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Rhythm of Nature: Tajuddin Ismail (2024)

The Sublime and Elegant Explorations of Nature

 

“Nature is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for me” – Tajuddin Ismail.

G13 Gallery, in collaboration with TJ Fine Art, presents “Rhythm of Nature”, Tajuddin Ismail’s 16th solo exhibition from June 1 – 29, 2024. This show presents over 40 visually captivating abstract paintings in variable dimensions as large as 284 cm by 284 cm to medium-sized paintings measuring 152cm by 152cm are presented in their lyrical abstraction genre. This style best defines Tajuddin’s abstract paintings.

Profoundly inspired by the grandeur of nature, Tajuddin creates a series of visual poetry through his dynamic and vibrant renditions of the universe’s majestic landscape.

“Beauty is everywhere. I am in awe of nature – the structure of a leaf, sunflower florets, the ever-changing clouds and the transformation from day to night. ‘Rhythm of Nature’ is a homage to celebrate nature,” said Tajuddin.

The series expands Tajuddin’s five-decade-long artistic oeuvre. His work encompasses a diverse range of artistic styles and movements that prioritise the expression of ideas and emotions over realistic representation.

The impetus for producing abstract interpretations based on nature began in 1978 when he presented a solo exhibition titled “Recent Paintings and Drawing: Gridscapes” at Dewan Tunku Canselor, Universiti Malaya. This body of work has become the trademark of his present work, where one can connect the relationship between technique and style, then and now.

 

Early days

Born in 1949 in Negeri Sembilan, Tajuddin is the third child of eight siblings. His father, Haji Ismail bin Haji Jaafar, worked as a clerk for the British Malayan administration, and his mother, Hajjah Salilah Haji Ma’ahir, was a homemaker.

He grew up in Port Dickson, a Malaysian coastal town that became a port for transporting the rich tin ore deposits in the 19th century. The port was named after a British colonial administrator, Sir John Frederick Dickson KCMG (1835 – 1891).

As a young boy growing up in the old charm of the pre-Merdeka environment, Tajuddin spent his days crafting objects from scrap materials and watching movies at a local theatre named “Seaview” near the seafront.

“I was good at drawing and crafting things from found objects, and I made masks, kites, spinning tops, catapults, and many other objects. Inspired by the motion pictures at age six, I made a crude form of moving images using a cardboard shoe box.

I cut out a small window on the box, collected colourful transparent and translucent wrappers, joined them in sequence, and rolled the pieces of wrappers onto a bamboo stick to display the ‘film’ and project light onto the wall to view the images,” reminisced Tajuddin.

 

Movies, Circus, Fireworks

Tajuddin is a film buff who enjoys classic Malay films, particularly P. Ramlee’s movies like “Sarjan Hassan” and Maria Manado in “Pontianak,” the first Malay horror film released in 1957.

“I remember going to the movie house often as it was a main source of entertainment for town folks. The Tai Thean Kew Circus also made a huge impression on me as young boy. These visual experiences capture my imagination,” said Tajuddin.

The travelling circus was founded in the 1930s by Nanjing native Sun Sze Ting, who brought it to Malaya until its closure during World War Two. The circus continued its operations in 1948 and reached its heights through the 1950s and 1960s, touring Malaya (Malaysia and Singapore) and parts of Southeast Asia.

In 1957, Tajuddin was eight and attended Sekolah Melayu Kampong Gelam, a Malay vernacular primary school in Port Dickson. In the weeks leading up to Merdeka, the town was filled with a festive and cheerful atmosphere to celebrate the joyous and historic occasion. The roads were heavily decorated with flags and buntings with pictures of Tunku Abdul Rahman and Queen Elizabeth II. 

“On Merdeka Eve, everybody gathered at the jetty to watch the night sky light up with spectacular fireworks. I had never seen fireworks and these were some of the memorable events growing up.

These were the three events that captivated my early childhood imagination during those early days: the movies, the circus and the fireworks,” recalled Tajuddin.

A charming simplicity characterised life during his early childhood in the 1950s and early 1960s. In the absence of today’s sophisticated technology, imagination and creativity thrive. Without the distractions of smartphones, tablets, and video games, children rely on their innate ingenuity to entertain themselves and engage with the world around them.

Outdoor play was a cornerstone of childhood during this time, with fields, riverbanks, or the beach serving as expansive playgrounds. Children spent hours exploring nature, climbing trees, building forts, and playing games like tag and hide-and-seek. With fewer structured activities and scheduled playdates, they could roam and invent their adventures.

Toys were often homemade or straightforward in design, encouraging resourcefulness and imagination. Wooden blocks, dolls, marbles, and jump ropes were cherished possessions for most boys and girls, fostering creativity and cooperative play. Without electronic gadgets, children used their hands and minds to construct elaborate worlds and narratives, fuelling their imaginative development.

Additionally, traditional forms of entertainment such as storytelling, puppet shows, and board games brought families and communities together, fostering bonds and shared experiences. Creativity was a pastime and a way of life as children learned to repurpose everyday objects for play and exploration.

Tajuddin’s formative experiences, characterised by a simplicity that encouraged his resourcefulness, creativity, and a deep connection to the natural world, have laid the foundation for a lifelong appreciation of imagination and innovation.

 

Outdoor painter and ALMA

In 1959, Tajuddin’s family moved to Mantin, a sleepy rural town in Negeri Sembilan, as his father was seconded for work. They resided in the government quarters. Adapting to his new environment, Tajuddin began exploring the outdoors frequently after school. My favourite pastime was wandering the countryside, swimming in the river and looking for colourful fishes in the swampy wetland.

During this period, he first encountered an artist painting en plein air. “My friends and I were roaming in a banana plantation, and I saw a man painting the landscape using oil on canvas from a makeshift easel on his bicycle. The encounter of a painter at work engrossed me,” said Tajuddin.

In 1960, Tajuddin’s parents enrolled him in King George V School, an elite English school in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. He boarded the boys’ hostel and lived a structured life with strict schedules until 1962.

“I used to dread Monday morning school assembly, listening to the headmaster’s mundane sermons on school discipline and witnessing public caning for the rule breakers. So, my sight was drawn towards the paintings displayed on the walls of the grand hall.

These paintings were Latiff Mohidin’s early work depicting wonderful pastoral kampung scenes and rural landscapes. It was signed ‘ALMA’, and these early works made a lasting impression on me,” recalled Tajuddin.

Tajuddin met Latiff Mohidin briefly at King George V as he bade farewell to fellow hostelites before leaving for Germany. In 1960, Latiff Mohidin embarked on his tertiary studies under the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) scholarship to study painting in Germany. He returned to Malaysia in 1964 and began travelling to Bangkok. He stayed with Thai artist Thawan Duchanee, whom he had already met at an exhibition organised by Frank Sullivan, the Australian Press Secretary to Malaysia’s first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman at Samat Art Gallery – Kuala Lumpur’s first commercial art gallery, which opened in 1966.

Latiff Mohidin was integral in introducing Tajuddin to the local art scene in Kuala Lumpur after completing his Senior Cambridge Certification in 1966. The following year, Tajuddin moved from Seremban to live with his sister, Puan Sri Hashimah Ismail, and her husband, Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Abdullah Sanusi bin Ahmad (1936 –2003), in Petaling Jaya (PJ).

“I was 18 years old when I moved to PJ in 1967. It was a time when the global youth cultural revolution made an impact everywhere. At the time, PJ was a hip and happening place to be. There were a growing affluent community and many fashionable young people and art students hang out in PJ as MARA Institute was also located in PJ,” said Tajuddin.

“In 1968, Latiff Mohidin visited my sister as they were classmates in school. He was between travelling, and we offered him a place to stay with us. Latiff Mohidin and I were roommates for several months.

That was a time when we struck a friendship. I learned about Latiff Mohidin’s personal experiences in Germany and Southeast Asian sojourns, his ‘Pago Pago’ paintings that he created at the time, and the poetries that he wrote for ‘Dewan Masharakat’ – a cultural and literary magazine by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka,” recalled Tajuddin.

“The artistic bohemian lifestyle suits me well then and these instances trigger my interest to be an artist: firstly, the artist who painted en plein air and secondly, Latiff Mohidin – a senior from my school receiving a scholarship to study in Germany,” impressed Tajuddin.

Tajuddin regarded Latiff Mohidin as his mentor. He followed him to visit art exhibitions at Samat Art Gallery, which was located in the AIA building. When it opened in 1965, the 16-story office tower was the tallest building in Malaysia and housed the first escalator in the country.

In 1975, the building was subject to the Kuala Lumpur hostage crisis when five members of the Japanese Red Army or JRA – a militant organisation intent on overthrowing the Japanese government and starting a worldwide revolution – stormed the United States of America’s embassy on the ninth floor. At the time, the building housed five foreign embassies, including those of the United States and Sweden.

At Samat Art Gallery, Tajuddin saw artworks by pioneering modern Malaysian artists such as Dato’ Chuah Thean Teng, Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal, Datuk Ibrahim Hussein, Khalil Ibrahim, Patrick Ng, Yeoh Jin Leng, Jolly Koh, Latiff Mohidin and many others.

“I was introduced to Khoo Sui Hoe, who is Latiff Mohidin’s long-time friend at Wat Chetawan Buddhist Temple in PJ where Thai Buddhist artists visiting Kuala Lumpur normally stayed. There was a library in the temple basement that had art books and catalogues by Thai modern artists. I had once written to Khoo Sui Hoe in Kedah – expressing my interest in pursuing art formally – and had asked him for advice. He suggested that I should consider MARA Institute of Technology (ITM),” said Tajuddin.   

 

Progressive learning

Heeding Khoo’s advice, Tajuddin applied for the fine art programme at ITM in 1968, but his application was unsuccessful. Undeterred by the setback, he submitted another application the following year and was accepted to pursue fine art studies at ITM in 1969.

“My father, a strict disciplinarian, was unaware of my enrolment in fine art studies. He wanted me to pursue either business studies or law.

A year into my fine art studies, my parents finally discovered I was not pursuing business studies as expected. My parents were disappointed because my father sees no future in me as an artist,” said Tajuddin.

Despite the cold shoulder given by his father, Tajuddin persevered and became one of the top students in this field during his time at ITM.

“I was fortunate to learn from young progressive teachers like Redza Piyadasa, Jolly Koh, Ahmad Khalid Yusof, Sulaiman Esa, Joseph Tan and Choong Kam Kow at ITM.

The experience was invigorating because my teachers were passionate practising artists. Jolly Koh instilled in his students the importance of drawing and colour theory, while Redza Piyadasa was a progressive thinker whose provocative ideas changed our perceptions about contemporary modern art,” explained Tajuddin.

In 1969, Tajuddin became Redza Piyadasa’s apprentice-assistant for an exhibition titled “New Scene” that Redza Piyadasa exhibited alongside fellow Constructivist artists Tan Teong Eng, Tang Tuck Kan, Sulaiman Esa, and Choong Kam Kow held at Samat Art Gallery.

“It was during my apprenticeship with Redza Piyadasa that I learned about Minimalism and Conceptual Art,” said Tajuddin.

This early exposure to geometrical abstraction and conceptual art resulted in Tajuddin’s solo exhibition revisiting his early geometrical abstraction and minimalist work called “Ambiguity” in 2018.

 

Deconstructing nature

The essence of life, the rhythm of nature, and nature itself often serve as profound inspirations for artists, particularly those working in abstract art. Abstract artists usually seek to capture the intangible essence of existence, the ever-changing rhythms of the natural world, and the beauty found within it.

These concepts influence Tajuddin’s creation of abstract artworks. Striving to capture the essence of life by distilling complex emotions, experiences, and ideas into pure visual form, Tajuddin explores fundamental aspects of human emotions, such as love, joy, sorrow, and existential questioning, through his abstract compositions.

Abstract art allows for a direct and unfiltered expression of the human condition by stripping away representational elements. Tajuddin conveys the essence of life through the use of colour, form, texture, and gesture, inviting viewers to engage with the universal truths and experiences conveyed within the artwork.

 

Tajuddin Ismail – Simfoni Alam (Merah Biru), 2020 ,213cm x 168cm, Acrylic on Canvas

 

In “Simfoni Alam” (Nature’s Symphony), rhythmic thick strokes of cool blue emerge within the heat of red—a combination so powerful that it signifies the classical elements of water and fire. In this work, the hypnotising swirls represent the pulsating energy and magnified beauty within the realm of nature. The colours red and blue evoke distinct psychological and emotional responses due to their inherent qualities and cultural associations.

Red is often associated with strong emotions and physical sensations, stimulating the body and mind and evoking feelings of urgency or intensity. Red also conveys excitement, power, and courage, evoking the feelings of love, desire, and warmth. Conversely, it can also evoke anger, aggression, or danger. The emotional impact of red varies depending on its context and intensity.

Blue is often associated with calmness, serenity, and stability. It is known to have a calming effect on the mind and body and is linked to intellect, clarity, and introspection.

Often linked with peace, tranquillity, and harmony, the colour blue evokes a sense of openness and expansiveness, like the vastness of the sky or the ocean’s depth. Blue is also associated with loyalty, trust, and communication. It can convey feelings of sincerity, loyalty, and trustworthiness.

Between 1975 and 1981, Tajuddin studied graphic design at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, followed by postgraduate studies in interior architecture at the Pratt Institute in New York, USA.

“While in America, I witnessed the artworks of pioneering American abstract artists: Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Ad Reinhardt, Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler and many others. Having a first-hand experience of looking at art in real time was inspirational for me,” said Tajuddin.

As an abstract artist with a universal mindset, Tajuddin emphasises blurring boundaries by creating layers of meaning through his visual poetry. In many of his abstract paintings, flora and fauna metamorphose into a rhythm of colours and form.

Heavily inspired by Mark Rothko, who is known for his large-scale, colour-field paintings characterised by stacked, rectangular blocks of colour, and his work often evokes a sense of spirituality and contemplation through its use of intense hues and expansive fields of colour, Tajuddin’s paintings invite viewers to immerse themselves in the emotional depth of colour and form, prompting introspection and reflection. His minimalist approach allows viewers to project their interpretations onto the canvas, creating a deeply personal and immersive experience that resonates with a broad audience.

The rhythm of nature is a powerful source of inspiration for Tajuddin, who seeks to translate the dynamic energy and movement in the natural world into his artwork. From the ebb and flow of ocean waves to the rhythmic patterns of growth and decay in the forest, nature’s rhythms are reflected in the fluid lines, organic shapes, and dynamic compositions of abstract art.

Tajuddin draws upon the rhythmic cycles of nature to evoke a sense of harmony, balance, and vitality within his work. By capturing the essence of natural rhythms, abstract art connects viewers to the larger cycles of life and the interconnectedness of all living things.

Nature is a boundless source of inspiration for Tajuddin, who is drawn to its infinite diversity, complexity, and beauty. From the delicate intricacies of a flower petal to the vast expanse of the night sky, nature’s forms and patterns provide endless possibilities for artistic exploration.

Deriving inspiration from the colours, textures, and patterns found in the natural world, Tajuddin incorporates these elements into his artwork in imaginative and unexpected ways. Whether evoking the lush landscapes of the countryside or the chaotic energy of an urban environment, nature inspires him to create work that celebrates the beauty and wonder of the world around us.

Like Joan Mitchell, whose abstract expressionist paintings are characterised by energetic brushwork, vibrant colours, and dynamic compositions, Tajuddin’s influence by nature and the landscapes of his surroundings conveys a sense of movement and emotion, capturing the essence of fleeting moments and feelings.

Tajuddin’s bold use of colour and gestural brushstrokes creates a sense of vitality and spontaneity that appeals to viewers’ senses and emotions. His work invites viewers to experience the raw energy and beauty of the natural world, fostering a visceral and immediate connection with a broad audience.

Like Gerhard Richter, whose abstract paintings often explore themes of memory, perception, and the nature of representation, Tajuddin’s use of blurred and scraped surfaces creates a sense of ambiguity and uncertainty, inviting viewers to question their perceptions of reality.

Tajuddin’s work challenges traditional notions of painting and representation, engaging viewers in a dialogue about the nature of art and perception. Similarly, Richter’s ability to evoke complex emotions and ideas through his abstract compositions appeals to many audiences.

Abstract art serves as a conduit for exploring the essence of life, the rhythm of nature, and the profound beauty found within the natural world. Through Tajuddin’s sophisticated and innovative use of form, colour, and composition, he translates these concepts into visually arresting and emotionally resonant artworks that invite viewers to contemplate the mysteries of existence and find solace in the timeless rhythms of nature.

Howard Hodgkin is another artist whose paintings blur the line between abstraction and representation, often evoking memories, emotions, and experiences through his use of colour and gesture. His work is characterised by bold, gestural brushwork and richly layered surfaces—intensely personal, capturing moments of emotional significance and introspection.

Tajuddin’s use of colour and form creates a sense of intimacy and depth, inviting viewers to explore the emotional resonance of each composition. Tajuddin’s work elicits feelings of nostalgia, longing, and joy that resonate with audiences on a deeply emotional level.

Overall, the ideals of Tajuddin’s lyrical abstraction art champion the exploration of form, colour, and emotion, inviting viewers to engage with art on a deeply personal and visceral level. Through Tajuddin’s sophisticated approaches to abstraction, his paintings appeal to a broad audience by creating visually captivating, emotionally resonant, and intellectually stimulating works like Rothko, Mitchell, Richter, and Hodgkin.

 

Sarah Abu Bakar

14 April 2024

 

Sarah Abu Bakar with Dato’ Tajuddin Ismail at TJ Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur (10 March 2024)
Tajuddin Ismail – Purple Haze Over Orchefield, 2023, 152cm x 152cm, Acrylic on Canvas
Tajuddin Ismail – Windance III, 2023, 151cm x 152cm, Acrylic on Canvas
Dato’ Tajuddin Ismail during an interview with Sarah Abu Bakar at TJ Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur (10 March 2024)