Kickstart 366
21 Jan – 9 Feb 2020
To welcome a brand-new leap year, Segaris Art Center presents Kickstart 366, an exhibition featuring 25 contemporary Malaysian artists. A total of 33 artworks from established and award-winning artists to young artists with promising careers as well as talented undergraduates will spur the first show of 2020. Be ready to immerse in an array of exciting new works, steady and go!
Artists include Asikin Roslan, Azliza Ayob, Atiqah Khairul Anuar, Ahmar Annur, Azizi Latif, Dhia Afiq, Fakhriq Zulkifli, Fawwaz Sukri, Fazrin Abd Rahman, Fendy Zakri, Firdaus Ismail, Fuji Anggara, Haz Yusup, Haziq Syawal, Hirzaq Harris, Isa Ishak, Khairi Fakhri, Kide Baharudin, Lina Tan, Mahadzir Ibrahim, Izwa Ahmad, Raden Hisbullah, Stephen Menon, Syahmi Jamaluddin and Wong Ming Hao.
A Stimulating Start
In the spirit of celebrating the new year of 2020, Segaris Art Center presents an exhibition featuring 33 artworks by 25 contemporary Malaysian artists. The exhibition titled Kickstart 366 – highlights the number of days in a leap year – a special extra day that occurs every quadrennial to synchronise the seasons with the astronomical year.
To kickstart the first exhibition of the year, art enthusiasts will rejoice with exciting works by Asikin Roslan, Azliza Ayob, Atiqah Khairul Anuar, Azizi Latif, Dhia Afiq, Fakhriq Zulkifli, Fawwaz Sukri, Fazrin Abd Rahman, Fendy Zakri, Firdaus Ismail, Fuji Anggara, Haz Yusup, Haziq Syawal, Hirzaq Harris, Isa Ishak, Khairi Fakhri, Kide Baharudin, Lina Tan, Mahadzir Ibrahim, Ahmar Annur, Izwa Ahmad, Raden Hisbullah, Stephen Menon, Syahmi Jamaluddin and Wong Ming Hao.
Asikin Roslan’s “Bunga Moyang I” depicts a large circular shape containing repetitive geometric marks in black ink over salmon-hued background. Framed within a white square canvas, the spherical abstract image entices viewers to examine the patterns up-close.
Rimbun Dahan’s 2016 resident artist Azliza Ayob creates a mixed media painting that represents a “medal-cum- bouquet of flowers made from free printed fliers, discarded irresponsibly” entitled “Higher: Medal of Honour” to celebrate “all Mothers, actual or selected as a symbol of encouragement, motivation and self-respect that serves as a reminder that as a Mother, you are never alone and always appreciated.” Produced on a square canvas, the artwork is presented in a diamond orientation to elevate the viewing pleasure of this special medal of honour.
Azliza Ayob’s statement reads:
A Mother, an amazing creature, who qualifies as superheroes and magicians. She deserves an invisible cape, a wand or a sexy suit, something to remind Her of who She is whilst ‘entertaining’ life at full speed. We often take our Mothers for granted. We think that She will be with us forever, to comfort, forgive and rejoice. We thought She will be our safety and salve. Then we grew up and we somehow forgot, until WE become Mothers, and then we see reruns of our childhood memories, as we strive to outsmart, negotiate, pacify, solve and fix everything for everyone but ourselves.
Azizi Latif’s strength in portraiture is exemplified through his imaginative paper roll technique. “Hud’s Journey” portrays his son, Hud, adorning a black songkok and blue Baju Melayu. Represented as a jigsaw-puzzle, Hud’s adorable face is made incomplete by the demarcation of two empty puzzle pieces.
“Routine – Red” by Fazrin Abd Rahman depicts an abstract imagery resembling a thick foliage or the sky at sunset. Upon closer inspection, Fazrin employs his distinctive aluminium strips weave technique with the stencilled image of rice grains scattered across the woven background. Using spray paint of aluminium strips, Fazrin’s work pushes the boundaries of contemporary paintings with his choice of materials and technique.
Firdaus Ismail’s “Munajat Kasih” illustrates a deconstructed image of figures such as an outlined rendition of perhaps Venus and cupid as well as an elusive man without a face. Other identifiable images in his painting include a table with still-life objects that contains a skull; a potted plant on the far-left corner, and a decorative carpet on the ground depicted in the centre of the painting.
Manchester School of Art’s fine art graduate Haz Yusup portrays a female nude sitting on the floor sideways with her left palm touching the ground and her right arm crossed over her body, her right fingers lightly touching her left fingers in “Cermin”. The sitter’s bare thighs expose a delicate posture with her legs and toes hidden from view. Masked in a reflective foil, the sitter’s face and head is covered to symbolise obscurity – a trademark in Haz’s artistic expressions.
Khairi Fakhri’s “Penunggu Bawahan” depicts a large lobster in bitumen and acrylic on canvas.
Appropriated to represent the lower income communities and their social issues, the lobster’s unique physical properties and its ability to disguise behind its rich nature are anything but small. Thus, Khairi uses the lobster as a metaphor for “Ahlong”. Invisible to prying eyes, its ability to hide in crevices or in burrows under rocks makes its nature analogous to loan sharks. They exist but are hidden between the blocks of buildings and layers of societies.
A finalist for the 2017 Vans Asia Custom Culture Competition, Kide Baharudin’s witty illustrations offer a glimpse of nostalgic daily life. Set on the local urban streets, Kide’s imaginative and comical approach to his subject matters create vibrant and buzzing paintings that encapsulate the local culture.
Current fine art undergraduate students Ahmar Annur and Izwa Ahmad present large-scale paintings that complement one another through their dissimilarities.
Ahmar’s “From the Small ‘Eye’” produced with acrylic, starch, powder pigment, glue, industrial paint on canvas depicts a blooming image in various shades of blue that resemble a coral reef. The bouquet of undulating shapes and biomorphs form a large sphere that is composed within the rectangular canvas structure.
Izwa Ahmad’s illustrative figures in “I Don’t Wanna Go” depict an overweight character in various martial art poses. Wearing white Judo uniform, the figures represent Izwa’s way of responding to different circumstances through “provocative postures by distorted figures”. An Arabic inscription that reads “syarikat judo” or Judo company is seen in the painting alongside a White Rabbit Creamy Candy wrapping paper.
“Chaos of Tranquillity” by Wong Ming Hao depicts a solitary man reclined against a wall. Composed of multiple layers of dried acrylic paint-skins in black and white, this inventive approach to painting generates visual balance and form through its heightened textural quality unlike a standard, flat two-dimensional artwork. Wong Ming Hao completed a six-month residency programme A-Residency by HOM Art Trans in 2018 upon which, he presented a body of work in a duo-exhibition with Joy Ng entitled Distant Emotion.
Sarah Abu Bakar