An 82-year-old Malaysian artist and peace advocate calls for urgent dialogue to prevent a wider regional war, using his gallery and art to champion harmony.

GEORGE TOWN: As tensions rise in the Middle East following strikes on Iran, a global peace advocate has urged world leaders to halt further escalation before the conflict spirals into a wider regional crisis.

Professor Lin Xiang Xiong, the 82-year-old artist and founder of the Lin Xiang Xiong Gallery in Penang, believes there is still time for leaders to step back from confrontation and prioritise dialogue.

“There is still a chance for everyone to sit down to talk and stop the war,” he told theSun.

Lin warned that continued escalation could deepen instability across the Middle East and place civilians at even greater risk.

“Hopefully, human beings can put war aside and work hand in hand for peace without further delay, especially the leadership.”

He stressed that modern warfare produces no real winners.

“Everyone loses.”

The latest hostilities erupted after coordinated US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb 28, triggering retaliatory attacks that have raised fears of a broader regional conflict.

For Lin, the call for peace is not merely political, it is central to his life’s work as an artist.

His iconic seven-storey gallery at The Light Waterfront in Gelugor, shaped like a turtle and overlooking the sea, houses more than 300 of his over 2,000 artworks and serves as a platform for his philosophy of “Art for Peace”.

Through his paintings, Lin seeks to document the human cost of conflict, from the devastation in Gaza to the global trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He believes such works serve as reminders to future generations of the consequences of war.

“Sometimes human behaviour today feels worse than jungle law,” he said, warning that greed and the desire to demonstrate power often overshadow the pursuit of harmony.

Lin funds the gallery largely through profits from his businesses, covering its RM3 million annual maintenance cost, which he views as a social responsibility rather than a commercial venture.

“Why should we fight each other? As human beings, we should help each other, it makes society more peaceful.”

Quoting Unesco, he added: “War begins in the mind of man.”

Despite his international exhibitions, Lin insisted the gallery is not meant to elevate him above other artists.

“I don’t want to treat myself as a mentor.

“Artists are equal because we all dedicate our lives to our craft.”

Instead, he hopes the platform will help Malaysian artists gain international exposure and opportunities to exhibit abroad.

Lin cited Paris, where he studied art, as one of the world’s major cultural hubs, noting that a recent exhibition he organised there drew more than 2,000 visitors.

In June, the gallery will host the Chi Yi Qi Nan Feng: Malaysian Painting Elite Exchange Exhibition, featuring between 60 and 80 works by Malaysian artists.

The exhibition, jointly organised with the Penang State Museum, will be held at the Special Exhibition Hall on the gallery’s seventh floor.

Lin has organised several international exhibitions in Paris, including the 2016 Unesco exhibition “Art for Peace – Cultural Dialogue between East and West” and the 2025 exhibition “The Vicissitudes of Life” at Hotel de l’Industrie, both centred on anti-war themes and cross-cultural dialogue.

In 2017, he also met Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Walesa at the French Senate in Paris during a cultural exchange focused on art and global peace.

Through the Global Chinese Arts & Culture Society, which he founded, Lin has organised international cultural forums and art exchanges in cities such as Singapore, Melbourne, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur to promote dialogue and peace through the arts.

Despite his age, Lin remains exceptionally prolific.

Over his career, he has produced more than 2,000 paintings, often painting for up to 16 hours a day.

When asked if he would accept a Nobel Peace Prize, Lin said it would be a “dream come true”, but not for personal recognition.

“If more visitors come to the gallery because of this message of peace and harmony, then I would have accomplished my life’s work.”

Reflecting on resilience in difficult times, he added: “If a human being suffers greatly, he becomes stronger.”

 The Sun Malaysia