Category Archives: Essays

In the broadest sense, Awang Damit Ahmad’s gestural paintings encapsulate the abstract form of the physical world and nature’s phenomena as he experiences it. The textural and tactile quality of his paint marks on canvas; the bold demarcation of black streaks against layers of blue, red, green, yellow, and white; and symbolic forms, such as thoughtful drips, speckles, scrape marks and crackles, that bear the narrative of each painting are all signature elements of Awang Damit’s artistic oeuvre that spans more than four decades.  

His journey has been gradual and profound, consistently producing significant series of artworks since the 1970s: his first titled Intipati Budaya (Essence of Culture), created between 1985 and 1995; followed by Alun-Alun Marista (Path to Marista) from 1996 to 2002; Iraga (North Easterly) between 2003 and 2011; Payarama (Changing Season) from 2012 to 2015; and Garismega from 2013 to the present.  

Awang Damit has been exhibiting his artworks in the global arena since 1984, but his rise to international stardom came much later in his career, when his painting titled Garis Mega (Iraga Series), dated 2008, was well received at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings auction in 2014, fetching US$77,338 with premium.[i] This price remains his highest to date. 

The book titled Southeast Asian Art Auction Benchmarks & Market Insights by Johnni Wong and Sarah Abu Bakar, published by The Edge Galerie and The Edge Media Group in 2018, documents how Awang Damit made it to the top 10 list of the most expensive Malaysian artworks sold at auction. At the time, his artworks performed exceptionally well in Sotheby’s auctions in Hong Kong in 2014 and 2015 and in a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong in 2015. 

Awang Damit’s impressive biography reflects his active participation in international art fairs and group exhibitions such as the Asean Art Exhibition, a travelling art show in Southeast Asian cities of Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in 1984; the third and sixth Bangladesh Art Biennale in Dacca, Bangladesh in 1986 and 1993; juried art shows in the US during his postgraduate studies in Washington DC between 1989 and 1990; several editions of the Asian International Art Exhibition in Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan between 1992 and 2014;  Art Kaohsiung (2016 to 2018) and Art Taipei in Taiwan from 2016 to 2020; Meadows Personal Structure at Collateral Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy in 2017 and Salon Des Beaux Arts in Paris, France in 2018; and Mask Art Creativity Under Lockdown: UNESCO Beirut and Meadow Artists Against COVID-19 in Beirut, Lebanon in 2020, to name but a few. 

As an academician, Awang Damit lectured at the Faculty of Art and Design, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) for two decades, as a lecturer between 1990 and 1993 and senior lecturer from 1994 to 1999. He was appointed associate professor in 2000 and served this role until 2011.  

His immense contribution to arts education in Malaysia expands beyond the role of tutoring and nurturing budding art students. He also held curator positions at the UiTM Art Gallery (1993 to 1994) and as head of the fine art department (1997 to 1998). In 2011, he retired from teaching and continued to paint full-time. This culminated in his fourth solo exhibition, titled Dari Iraga ke Payarama: Awang Damit Ahmad (2003 – 2014) that was held at Segaris Art Center, Publika, Kuala Lumpur in 2014. 

In 2015, Awang Damit Ahmad established a studio and gallery named pantauIRAGA (art space) at his residence in Sijangkang, Telok Panglima Garang in Selangor, to celebrate his 38^th year of artistic practice. The space is intended to be a “meeting hub for artists, students, and the art lovers in general”.[ii]

A solo exhibition titled Bioretro: Awang Damit Ahmad 1985 – 2015 was held in 2016 in conjunction with the launch of pantauIRAGA that featured a selection of artworks from four of his major series: Intipati Budaya (Essence of Culture); Alun-Alun Marista (Path to Marista); Iraga (North Easterly); and Payarama (Changing Season).

Without losing any momentum, Awang Damit presented another five solo exhibitions between 2017 and 2021, namely Special Tribute – Awang Damit Ahmad at Art Expo Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur (2017); Garismega… New Journey at Art Stage Singapore (2017); Garismega at Artdoor Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan (2018); Garismega at Art Moments Jakarta, Indonesia, (2019); and Dari Payarama ke Garismega: 2013 – 2020 (From Payarama to Garismega: 2013 – 2020), organised by Galeri Prima and Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers at Galeri Prima, Balai Berita Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur in 2021.  

Dr Muliyadi Mahamood – a retired professor of history and cartoon studies at the Faculty of Art and Design, UiTM – contributed important essays that document Awang Damit’s artistic development for the catalogues of three of his solo exhibitions: Dari Iraga ke Payarama: Awang Damit Ahmad 2003 – 2014 (2014); Bioretro: Awang Damit Ahmad 1985 – 2015 (2016); and Dari Payarama ke Garismega: 2013 – 2020 (From Payarama to Garismega: 2013 – 2020) (2021). 

He observed that Awang Damit’s themes are “directly related to the lives of farmers and fishermen who formed the background of his childhood, showing thus a consistent focus in his artistic endeavour and a creative process which reflects nature, life, humanity, culture and God. Awang Damit’s works do not only enrich the expression of contemporary Malay-Islamic art, they also strengthen abstract expressionism which is inspired by a local iconography and identity, besides becoming a window of manifestation of inner vibrations and feelings.”[iii]  

In 2020, Awang Damit became one of the mentors for Gumum+ism, an international art camp that was held over three days and two nights at Tasik Chini in Pahang, organised by Persatuan Seni Rupa Malaysia (Perupa) in collaboration with Pusat Penyelidikan Tasik Chini, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, National Art Gallery Malaysia, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and more.  

At the event, which served as a convention for local and international artists to exchange knowledge and appreciation of nature – particularly to raise environmental awareness on biodiversity in Tasik Chini through the arts, Awang Damit participated as a speaker in a forum to share his experience on the process of art making. 

Awang Damit continued to produce new artworks throughout the pandemic, which resulted in the documentation and publication of the latest monograph to celebrate the new series of artworks using a newly developed technique he terms Eastern Aesthetics.  

As an advocate for the development of Malaysian art, his commitment to sharing his wisdom and experience with young artists and his tenacity for personal growth are admirable. His humility and down-to-earth personality make Awang Damit one of the most highly regarded icons of the Malaysian art fraternity.   

 

Ways to see

 

On the surface, Awang Damit’s paintings are perceived as abstract expressionist: spontaneous, gestural, and abstract. It has been widely discussed that the idea of “spontaneity or the impression of spontaneity” in the abstract expressionism movement contributes to the characteristics of abstract paintings. However, on the contrary, the creation of most abstract paintings involves careful planning, particularly those rendered on a large scale. Generally, abstract art represents the expression of “ideas concerning the spiritual, the unconscious, and the mind”. [iv]

In Awang Damit’s oeuvre, a great deal of thought and coordination comes into play. His wisdom and ascetic thinking are unravelled in his symbolic paintings that form the expressions of flora and fauna, the surrounding landscape, and cultural motifs personal to him that are composed in a particular manner and distinct colour palette.  

An example of such an interpretation is this mesmerising artwork, Estetika Timur, 2021. In describing the process of painting, Awang Damit said: “When working on a large-scale canvas, I will create a ‘mind map’ that is basically a mental grid of squares and analyse each box to ascertain the wholeness of the artwork”.  

Imbued with principles deriving from both architecture and painting: structure, composition, and spatial arrangement as well as light, depth and circulation, the “Nine-Square Grid” is a self-referential method employed by architects and artists alike. Sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio is known as one of the most influential architects in Western architecture who applied the nine-square organisational device in his buildings. His architectural works have “been valued for centuries as the quintessence of High Renaissance calm and harmony”.[v]  

The significance of the Nine-Square Grid in “seeing” Awang Damit’s work – or any work of art in that regard – is a visual revelation. In John Berger’s 1972 documentary Ways of Seeing, he mentioned that the image in a painting is “silent and still” and that the transmittable nature of its meaning can transport the image to the viewer like a corridor, making it easily manipulated. “The most obvious way of manipulating them is by using movement and sound.”   

As exemplified in Venus and Mars by Botticelli (1445 – 1510), Berger said: “The camera moves in to remove a detail of a painting from the whole. Its meaning changes. An allegorical figure becomes a pretty girl anywhere.” [vi] 

Taking Berger’s idea of seeing and manipulating the meaning of an Italian Renaissance painting into practice – by removing a small section on the lower left of Awang Damit’s abstract painting – we see a representation of a tree – a perpendicular strip of broad white line with oblique rectangular shapes branching out on each side composed of pieces of canvas collage.  

As we move our gaze across the plane to other areas, particularly the middle section, we see a mosaic of collage work in white against the blue and black background – evocative of Borneo textile and basket weaving.  

Similarly, in the top left-hand corner, it is suggestive of the traditional fish trap motif typically handmade with rattan and bamboo. Could this be Awang Damit’s approach to documenting and immortalising his visual memory from the past that was once familiar to him?

 

Self-reflection

 

How does one attempt to define Awang Damit’s style of painting? An arresting painting titled Estetika Timur (2021) illustrates complex emotional and spiritual aesthetic forms expressed through the intensity of brushstrokes and the artist’s gestural force, coupled with the opacity of the layers of thick oil paint slathered liberally and consciously across the plane.  

The final work of art radiates a sense of “primitivism” – despite its Euro-centric[vii] term – by way of style, form, structure, composition, and colour palette. It is a manifestation of self-awareness: native background, cultural motifs, Malaysian tradition infused with stylised folk imagination and tribal essence – relevant to the traditions of Borneo.  

Awang Damit’s cultural wisdom plays a part in his pursuit of divine aesthetics. Absent from political, figurative, object-oriented, and realistic inclinations, his primary leitmotif in his approach to artmaking is to illustrate the fertile soil as he perceives it at its purest and to embrace Mother Nature as God’s creation, particularly in his major series of work.    

In this work titled Estetika (Sculptural Painting) (2021), the red hue that dominates the surface immediately stands out. But its indiscernible form commands our attention. As our eyes trace the black outlines for an indication as to what the motif may be, we notice the silhouettes of totemic-like statuettes begin to appear. In the darker image at the centre of the canvas, the shape of the hilt of a keris begins to form. This painting exemplifies the non-Occidental culture in Awang Damit’s work – a reference to tribal art that embraces indigenous traditions of Asia, Africa, North and South America and Australia, particularly of Borneo in this case.

In terms of subject matter, Awang Damit’s work is parallel with Philippine-American artist Pacita Abad’s (1946 – 2004) oeuvre. A globe-trotting painter, she was best known for her trapunto paintings – a quilting method combined into her canvasses, which were then layered with objects on top of her quilted material: stones, sequins, glass, buttons, shells, mirrors, and printed textile. Although Awang Damit’s work is predominantly abstract paintings, some of his mixed-media paintings include collage work with pieces of painted canvas that he dubs “sculptural paintings”.  

“I have been exploring with what I call sculptural paintings since the 1980s by incorporating pieces of canvas collage. I am revisiting this technique in the Eastern Aesthetics series,” said Awang Damit.

 

Eastern and Western thought

 

Awang Damit began to form his own identity while pursuing postgraduate studies in the US in 1989 and 1990. Under the guidance of Emeritus Professor Tom Nakashima at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC, Awang Damit found his signature style of painting through rigorous practice. 

“During my first semester in Washington DC, Professor John Figura critiqued my work. He asked me: ‘what are you trying to convey with this work?’ He said that my work did not show him anything. His remarks made me realise that I needed to do better. So over summer, I took the opportunity to improve my work,” recalled Awang Damit. 

The result is a never-been-shown painting titled Gubang Bigul from the Intipati Budaya series dated 1989, created as a body of work assessed by Professor Nakashima. This work was well received, and he passed with flying colours.

“I presented him with this work, and he responded positively. I found my signature style when transitioning from Intipati Budaya to Alun-Alun Marista.”  

Tom Nakashima is the nephew of George Katsutoshi Nakashima (1905 – 1990), an American woodworker, architect, and furniture maker who was one of the leading innovators of 20th-century furniture design and a father of the American craft movement. An artist himself, Tom Nakashima’s artistic practice is inspired by George Nakashima’s incarceration at Camp Minidoka in Hunt, Idaho, in 1942. 

The work of Brazilian post-war artist Calasans Neto (1932 – 2006) resonates with Awang Damit’s practice from a subject matter and stylistic standpoint as well as through medium, such as acrylic painting, woodcut, and printmaking work. Calasans Neto’s graphic engraving work depicting creatures such as goats, whales and birds is symbolic of culture and universality.  

Awang Damit’s printmaking work is equally exceptional. He has excelled in this technique since the early 1980s. While his subject matter varied between 1980s and 1990s: exploring the global socio-political landscape such as issues in Palestine, his focus in pursuit of “the meaning and value in life” persists. In his earlier works, he occasionally employed Arabic calligraphy and Jawi script – a homage to his Islamic faith.  

 

The profound journey

 

The Intipati Budaya series (1985 to 1995) is seen as the leading impetus for Awang Damit’s ensuing creative output. Regarded as one of the significant bodies of work in his prolific career, the Intipati Budaya encapsulates tropical flavour and natural aesthetics that liberates him from life events. Its raw form and native characteristics, coupled with the aged patina of the painted surface, make the series visually tantalising.

The artist’s statement reads: “It is a breathing space in which I feel so much freedom – free from pain, confusion, agony, and all the events that suffocate life.”

Dream of a Warrior (1988) is a fine example of native qualities subtracted to its basic elements. It comprises a colour palette that sets the barometer for Awang Damit’s later works.

As we examine Alun-Alun Marista series (1996 to 2002), a striking progress is reflected in the execution of expressions.

In Marista “Peninggalan Semusim” (2002), every mark and paint layer depict self-assuredness that corresponds to the theme’s framework. Awang Damit’s bolder application of vibrant and darker colours begins to unravel towards the end of the series.

“Contextually, the Marista series is a journey of the self, searching for an active, constructive, and progressive aspect of a culture. It reveals a complex and ambiguous yet controlled painting within the duality of figuration and abstraction, being both intimate and expressionistic. Imagery from everyday life essence of childhood experiences become integral and determine the potential visual structures,” reads his statement.    

His quest for self-discovery has arrived at a philosophical juncture that explores life’s unpredictability, as summarised in the Iraga series (2003 – 2011). The paintings’ tactile quality is more pronounced: rough surfaces, deliberate scratch marks, and translucent drip marks are the makings of thunderous compositions.

Iraga “Awal Musim” (2003) exemplifies nature’s changing season through the dark skies and a glimmer of hope. 

In this series, Awang Damit shifts his emphasis to his surroundings. “Nobody can predict and interpret God’s warning even with great knowledge or great sensitivity, and nobody can protect themselves even with great physical strength,” described Awang Damit in his statement.

The following series named Payarama (2012 to 2015) unravels structured compositions that depict complex expressions. As illustrated in Payarama Baru “Tentang Ubi Kayu” (2015), lighter shades of blue are introduced that effectively uplift the soul.

Awang Damit continues to capture the dynamics of natural forces through an unrestrained approach.

In Garismega series (2013 to the present), Awang Damit circles back to self-contemplation that extends beyond the introspective mind. “The paintings are based on a ‘reflective self-referential experience’ – encapsulating a journey and traces of a humble livelihood as a farmer as well as the plight of fishermen facing the challenge of time and nature. The art is based on the concept of simplicity, harmony and balance demonstrated through figuration and abstraction, with qualities veering between intimate and expressionistic, and intellectual and intuitive. It speaks of the essence of human value, society, culture and environment through research, experiences, and memories. In its entirety, it is a continuous art journey that searches the meaning and value in life,” according to his statement.

As illustrated in Garismega “Tribute…Tentang Ubi…Ingatan Buat Arwah Bapaku” (2016), the colour palette of green, red, black, and white is identical to Dream of a Warrior (1988) from the Intipati Budaya series. Yet the intensity of gestural expressions has matured through time.

 

Sketching harmony and balance

 

Within the body of work in Oriental Aesthetics, Awang Damit has produced ten oil paintings that are based on a selection of the many sketches created throughout his artistic career. “I make sketches and drawings in a sketchbook before applying my ideas onto canvas,” said Awang Damit. 

Titled From Sketches to Sketches, the series depicts simplified compositions with linear structure and a minimal colour palette, such as vast white space to achieve the “unfinished” quality of a sketch. He highlights the process of drawing and sketching ideas as highly significant and says it is as important as the finished work.  

Swiss artist Emma Kunz (1892 – 1963) emphasised the act and process of drawing geometric abstraction “not as formalism, but as a means of structuring philosophical, scientific, and spiritual ideas”. Catherine de Zegher wrote: “Emma Kunz generated her own form of thinking through the physical activity of drawing. Her drawings are acts of successive approximation, a vigorous search to find the parts and connections of an unseen whole.” [viii]

Similarly, for Awang Damit, who is searching for artistic closure – a conclusion – explained: “I am at the end of the road, and I am looking for a decision. I have arrived at a confluence of bridging East and West – the meeting of Malay Muslim thought and Western art. I would like to think that Oriental Aesthetics is a holistic attempt in viewing my work in totality.” 

Awang Damit’s calm and gentle demeanour is reflected through his work that strikes the right chords of harmony and balance. He maintains a peaceful state of mind before confronting the blank canvas as he works on one painting at a time.  

Through this systematic approach, each painting gets his undivided attention. He remarked: “There is no repetition of composition in my paintings. The characteristics vary as I spend adequate time on one canvas at any one time.” The result is a fulfilling visual delight that satisfies the elements of spiritual expression and adornment.  

 

Eastern charm, western style

In 2019, Awang Damit conceived a captivating painting titled “……..” that features layers of succinct palette knife and broad-brush marks composed of blue, yellow, grey, white, black and streaks of red.   

On the top left of the canvas, an incision through the canvas is deliberately preserved, echoing Lucio Fontana’s (1899 – 1968) slash series based on his Spatial concept. Here, Awang Damit’s heavy impasto creates a sense of controlled chaos that forms two-dimensional sculptural quality through its surface treatment.             

This vibrant painting titled Estetika Timur (2021) emanates an infectious energy unsurpassable from any other in this series of work.     

The gestural strokes of red, yellow, blue and streaks of white and black in all directions reveal the physical act of painting itself. 

To define Awang Damit’s style as “action painting” may be conflicting with the earlier assertion that his work involves careful planning, as the paintings of the action painters were not meant to portray objects intrinsically or even specific feelings. Instead, they were intended to “touch the observer deep in the subconscious mind, evoking a sense of the primeval and tapping the collective sense of an archetypal visual language through the artist painting unconsciously, and spontaneously, creating a powerful arena of raw emotion and action, in the moment.” [ix]

American art critic Harold Rosenberg (1906 – 1978) coined the term “Action Painting” in a “groundbreaking article” titled The American Action Painters published in the December 1952 issue of ARTnews that “defined a movement and a moment”. [x]

He wrote: “The painter no longer approached his easel with an image in his mind; he went up to it with material in his hand to do something to that other piece of material in front of him. The image would be the result of this encounter.”  

He further opined: “A sketch is the preliminary form of an image the mind is trying to grasp. To work from sketches arouses the suspicion that the artist still regards the canvas as a place where the mind records its contents – rather than itself the ‘mind’ through which the painter thinks by changing a surface with paint. 

If a painting is an action, the sketch is one action, the painting that follows it another. The second cannot be ‘better’ or more complete than the first. There is just as much significance in their difference as in their similarity. 

Of course, the painter who spoke had no right to assume that the other had the old mental conception of a sketch. There is no reason why an act cannot be prolonged from a piece of paper to a canvas. Or repeated on another scale and with more control. A sketch can have the function of a skirmish.” 

With this, we can argue that Awang Damit’s predisposition lies within the abstract expressionism/folk art genre rather than action painting. As a conclusion, in this painting titled Estetika Timur (2021), Awang Damit depicts linear strokes that suggest luxuriant foliage.  

This imagery is the opposite of Cambodian contemporary artist Sopheap Pich’s (1971) two-dimensional paintings of symmetrical composition using bamboo sticks, burlap, and dye. Yet similarity can be drawn from both Awang Damit’s and Sopheap Pich’s focus on preserving their cultural heritage in their own right. 

Known for his bamboo and rattan sculptures, Sopheap Pich’s artistic practice echoes a strong cultural resonance within Cambodian culture and personal significance for the artist. Primarily working with unassuming materials such as rattan and bamboo obtained from indigenous sources, he uses the traditional weaving technique to produce his colossal sculptures.  

Through this perspective, Awang Damit’s work embodies the Southeast Asian region, its landscape, and cultural traditions. It is high time that Awang Damit’s artworks receive universal appreciation and global recognition. A prolific artist, Awang Damit’s culturally sophisticated paintings are memorialised in time capsules to commemorate his intangible world.  

 

 

Sarah Abu Bakar 

31 May 2022 

 

 

 

 

 

[i] Southeast Asian Art Auction Benchmarks & Market Insights, Johnni Wong and Sarah Abu Bakar, The Edge Galerie and The Edge Media Group, 2018, page 47.

[ii] Bioretro: Awang Damit Ahmad 1985 – 2015, pantauIRAGA, 2015, page 4.

[iii] Dari Payarama ke Garismega: 2013 – 2020 (From Payarama to Garismega: 2013 – 2020), Manifestations of Inner Vibrations and Feelings in Awang Damit Ahmad’s Works, Dr. Muliyadi Mahamood, Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers and Galeri Prima, 2021, page 26.

[iv] 3 x Abstraction: New Methods of Drawing by Hilma af Klint, Emma Kunz,and Agnes Martin,The Drawing Center New York, Catherine de Zegher and Hendel Teicher (eds.)., Yale University Press, 2005.

[v] A History of Western Architecture, Fourth Edition, David Watkin, Lawrence King Publishing, 2005.

[vi] Ways of Seeing, John Berger, BBC documentary, Episode 1, 1972.

[vii] My intention is to generalise the description of style through its similarity and by no means attempting to categorise Awang Damit Ahmad’s artwork as such.

[viii] 3 x Abstraction: New Methods of Drawing by Hilma af Klint, Emma Kunz,and Agnes Martin,The Drawing Center New York, Catherine de Zegher and Hendel Teicher (eds.)., Yale University Press, 2005 pg. 137.

[ix] The Easy Part of the Hard Problem: A Resonance Theory of Consciousness, Cognitive Neuroscience, a section of the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Tam Hunt and Jonathan W. Schooler, 2019.

[x] Top Ten ARTnews Stories: Not a Picture but an Event, Barbara A. MacAdam, 2007, www.artnews.com/artnews/news/top-ten-artnews-stories-not-a-picture-but-an-event-181/

 

 

Galeri Puteh presents “Hawwa”, a group exhibition celebrating the creativity of 15 women artists whose artistic flair remains true to subject matters expressed through feminine themes like decorative, craft, modern aesthetics, domesticity, and universal relationship. Their dynamic technical skills surpass gender stereotypes, producing visually stimulating and cerebral artworks that highlight varying degrees of superiority in their respective practices through innovative processes.

Presented in various expressions from printmaking, textile, drawing, painting, and photography to sculpture and installation, “Hawwa” reflects the rich diversity in artistic flair among women artists from different generations.

The artworks of veteran artists Sivam Selvaratnam (1937 – 2014); Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri; Ilse Noor; Fatimah Chik, Nadia Särnblom Alsagoff; Dato’ Sharifah Fatimah Syed Zubir; Khatijah Sanusi; Kalsom Muda; established artists Soraya Yusof Talismail; Umibaizurah Mahir@Ismail; mid-career artists Tetriana Ahmed Fauzi; Nor Tijan Firdaus; and contemporary artists Kika Goldstein; Jayshree Ramasamy; and Trixie Tan Lu Man – gathered in “Hawwa” exhibition – demonstrating stylistic expressions through their formal approach in artmaking.

In “Hawwa”, viewers will get a glimpse of the technical complexity in the history of artmaking from almost six decades ago – from charcoal on paper by Sivam Selvaratnam created in 1965, extraordinary etchings produced by Ilse Noor in 1986, Fatimah Chik’s batik collage from 1992; watercolour and ink on paper by Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri made in 1997; sophisticated mixed media on canvas work by Khatijah Sanusi produced in 2002; Kalsom Muda’s gorgeous tapestry-thread dye on canvas work created in 2003; to the most current artworks such as Soraya Yusof Talismail’s silver gelatin prints; Umibaizurah Mahir@Ismail’s series of ceramic and painting installations; and Nor Tijan Firdaus’s artwork created from e-waste materials. Also featured are abstract paintings by Dato’ Sharifah Fatimah, Nadia Alsagoff, Tetriana Ahmed Fauzi, and Kika Goldstein, as well as figurative paintings by Jayshree Ramasamy and Trixie Tan Lu Man.

 

Melodic motif

 

The recurring theme in “Hawwa” is traditional motifs and patterns inspired by mother nature and the majestic flora and fauna. The artworks, presented in vibrant and striking colour palettes, are executed in the conventional domestic sense, such as batik painting, textile, and embroidery, reflecting versatility in execution.

Sivam Selvaratnam’s enthusiasm for raga, which she described as “melodic patterns that colour the mind”, began in the Sixties and later incorporated “energised yantras – divine geometric elements with music to link sound syllables with colour and cosmic principle”.

The elegant palette of “Sunset Raga” (1993) and “Gayatri Mantra” (2011) was displayed in Sivam’s second solo exposition, “Rapt in Maya: A Collection of Artworks by Sivam Selvaratnam” at the University of Malaya Art Gallery in 2012.

Her retrospective featured nature studies, abstract renditions, textile designs and art inspired by “raga” between the 1960s and 2012. The educator-artist had intentionally omitted her figurative paintings in the exhibition – a deliberate decision that art historian T.K. Sabapathy remarked the omission would have been “vitally important for an assessment of her oeuvre.”

As one of the pioneering woman members of the Wednesday Art Group, joining in 1956 and later serving as a secretary in 1961, Sivam was an art educator whose pedagogical values extended beyond the classrooms and into her personal life: sharing her profound appreciation for arts and culture with her children and grandchildren, family members and friends who have been immensely affected by her infectious enthusiasm.

Another veteran artist whose inspiration for artistic endeavours is by colours, Nature, and the universe is Dato’ Sharifah Fatimah. In her fourth solo exhibition titled “The Inner Space” in 1980, she described the symbolic colours found in her abstract paintings through an excerpt of prose. The mentioning of raga bears a familiar ring:

 

“…black is a bright light in a dark day

black is the annihilation of self

it is the light of Majesty.

Red is fire active and expansive

vital spirit…like the pulsating sun

in the morning in the spring time.

Yellow is air

is the sound of the trumpet filling the spaces

with vibrating waves.

Green is water is hope and fertility

like the trees reaching for the heavens

calligraphy of branches glorifying the Great One

green is the carpet of the earth.

Blue is earth cold and dry

like the strings of the sitar echoing the

nightingale’s call bringing the tune of

raga into the night….”[1]

 

The vivid hues in her artworks titled “Landscape 1 and 2” (2012) and “Joyous Light 16” (2022) featured in “Hawwa” are consistent with her signature colour palette that defines her painterly elegance.

While Sivam Selvaratnam’s musical inspiration for her paintings derived from sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, Indian Hindustani classical musician Ali Akbar Khan, and Lata Mangeshkar’s sultry voice in “Satyam Shivam Sundaram” number, Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri’s landscape paintings – in the style of Chinese brush watercolour technique – is inspired by the song “Colours of the Wind” by Vanessa Williams from Walt Disney Pictures animated film “Pocahontas” (1995), and poems by the great Sufi and Islamic scholar Rumi, and wise Chinese proverbs. Her solo exhibition of the same song title featured the exquisite rendition of “Waterfall”, displayed at Riddoch Art Gallery in Mount Gambier, South Australia, and Sutra Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, in 2002.

Sharifah Zuriah cares deeply for peace in relationships and the preservation of Nature. In a statement, she wrote: “I am passionate about maintaining and enhancing the pristine condition of our environment. I adore Nature and I paint Nature. In my paintings I strive to mirror the elemental nobility of my environment and to create in the viewer a sense of passion for the natural universe. My art has enabled me to both reflect and explore the human relationship to Nature.”[2]

Similarly, the brilliance of Nadia Alsagoff’s colour palette in interpreting the beauty of Nature stimulates the mind’s eye. Inspired by the “impression of the moments”, Nadia, who has been producing artworks for about five decades, seeks inspiration from the “inner and outer visions that are formed as I wander through the landscape of life.”

The bold outlines that mark her vibrant canvas exude rhythmic senses that express her thought process. She wrote: “The search for a picture that is corresponding with your thoughts is never-ending as your thoughts are shifting and never-ending the lines and shapes of yesterday take on another form today That is process”.[3]

Tetriana Ahmed Fauzi’s contemporary approach to painting feminine floral aesthetics comprises “Dianthus in Starling Pink” and “Orchidaceae Under Paddlepop Wash”. The lushness of the striking and pastel hues, the tactile quality of dense petal formation and the crafty and unconventional format of the canvas spark all senses: her immortal blooms are fragrant and sweet-scented. 

Kuala Lumpur-based Brazilian artist Kika Goldstein create a series of small paintings (50cm by 45cm) in gestural abstraction. She explained: “My current research relates to what I call ‘feminine landscapes’, in which I’m exploring rocks, caves, cavities, fissures, crevices. In ‘No beginning, middle or ending’, ‘Unknown reliefs’, ‘My cave’ and ‘Internal traits’, I’m experimenting with the idea of darkness that takes us back to the origin of things; to that it is invisible, mysterious, unexplained or yet to be understood.”

Kika’s exploration of “darkness” is illustrated by the colour black, whether in the purest pigment or chromatic black: a concoction of several hues like brown and red, brown and blue or other combinations.

She asserted that “these images can only be seen through fractions of light that expose surfaces, volumes, reliefs, holes, orifices, and colour. This new set of works are also about gestures, those initial, exploratory gestures we make to lose the hand. Lines and scribbles or even scratches that are or could be a mere attempt to make sense of things, of what we see. Or as an attitude, a courageous first line aiming to translate a wonder or something we don’t know what it is just yet.”

 

Expanded Heritage

In 2007, Galeri Petronas presented the “Out of the Mould: The Age of Reason” exhibition that showcased artworks by 10 Malaysian new-generation women artists.[4]  Curated by the late Shireen Naziree (1947 – 2018), who observed that “the characterisation of the female aesthetic was principally determined as an extension of their domestic role”. She wrote in the exhibition catalogue:

“The Malaysian aesthetic is rich in its textile traditions, which have been richly embellished with influences from China, India, and the Middle East. The traditional art of tekat – gold and silver thread embroidery, originally associated with the royal courts – continues to be associated with Malay women with distinct designs and motives identifying their state of origin. Typically feminine, the ornamentation of these crafts reflected the prodigies of the grace and freshness of floral motifs sometimes incorporated with Islamic geometric patterns.”

As manifested in the work of Fatimah Chik, a student of Sivam Selvaratnam’s, her stunning batik designs capture symbolic motifs of the Southeast Asian region. “Alunan: Shibori series 1,3 and 4” were displayed in “The Fine Art of Fabrics” exhibition at the Bank Negara Museum and Art Gallery in 2014. Her elementary geometric design rendered in a range of charming colours applied using the Shibori – an ancient Japanese tie-dye technique – on large-scale cotton mull is a sight to behold. Her “Gunongan” series features a sophisticated batik collage technique rich with the ASEAN region’s symbolic meanings and philosophical motifs.

Kalsom Muda receives encomiums for her meticulous tapestry technique. Her pleasant works convey the message of sustainability, demonstrating her deep-rooted passion for Nature. The painterly quality of Kalsom’s arresting embroidery on canvas proves the seamless amalgamation between fine art and textile with her innovative ways of creating unique artworks that pay homage to the natural landscape.

The brightly coloured mixed media on canvas by Khatijah Sanusi titled “Untukmu” features stencilled arabesque geometric motifs indicative of her Islamic identity infused with Malay woodcarving craft floral motifs echoing the form and soul of Islamic Art.

 

Immortalising memories

Ilse Noor’s notable suite of intricate etchings highlighting architectural heritage in Malaysia, such as “Rumah Bomoh Hj. Abdullah – Perak”, “Istana Bandar – Selangor”, “Makam Tok Pelam – Terengganu”, and “Istana Lama – Kedah” produced in 1986 commissioned by Shell Companies Malaysia for the multinational’s 1987 calendar.

In 1991, the 24 etchings were compiled into a publication titled “Warisan Nusa Shell Book of Malaysian Heritage” to commemorate 100 years of Shell Company in Malaysia. The updated and expanded edition of the book was released as “Warisan Nusa: Malaysian Cultural Heritage” by Ilse Noor in 2019.

Other significant etchings featured in “Hawwa” include “Taman Impian” (1986) from her “Mystical Dreamscapes” series, “Bunuhku, aku akan tetap menyanyi” (1989) and “Metamorphosis” (1997) from the “Enigmatic Still Life” series; and “Cenderawasih” (2010), the mystical bird of paradise in Malay folklore.

Renowned fine art photographer Soraya Yusof Talismail captured contemporary artist Fadilah Karim and her daughter Aira during Fadilah’s milestone solo exhibition, “A Decade: Fadilah Karim 2010 – 2020″, at White Box, Publika, Kuala Lumpur, organised by Segaris Art Center in 2020.

Titled “Fadilah Karim. Visual Artist – Painter, The Lonesome Painter is not Lonesome Anymore #1, #2, #3, #4” made using Silver Gelatin prints on fibre-based paper and “Fadilah Karim. Study #1” printed on Hahnemühle William Turner 100% cotton rag, the stills portray the unbreakable mother-daughter bond filled with unconditional love.

 

Sculptural painting

 

Representing the sculpture-based segment in “Hawwa” is renowned ceramic artist Umibaizurah Mahir@Ismail and sculptor Nor Tijan Firdaus, who uses obsolete electronic parts or E-waste as her primary source of medium.

Umibaizurah’s series of “The Garden Room 1” (2021), “The Garden Room 3 and “The Garden Room 4” (2023), illustrate hybrid birds in her whimsical fashion painted on a rustic background to emulate the coarseness of the wall in a mural painting. Her signature ceramic is in the form of small-sized bottles placed on a wooden frame. As part of her creative practice, Umibaizurah often combines paintings with her ceramic work to form a painting installation body of work.

Umibaizurah explained: “My latest works feature a combination of paintings and ceramic sculptures concerning how we address sustainability issues in many aspects of our everyday lives and how to raise awareness to encourage individuals to engage in sustainable consumption behaviours.

The appearance of hybrid birds as a consciousness evokes instability, change, and a way to disrupt perceptions and assumptions. The strange land they expect to encounter, to live in, is inhabited by mysterious figures and the existence of the extraordinary.”

“A Tale of Greed and Ambition” by Nor Tijan Firdaus features a large square format wall installation made from E-waste on a blockboard coated with 2K matte resin. Adopting the graphics of the classic multi-player economics-themed board game Monopoly, Nor Tijan portrays the Malaysian social landscape that implies current issues such as minimum wage, environment, connectivity, and infrastructure.  

 

Painting People

 

Jayshree Ramasamy has been actively participating in group exhibitions since 2008. She has mounted three solo exhibitions, including her first solo in Malaysia, “Small in Size…Big in Role”, at Muzium dan Galeri Tengku Fauziah, University Sains Malaysia, Penang, in 2016. At the time, her focus was on the importance of insects in life, leading to the advancement of biomimicry. Her adaptability in various subjects includes portrait and figurative paintings such as “Gift” and “Silent Beauty”, both created in 2023.

Contemporary artist Trixie Tan Lu Man, albeit the youngest in this group, shows maturity in her highly personal and delicate rendition of the female form and human figure – symbolised through the orchid plant. The orchid is a tangible memory of her late mother, who succumbed to uterus cancer. The plant her mother had tended lovingly bloomed even after her passing. “Cover Up” (2023) suggests a self-portrait rendered in a state of bareness. Her modesty is upheld by lush botanical plants like Moses in the Cradle (Tradescantia spathacea) covering her upper body and the ruby mokara orchid sealing her lips. 

In retrospect, the collection of remarkable artworks in “Hawwa” brings forth the concerns of these selected women artists that continue to dominate the popular and familiar themes. Entering a new age where multidisciplinary artistic inclinations are encouraged, the conventional sense of producing artworks in solitude is thus greatly challenged. The increasing number of critically acclaimed Malaysian women artists today who broke barriers with innovative methods of artmaking elevates the meaning of being a woman artist. From Yee I-Lann’s Borneo Heart community-based projects that feature woven mats representational of egalitarian, communal, feminist politics; Red Hong Yi’s momentous TIME magazine feature of “Climate is Everything” (2021) and more recently “My Alleyway Memories (Once Upon A Longtang)” installation at National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur (2023); to Anniketyni Madian’s complex and highly polished woodwork and resin sculptures inspired by traditional folklores in her solo exhibition “Susey” (2023), are such examples.

The new way of producing brings to perspective the scale and quality of women’s work, notwithstanding the medium and subject matter. Let us celebrate the successes of women artists who persevere in sharing their visions with us despite having to play the dutiful roles of daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, mother, aunt, grandmother and wife.

 

Sarah Abu Bakar

April 30 2023

 

Link to exhibition catalogue PDF here.

 

[1] “Chasm of Light”, Chu-Li, “Chasm of Light: Works by Sharifah Fatimah Syed Zubir” exhibition catalogue, pages 13 – 14, organised by Artfolio, Takashimaya Gallery, Singapore, 1996.

[2] Artist Statement, “Art as Faith and Search for Divine Truth: A Solo Art Exhibition on Nature by Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri” exhibition catalogue, page 7, Embassy of Malaysia, The Hague, The Netherlands, 2005.

[3] Email correspondence between Sarah Abu Bakar and Nadia Alsagoff, April 21, 2023.

[4] The featured artists are Azliza Ayob, Bibi Chew, Hayati Mokhtar, Nadiah Bamadhaj, Nur Hanim Mohamed Khairuddin, Sharmiza Abu Hassan, Shia Yih Yiing, Umibaizurah Mahir@Ismail, Yau Bee Ling, and Yee I-Lann.

 

For two decades, Raduan Man has perfected the art of woodcut since completing his undergraduate studies majoring in printmaking at MARA University of Technology (UiTM) in 2001.

The journey has been laborious, one that is inculcated by the rigours of technical discipline essential to the printmaking process. In printmaking, the basic method entails creating a design on a flat surface such as wood, metal, or glass known as matrix, which is then inked to transmit the image on the desired surface. This is followed by printing from the matrix that requires the application of controlled pressure such as a printing press for the mirror image of the design to be transferred onto paper or fabric.

In 2003, Raduan presented his first solo exhibition titled Fresh Markings, which consisted of works in woodcut technique on paper as well as oil and acrylic on canvas. The collection took two years to complete.

At the time, he had already experimented with transposing the carved image onto canvas instead of conventional paper and applying more than one colour, demonstrating his early attempt at modernising the woodcut medium.

Raduan’s position as a young artist then had influenced the narrative of Fresh Markings through the “assimilation of art traditions and cultural sensibilities in his work”.[i] He displayed a natural aptitude for creating innovative works early on, embedding metaphorical subject matters that are personal to him.

In 2016, a new series of abstract paintings was introduced for his 8^th solo exhibition titled Raduan Man: Ascension to Abstraction that marked his first foray into pure abstraction. A prequel titled Kayangan was presented in 2021 and subsequently his most recent abstract series titled Khayalan in 2022.

As a progressive artist, Raduan also ventured into NFT art in early 2022, producing 20 artworks titled The Iconic Series and Superheroes Series. His artworks have entered the one-of-a-kind trading of non-fungible tokens, the crypto-media trend that brings ownership to the cyberspace.

 

Domestic interiors

Fast forward to 2022, Post-Contemporary Woodcut: Lines of Labour by Raduan Man is his 10^th solo exhibition that celebrates the evolution of his artistic practice in woodcut technique. In honour of the modest medium, Raduan has embraced the process by creating 21 complex and sophisticated woodcut paintings in oil on canvas illustrating domestic interiors inspired by a period of isolation during the pandemic.

“In this series, my aim is to elevate the status of woodcut by eliminating the concept of editions and to create unique major artworks in the form of woodcut print and oil on canvas”, said Raduan.

Traditionally, original prints on paper are produced in the count of a limited edition with an artist’s proof. Raduan has found an ingenious solution to break the mould of conventional ways in artmaking and spearheading the unpaved path to the success of this strenuous technique.

The result is a body of mesmerising work depicting still life objects in a domestic setting, in dazzling colours and harmonious lines that create spatial perspective and tactile quality due to the repetitive relief print method. This process demonstrates the absence of direct paintbrush marks on canvas making the artworks distinctively Raduan’s.

“The soul of my work is in the matrix. It is the first point of contact for my ideas to be expressed. A regular painting can be forged but it would be complicated to replicate this body of work due to its technical demands,” explained Raduan.

In Meja Bonda, Raduan illustrates a red dining table with an array of tableware, fruits, and vegetables as well as potted plants spread across the composition. The blue background creates a soothing ambience in the painting.

“The images are based on my recollection of my mother’s house that features various household objects and its arrangements in the kitchen and dining table. I never noticed them before, but these observations become more visible during the Movement Control Order,” described Raduan.

 

The subject matter of domestic interiors that embraces episodes of daily lives is popular among European artists particularly Dutch painters in the 17^th century such as Johannes Vermeer (1632 – 1675).

Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890) created three oil paintings titled Bedroom in Arles depicting his bedroom in the Yellow House in Arles, France where he resided for a short period of time. In a letter to his brother and art dealer Theo, he mentioned that the interior is deliberately “flattened and left out the shadows so that his picture would resemble a Japanese print.”[ii]

Raduan’s post-contemporary woodcut paintings mirror the characteristics of post-impressionism paintings through its bold lines, distorted forms, and vivid colours.

 

Democratising art

Woodcut is the ancient relief printing technique of printmaking, which originated in China from the Han dynasty that was later brought to Europe and is known to be the oldest technique to produce old master prints in the 13^th century. The European woodcut technique found its way back to China and Japan in the 1930s propelling the movement’s popularisation.    

In the Asian context, woodcut is known to be a “democratic” medium as it is an effective and economical way to convey propaganda messages for political and social movements such as the dissemination of information for

independence from colonial rule, democratisation against the dictatorship, reformation of labour situation, and to campaign against environmental pollution.[iii]

Historically, “woodcut has contributed to such activisms by conveying the hardship of people, disclosing problems of societies, seeking the solidarity with other communities, and mobilising actions for better societies.”

As a medium that symbolises freedom, the history of woodcut in Asia does not only “represent agony, struggle, or propaganda — it is a history of liberation in the subjective expression of oppressed people.”[iv]

The early introduction of woodblock prints to Singapore’s art scene is attributed to the early “Wenman Gie” publications or The World of Culture and Cartoons by Dai Yunlang in 1936 as a Sunday art feature on Nanyang Siang Pau. The knowledge of woodblock print was shared with the educators of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts when it was established in 1938.[v]

In Malaysia, veteran artist Dr. Choong Kam Kow was appointed the Head of Fine Art Department at UiTM in 1970 and introduced “printmaking as a core subject like painting and sculpture in year two and year three and as a Minor area of study in final year’s syllabuses of the fine art department.”[vi]

He wrote: “…as far as I can remember, those artists who have been invited to do part-time teaching in printmaking during the initial years were Latiff Mohidin, Long Thien Shih, Carol Rotsiger and Ghafar Ibrahim. They all have made considerable contributions to the implementation of the printmaking curriculum at ITM.”

In observing the appreciation for printmaking in Malaysia, Dr. Choong described: “Over the last five decades, we have witnessed the gradual increase of groups and solos printmaking exhibitions held both in public and private art galleries with the aims to promote appreciation and recognition of modern fine prints as a unique art form. However, in the art market today, private collectors, corporations and public institutions are still very much lacking of enthusiasm in acquiring fine prints for collection. Many of them are still having the misconception that printmaking is reproduction due to its multiple editions, hence lower in value. The value appreciation rate is slow and limited as compared to painting and sculpture.”

In 2018, Bank Negara Museum and Art Gallery presented a major exhibition highlighting the significance of the printmaking medium and narrative in Malaysian art titled Seni Cetakan: Sepanjang Zaman (The Art of Printmaking: Lasting Impressions). Raduan created a colossal work that was featured in the show. Titled Banjaran, the woodcut and oil on canvas work measures 8ft by 20ft (2m by 6m) and is the artist’s largest interpretation of the forest in Banjaran Titiwangsa created exclusively in woodcut technique.  

For Raduan, he aims to make an impact through his artistic endeavours. “I am constantly setting the bar high to challenge myself to create impactful works. I have arrived at a stage where I make art for my personal fulfilment. The healing nature of the process is what I enjoy most,” said Raduan.

 

References

[i] www.artfacts.net/exhibition/solo-exhibition-by-mohd-raduan-man/11780

[ii] Vincent van Gogh, The Bedroom, www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0047v1962

[iii] Blaze Carved in Darkness: Woodcut Movements is Asia 1930s – 2010s, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, 2019, www.asiawoodcut2.wordpress.com

[iv] Ibid

[v] Woodcut Prints: Artistic Significance of Woodcut Prints – Heritage of Singapore Traditional Art, Ng Woon Lam, www.composition.com.sg/woodcut-prints/

[vi] Development of Malaysian Modern Printmaking Through ITM Academic Programme, Dr. Choong Kam Kow, September 22, 2021, www.malaysianprintmaking.com/post/development-of-malaysian-modern-printmaking-through-itm-academic-programme

 

 

 

 

“Only in our imagination do we live in more than two dimensions, and with its help we attempt to enliven the flatness of our image with depth. All of a sudden it may dawn on us how foolish we are, we faddists of the two-dimensional picture with our constant urge to achieve unobtainable depth.” – M.C. Escher, 1947[i]

 

“Tindih” is Syed Fakaruddin’s second solo exhibition, featuring stunning landscape paintings inspired by a trip to Pulau Kapas — a pristine island off the coast of Terengganu. Syed Fakaruddin depicts the island’s vibrant scenery using conventional techniques to create a sense of depth, imbued with his signature fuzzy effect and a sophisticated appliqué of dried oil paint – a newly acquired technique.

The 32-year-old multidisciplinary artist — known for his large-scale abstract topography paintings — will showcase his latest expressions at the underground gallery of Rimbun Dahan in Kuang, Selangor, from March 27 to April 11 to mark the completion of his six-month residency. A series of work stimulated during this period is also part of “Tindih”.

“Tajuk ‘Tindih’ sesuai dengan konsep dan idea yang saya ingin tonjolkan dalam solo saya kali ini.  Eksplorasi tiga lapisan dalam lukisan: background, middle ground and foreground,” says Syed Fakaruddin. (“The title ‘Tindih’ (Overlap) is in accordance with the concepts and ideas that I want to highlight in my solo exhibition this time. The exploration of three layers of painting: background, middle ground and foreground.”)

The main leitmotif featuring the kaleidoscopic coral reefs of Pulau Kapas is illustrated in the foreground of the landscape, enticing viewers to examine the painting more closely. Syed Fakaruddin experiments with the impasto technique as a discrete “colour study” before applying the dried paint to the canvas to form the tactile quality of coral reefs.

The vast ocean illustrated in the middle ground of the panorama is in his distinctive ‘out-of-focus’ style — a technique he developed in his first solo show titled Bumi Asing (2018) — while the sky in the background is depicted using a classic wash technique.

As a result, each overlapping layer, with varying temperatures of colour, clarity and consistency adds an illusionary perspective to the seascape.

Pulau Kapas

“I visited Pulau Kapas with friends some days prior to commencing my residency programme at Rimbun Dahan. I took photographs and collected data to work on this new series. So, the memory of the trip was still fresh in my mind when I arrived here,” says Syed Fakaruddin.

Throughout the Movement Control Order period, while he was in Rimbun Dahan, the artist focused his energy on inventiveness and being productive, which has yielded a remarkable outcome. Works such as “Kapas: Terasing”, “Kapas: Sekawan” and “Kapas: Tebing Tajam”, which measure 1.5m by 2.4m, burst with arresting colour palettes and bold lines that highlight the majestic underwater marine life on an epic scale.

“The idea of this series is to reinterpret what I experienced during my time on Pulau Kapas, such as snorkelling and admiring the corals. One day, while sitting on the beach looking out into the ocean and enjoying the sea breeze, my view was interrupted by a large rock. As I observed the frame, I realised that I was looking at three things in the distance: the rock, the sea and the sky,” says Syed Fakaruddin.

Residency

By accepting the invitation to be a resident artist at Rimbun Dahan, Syed Fakaruddin joins an extensive list of local and international visual artists, writers and choreographers who have lived and worked at the private arts centre owned by architect Hijjas Kasturi and his wife, Angela. Rimbun Dahan has been welcoming artists in many disciplines since 1994.

During his residency from September last year until March, Syed Fakaruddin immersed himself in the lush tropical landscape of the sprawling of the 14-acre garden of the art space. The serene setting could not have been more conducive to work for a landscape painter.

“When I first entered the gates of Rimbun Dahan, I felt a surge of excitement. The idea of isolation with no disturbances and distractions motivated me,” says Syed Fakaruddin.

About 20 paintings pay homage to Rimbun Dahan in the exhibition. “Rimbun: Pagar Sangka” portrays the main entrance to the property, as the viewer is greeted by a dog and a wild boar — a gesture to eternalise the resident animals on the property — among other wildlife in this natural habitat.

“Rimbun: Malam Berkelipan” is inspired by an event that took place one night in the studio. A stray firefly was seen hovering around his paintings. The following night, Syed Fakaruddin explored the forest within Rimbun Dahan in search of more fireflies. There, he was amazed by the sight of the twinkling fireflies in the dark, sparking a fresh sense of wonder to create this work.

In an artwork titled “Rimbun: Kolam”, Syed Fakaruddin explains: “Landskap kolam ini tercetus apabila saya dan artis residensi yang lain beberapa kali minum petang bersama tuan rumah iaitu Pak Hijjas, Angela dan anaknya Bilqis. Di kawasan minum petang itu sangat menenangkan kerana terdapat kolam air hujan semulajadi yang unik dan cantik dipenuhi dengan bunga-bunga teratai, daun-daun yang besar dan panjang. Lukisan bertajuk ‘Rimbun: Kolam’ itu ialah salah satu memori penting di residensi Rimbun Dahan kerana disitulah tempat kami berkumpul dan berkongsi pelbagai cerita.” (“The pond landscape is based on several afternoon tea sessions

with the host, Pak Hijjas, Angela and their daughter, Bilqis. The afternoon tea area is very calming because there is a unique and beautiful natural rainwater pond filled with lotus flowers, the leaves are large and long. The painting titled ‘Rimbun: Kolam’ is one of the important memories in Rimbun Dahan residency because that is where we gather and share stories.”)

The main house that features the said water garden is described in Rimbun Dahan’s website: “The main house and guest house are linked by a covered loggia that overlooks the water garden and cascade to one side. The 500 square meter gallery is underground on the other side, beneath the entrance plaza. The gallery is enclosed and dehumidified, and can be air conditioned when necessary. The rest of the house relies on through ventilation and ceiling fans.”[ii]

Perspective

I was given a virtual tour of Syed Fakaruddin’s work space at Rimbun Dahan during our video call. He occupied two studios – one to accommodate his tools, materials and canvases.

During our hour-long conversation, I was struck by the orderliness of the space, with the neatly stacked paintings against the walls ready to be exhibited, months ahead of the scheduled time. This indicates Syed Fakaruddin’s qualities as an artist: earnest, meticulous and strategic.   

He walked me through every corner of his work space while explaining in detail his methods, materials and progress. Hundreds of tubes of oil paint, neatly organised on rows of shelves, had been emptied to produce a substantial number of paintings.

We talked about his artistic practice since graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in fine art from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in Shah Alam, Selangor, in 2012.

While he has been taking part in local group shows since 2009, his “ADA Show (Ara Damansara Artists)”, an exhibition at Segaris Art Center, Publika, Kuala Lumpur, in 2015 caught the interest of the art world and introduced him to the wider public.  

Syed Fakaruddin majored in sculpture but the challenges in pursuing it full-time due to costly machinery and space constraints encouraged him to explore painting.

He has exhibited several installations and sculptures in the past, including “Dari Mata, Turun ke Hati”, an installation that made him a finalist in the Bakat Muda Sezaman 2019 competition, organised by Balai Seni Negara, Kuala Lumpur.

Recently, his video titled “Apa Sudah Jadi” was one of 80 submitted by local and international artists in response to the Covid-19 pandemic for a video art exhibition titled “Stay Art Home: One Minute Video”, organised by Kapallorek Art Space in Seri Iskandar, Perak, from Feb 5 until March 18. The same frosted mirror in “Dari Mata, Turun ke Hati” is highlighted in this short 40-second video.

In January 2022, he will have a third solo exhibition as one of the five winners of the Malaysia Emerging Artist Award 2019 (MEAA2019) organised by Galeri Chandan and HOM Art Trans, Kuala Lumpur, in 2019. Apart from a cash prize and a travel grant, winners of MEAA2019 get to present a one-man show of their work.

Our conversation touches on influences. Syed Fakaruddin tells me that his work is influenced by personal experiences, memories and environment that relate to earth and nature. His approaches may vary depending on the visual narratives and expressions.

“I am influenced by Damien Hirst’s multidisciplinary practice. He has different concepts for each work while staying true to his themes of art, life and death,” says Syed Fakaruddin.

“Similarly, I have ideas to create different types of work when I reach certain phases in my life, like working towards a five-year plan.”

When Syed Fakaruddin conveys the concept of “Tindih”, he references Redza Piyadasa’s “The Great Malaysian Landscape” from 1972. The award-winning conceptual artwork illustrates how to create the ideal landscape painting — complete with text explaining the essential elements that a painting should represent. The artwork features three images in a step-by-step format of a specimen landscape work in progress and the end product.

As I thought about diverse adaptations in the contemporary art world concerning perspective, Ai Wei Wei’s “Study of Perspective” — a photographic series produced between 1995 and 2017 by the Chinese contemporary artist and activist — instantly comes to mind.

“Tindih by Syed Fakaruddin” is a celebration of his natural advancement from his multidisciplinary oeuvre, from installation art such as “Under Construction Series” (2012) and “Feel Series” (2013); to landscape painting in “Outline Series” (2015), “Soulful Series” (2016) and “Blur Painting Series” (2019). His participation in the residency programme at Rimbun Dahan has proved to be a critical chapter in his development and progression as an artist and, from the current outlook, he could be destined for greatness.

 

Sarah Abu Bakar

February 28, 2021

 

[i] #4 Graphic Artists of the Netherlands Speak of Their Work, Phoenix, Jaargang 2, Juni 1947.

[ii] Rimbun Dahan, The Main House, www.rimbundahan.org/architecture/the-main-house

 

 

 

 

“The nights have always been my friend. Even as a child I had difficulty in falling asleep. I was never afraid of the dark. I would sit outside watching the stars and fireflies. I have never been afraid of being alone and never felt lonely, for God’s ministering angels are with me.” – Sharifah Fatimah[i]

 

“Tales of Solace” is Dato’ Sharifah Fatimah Syed Zubir Barakbah’s latest visual chronicle, inspired by her past travels to the Middle East and the Balkans. Her personal stories of solace and solitude are expressed in the purest form: elegant patterns of streaks and markings of the palette knife on the canvas, spread over and across mesmerising voids in a harmonious mélange of colours.

The regal 73-year-old Grande Dame of Malaysian abstract art, who traced her ancestry to Imam Ali al-Uraidhi ibn Ja’far al-Sadiq, the brother of Imam Musa ibn Ja’far al-Kadhim during a visit to Baghdad, Iraq in 1988, has enjoyed a prolific career with many formidable accomplishments that spans five decades.

Through her extensive oeuvre, the viewer is often transported to a tranquil universe that elevates one’s spiritual being. A sense of order is restored amid the worldly chaos. The stillness of air is contained within the compositions illustrated in the colours of nature.

Fifteen artworks – created since July last year – will be on display at G13 Gallery in Kelana Square, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, from March 1 until 20, 2021. The exhibition features her distinctive celebratory-style paintings with tactile surfaces. The unique “Pattern of Dream”, for example, uses acrylic, modelling paste and eucalyptus bark, with a sensational prism of colours.

Unconventional materials

Sharifah Fatimah’s preference for media such as acrylic, modelling paste and fibre (papyrus) on canvas as a conduit to her innermost being has been established since “Risalah Dari Malaysia: An Exhibition of Paintings by Five Malaysian Artists” at the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan, and the “Touch the Earth” series from her solo show at Balai Seni Menara Maybank, Kuala Lumpur, both in 1992.

Her exploration of unconventional materials and techniques continued in her exhibition “Garden of the Heart”, at NN Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, in 2007. Sharifah Fatimah incorporated collages of traditional textiles and crafts, such as woven mengkuang mats embellished with embroidery and gold leaf, to create exquisite artworks that convey an intimate narrative.

The idea of integrating eucalyptus bark into her paintings was sparked by a trip to Guangzhou, China, in 2014. She introduced the peeling bark in a series of works that was featured in an exhibition titled “Recent Works by Dato’ Sharifah Fatimah” at The Edge Galerie, Kuala Lumpur, in 2015 and later “Song of Eucalyptus”, in celebration of her golden jubilee as an artist at Segaris Art Center, Kuala Lumpur in 2017.

Self-contemplation

Sharifah Fatimah says she was taught “patience, the value of silence and solitude” by her great-grandmother, Sharifah Kamaliah al-Qadri. She describes her as “an ancient figure, astute, quiet, silence the absolute poise, balance of body mind and spirit, so calm, unshaken, dignified, reverence. She was a Sufi.”[ii]

Her great-grandmother often performed the Islamic devotional acts of zikir (remembrance of God) – repetitive utterances of short phrases glorifying God. To Sufis, “zikir is seen as a way to gain spiritual enlightenment and achieve union or annihilation in God”.

An example of fikir (contemplation) in Islam is when one reflects on the creation of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. How everything is arranged in this universe is a spectacular thought. The planets of the earth and others, countless stars, all revolve around their respective places we cannot count.

Both spiritual terms are reflected in Sharifah Fatimah’s work, which visually elucidates the notion of self-contemplation and solace that she attempts to convey.

The matriarchs in her family – grandmother, great-aunt, mother and aunt – were skilled artisans in the traditional craft of kain telepuk and tenun textile weaving.

Her mother, Rokiah Hassan, trained in tenun weaving at a palace near the Balai Besar in Alor Setar, Kedah, in the mid-1930s, while her grandmother and a great-aunt made and sold kain telepuk as a trade. Regrettably, none of their handmade telepuk was retained as a family heirloom.

“My aunt, Sharifah Sham Barakbah, made a pillow cover using the traditional technique of tekat benang emas (gold embroidery) and it is the only tekat inheritance I have. I do not have any telepuk as all works by my great-aunt and aunt were sold. It was their only source of income and my great-aunt was a single mother. They stopped producing telepuk during World War II and did not continue after [the war] due to a lack of money and patronage. I never got to know my great-aunt as I was just a child when she passed away in the early Fifties,” recalls Sharifah Fatimah.

Kain telepuk is an endangered traditional craft that was revived by woodcarving master artisan Adiguru Norhaiza Noordin in 2014. Small wooden blocks are used to stamp gold foil on textiles in floral motifs – akin to the patterns found on songket such as pucuk rebung and bunga tabur.[i]

Globetrotting

Unperturbed by the Movement Control Orders imposed to halt the spread of Covid-19, Sharifah Fatimah has been practising “work-from-home” for most of her career and is reaping the benefits in productive ways.

“The pandemic does not affect me nor my work much as I have always worked alone and do not go out much. But it has disrupted plans for overseas travel with my family and I miss the scene. So, I create a lot of recollection works of the places that I have been to, such as landscapes and the texture of the earth and caves especially,” she says.

“Faces of Postojna” depicts Postojna Cave in Slovenia, the world’s longest publicly accessible cave, which also serves as a concert hall. The cave trail is 5.3km long. “My trip to the Balkan states with family was in August 2018.”

There are three versions of “Faces of Postojna”. Two have found a permanent place in a collector’s home after being shown at Pipal Fine Art, Janda Baik, Pahang, last year.

Another distinctive series of paintings, inspired by the iridescent colours of the Rose City’s eroded quartzose sandstones and the glorious archaeological wonder of Petra – include “Floating”, “Solace”, “Standing Forms”, “Link”, “Solitude” and “Redscape”.

“My first trip to Jordan was in the autumn of 1990 to attend my friend Laila Shawa’s exhibition at the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts in Amman. There, I met HRH Princess Wijdan Ali, President of the Royal Society of Fine Arts Jordan. She suggested I coordinate an exhibition of Malaysian art there. She selected five artists: Ahmad Khalid Yusof, Khalil Ibrahim, Nirmala Dutt Shanmughalingam, Ismail Latiff and myself.

“We named the exhibition “Risalah Dari Malaysia”. It was held two years later in 1992. I have visited Petra twice, in 1990 and 1992. I started painting the Petra series in 1991. Princess Wijdan is familiar with Malaysian art and included it in a major show called “Contemporary Art from the Islamic World” at the Barbican Centre, London, in 1989, organised by the Royal Society of Fine Arts,” says Sharifah Fatimah.

As a young adult, Sharifah Fatimah was actively involved in international art exchanges, organising art exhibitions of Malaysian artworks abroad in her capacity as a curator at the National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur (1982 to 1989) and later as an art consultant, at the same time pursuing a career as an artist.

“Starting in 1990, I have coordinated several shows in Indonesia, Seychelles, Jordan, France, Germany (three shows) as well as several in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia (coordinated with Ilse Noor). I also organised “Gerak Rasa” held at the National Museum, Kuala Lumpur, in 2002. In 2006, I coordinated an exhibition called “Muhibah Seni Rupa Malaysia-Jordan” held at Galeri Shah Alam,” she says.

As part of her intense passion for genealogy and learning about her forefathers, Sharifah Fatimah discovered that her ancestors had fled Hadhramaut in present-day eastern Yemen and settled in Indonesia in the 18th century.

“Before making trips to Europe and the Middle East, my family regularly travelled to Indonesia, mostly to visit relatives and friends in Palembang, Jambi, Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Malang, Madura and Bali,” she says.

Between September 2019 and January last year, Sharifah Fatimah had a health scare. She was admitted to hospital several times and finally underwent surgery. “After my collapse in September 2019, I do not paint large-scale works. I am not as strong as before. I get exhausted easily and cannot lift heavy canvases. Hence, I am making smaller artworks now,” she says.

But that does not mean she is slowing down, soon after her recovery she was seen attending an art fair, gallery hopping and has been producing artworks, which are on show in this exhibition.

 

Sarah Abu Bakar

12 February 2021

 

[i] “Siri Khas Bengkel Online Telepuk: Workshop 2 with Norhaiza Noordin”, Langkasuka Movement, December 5, 2020, https://www.schoolandcollegelistings.com/MY/Petaling-Jaya/1082634901839447/Langkasuka-Movement.

[i] “Chasm of Light: Works of Sharifah Fatimah Syed Zubir”, exhibition catalogue, Artfolio Singapore, 1996, page 21.

[ii] Ibid, page 20-21.