When chef Kok Wan Lee left his native Malaysia to work in Bermuda 11 years ago, the last thing he imagined was that he would eventually cause a stir in the local community as an up-and-coming artist. Today, he is not only a frequent exhibitor in various galleries but loves the Island so much that he wanted to do tangible to benefit his fellow artists.

Thus it is that on Friday he will open a one-man exhibition of charcoal drawings on paper plus a large installation of bare tree branches and hand-painted leaves, collectively entitled 'The Ghosts of Fall'. All proceeds from the sale of the unframed works will be donated to the Bermuda Society of Arts, a registered charity.

As befits the title, Mr. Lee's leafless branches are loosely executed in black on white, and in a style reminiscent of the East.

"I am a Chinese Malaysian so I think somehow the Chinese culture influences my work," he says. "Although I am Chinese, I don't work as a Chinese chef. I studied western cooking, so my cooking is a fusion of Asian flair and western technique, and it's the same with my painting. Most of the time I learn western painting techniques which have helped my work to look a little bit different."

In addition to the 20 plus paintings, Mr. Lee, who has only been taking art lessons for five years, will also exhibit a large installation comprised of twigs, branches, logs and bamboo leaves - all of them painted white to tie in with the "chilly" theme of the exhibition.

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