learned a lot from cycling,” he says. “You just keep going, one moment at a time. You don’t think too much about the future. You just feel the present. That’s what this whole journey has been about – being present, capturing the moment before it fades.”
With “Faded Landscapes”, Alex isn’t just showing paintings. He’s inviting people to pause, to see the world around them, and to appreciate it before it disappears.
Because, as he reminds everyone: “Nothing lasts forever. So we should enjoy the moment while we can.”
‘Faded Landscapes’ by Alex Face at Cultprint
35, Lebuh Melayu,
10300 George Town, Penang
When: Until May 18
Opening hours: 12pm-7pm (Fridays-Sundays)
Contact: 011-1608 9935
Follow Alex Face on Instagram.