This is a portrait of my father and Liao-liao,
his pet Myna. Liao-liao is an extremely loyal and intelligent bird, he sees my
father as his master, and follows him around like his shadow. Sitting on my
father’s shoulder, he observes the world as my father sees it. He can imitate
sounds (especially human speech) and loves showing off his growing vocabulary.
Spoilt like an only child, he is bathed daily, fed egg yolks and apples, and even
has a seat on the dining table. Sadly he flew away minutes
after this photo was taken, never to come back again.
I painted this for my father,
so that liao liao can be remembered forever on canvas.
