#: locale=en
## Tour
### Title
tour.name = ILHAM Gallery VR Tours: Body & Politic
## Skin
### Tooltip
IconButton_91026CB0_8594_8A98_41B1_3F7B8CC5DFED.toolTip = full screen
IconButton_91026CB0_8594_8A98_41B1_3F7B8CC5DFED_mobile.toolTip = full screen
## Media
### Title
album_40497049_547A_5146_41CD_B46769ED0889.label = siew wai
album_40497049_547A_5146_41CD_B46769ED0889_0.label = Au Sow-Yee, A Day Without Sun in Mengkerang
album_40497049_547A_5146_41CD_B46769ED0889_1.label = Lesly Leon Lee-Rathimalar Govindarajoo, Blue
album_40497049_547A_5146_41CD_B46769ED0889_2.label = Chew Win Chen, Chinese Whisper
album_40497049_547A_5146_41CD_B46769ED0889_3.label = Jimmy Hendrickx, Semalu
album_40497049_547A_5146_41CD_B46769ED0889_4.label = Ong Sau Kai, Plaza Rakyat
album_40497049_547A_5146_41CD_B46769ED0889_5.label = Safwan Salleh, Night Without Light
album_490E658A_5820_1298_41D0_BF7664C13977.label = Photo Album Ahmad Fuad Osman, Recollections of Long Lost Memories (slide), 2007, Collection of Singapore Art Museum (2)
album_4AB4C799_5F44_5D10_41D3_EC6FBF45F87D.label = hasanul
album_5F65F8C1_43E7_AE39_41D0_02E230766425.label = hoycheong
album_6FF05824_44A4_6E7F_41BD_3CCDF04E50AE.label = chuyia
album_74346BCD_641A_1B02_41D1_3AE32F21B2C9.label = chitoo
album_76AFBB07_4C64_A239_41A5_6690CAD9C966.label = saubin
album_9E647182_BFE0_328B_41D6_27EBDF494151.label = simryn
album_F6033041_E5A0_632F_41E6_D8649E6A40AC.label = Photo Album NB01
map_A334D314_BFE0_578F_41E4_AE29E1919AB7.label = floorplan_bodypolitic
panorama_08432788_18D0_B14C_41A0_BB78FC368A97.label = spot#12
panorama_0865BD9A_18D0_914C_419F_5D257A5AF9D5.label = spot#15
panorama_09517D5F_18D0_B1C4_41B5_C20FA10DA31E.label = spot#10
panorama_0951A78F_18D1_9144_41AA_7720C238E97D.label = spot#4
panorama_09567086_18D0_8F44_41AC_1BA4C83353F2.label = spot#8
panorama_09575B7A_18D1_F1CC_41B8_41B1D77F1F3F.label = spot#3
panorama_095F6137_18DF_9144_41A0_4006C8B2E008.label = spot#6
panorama_09624084_18D3_8F44_41B2_12E50E89124D.label = spot#13
panorama_097AB0D2_18D3_70DC_41B4_E909D9CE7D5F.label = spot#14
panorama_0AC1B86D_18D0_BFC4_4173_8CF46BBF9127.label = spot#5
panorama_0AE72509_18D0_F14C_4188_6039743FBD5D.label = spot#9
panorama_0E1BF075_1970_8FC4_4195_DE7635920282.label = spot#2_
panorama_0EB457F5_1950_B0C4_41B8_F9D2E0920430.label = spot#11
panorama_352593C0_3BFA_F5E9_41C8_679DCB150216.label = Body & Politic
photo_2E98FF10_3D9C_A257_41A4_24C81593E960.label = Bayu Utomo Radjikin, Lang Kacang, 1991, Collection of Singapore Art Museum, Image courtesy of Singapore Art Museum
photo_4B23F954_5EFC_D510_41BE_54DF84C65EA6.label = Redza Piyadasa, May 13, 1969, (1969, reconstructed 2006), Collection of Singapore Art Museum, Image courtesy of Singapore Art Museum
photo_6C895FD0_44BB_A1D7_41CA_50EE2EF7A886.label = Yee I-Lann, Kerbau, 2007, Collection of the Artist, Image courtesy of the Artist
photo_7628A3D7_4C6B_E1D9_41BD_8A023E2EF5DF.label = Mohammad Din Mohammad, The Voyage, 1994, Collection of Singapore Art Museum, Image courtesy of Singapore Art Museum
photo_808875F7_9EA4_E2CE_41E3_4F3871585E82.label = 1. 1867
photo_808875F7_9EA4_E2CE_41E3_4F3871585E82.label = 1. 1867
photo_86A33802_9EA4_E146_41C0_1CAA7F124BE0.label = 2. 1867 (2)
photo_86A33802_9EA4_E146_41C0_1CAA7F124BE0.label = 2. 1867 (2)
photo_86AE0AEE_9EA4_E6DE_41B2_F46D872E379A.label = 15. 1900's
photo_86AE0AEE_9EA4_E6DE_41B2_F46D872E379A.label = 15. 1900's
photo_86AE0F48_9EA4_9FC2_41D0_77F09F25BFBB.label = 18. 1937
photo_86AE0F48_9EA4_9FC2_41D0_77F09F25BFBB.label = 18. 1937
photo_86AE1DED_9EA4_E2C2_41B5_3A69D4631A2D.label = 17. 1920's
photo_86AE1DED_9EA4_E2C2_41B5_3A69D4631A2D.label = 17. 1920's
photo_86AE2220_9EA4_E142_41DA_2F0AD2609490.label = 9. 1886
photo_86AE2220_9EA4_E142_41DA_2F0AD2609490.label = 9. 1886
photo_86AE2695_9EA4_E142_41CA_F85BCA20C74D.label = 12. 1890
photo_86AE2695_9EA4_E142_41CA_F85BCA20C74D.label = 12. 1890
photo_86AE27B8_9EA4_AF42_41BD_3E3B9D7B8D48.label = 24. 13 Sept. 1945
photo_86AE27B8_9EA4_AF42_41BD_3E3B9D7B8D48.label = 24. 13 Sept. 1945
photo_86AE297A_9EA4_E3C6_41D5_1F7AFA777E72.label = 14. 1900
photo_86AE297A_9EA4_E3C6_41D5_1F7AFA777E72.label = 14. 1900
photo_86AE2C65_9EA4_E1C2_41C1_D13B574D6D7A.label = 5. 1870's
photo_86AE2C65_9EA4_E1C2_41C1_D13B574D6D7A.label = 5. 1870's
photo_86AE3228_9EA4_A142_41CB_506006AEEF09.label = 20. dec. 1941
photo_86AE3228_9EA4_A142_41CB_506006AEEF09.label = 20. dec. 1941
photo_86AE34EA_9EA4_A2C6_41C9_ABC7867B67BE.label = 22. 15 feb. 1942
photo_86AE34EA_9EA4_A2C6_41C9_ABC7867B67BE.label = 22. 15 feb. 1942
photo_86AE3510_9EA4_E342_41D3_72A2E5B3FA17.label = 11. 1889
photo_86AE3510_9EA4_E342_41D3_72A2E5B3FA17.label = 11. 1889
photo_86AE37FD_9EA4_EEC2_41D5_B8BCF7E06E15.label = 13. 1897
photo_86AE37FD_9EA4_EEC2_41D5_B8BCF7E06E15.label = 13. 1897
photo_86AE3C6F_9EA4_E1DE_41D1_74D7C08B5F9A.label = 16. 1908-10
photo_86AE3C6F_9EA4_E1DE_41D1_74D7C08B5F9A.label = 16. 1908-10
photo_86AE4588_9EA4_A342_41C2_72A73BDDAF28.label = 34. 22 dec. 1954
photo_86AE4588_9EA4_A342_41C2_72A73BDDAF28.label = 34. 22 dec. 1954
photo_86AE4914_9EA4_A343_41BC_551DA8C236E9.label = 25. july 1946
photo_86AE4914_9EA4_A343_41BC_551DA8C236E9.label = 25. july 1946
photo_86AE4BDA_9EA4_A6C6_41BC_D950D1F63B5D.label = 27. 8 june 1947
photo_86AE4BDA_9EA4_A6C6_41BC_D950D1F63B5D.label = 27. 8 june 1947
photo_86AE4D32_9EA4_A346_41C3_BD9C6DEEC802.label = 28. late 1950's
photo_86AE4D32_9EA4_A346_41C3_BD9C6DEEC802.label = 28. late 1950's
photo_86AE4FF7_9EA4_BECE_41DF_2C423F55519A.label = 30. 1953
photo_86AE4FF7_9EA4_BECE_41DF_2C423F55519A.label = 30. 1953
photo_86AE50B9_9EA4_A142_41C3_AB0DE52DD584.label = 19. 1940
photo_86AE50B9_9EA4_A142_41C3_AB0DE52DD584.label = 19. 1940
photo_86AE52CE_9EA4_A6DE_41D5_04D84B529DF3.label = 32. 27 may 1954
photo_86AE52CE_9EA4_A6DE_41D5_04D84B529DF3.label = 32. 27 may 1954
photo_86AE5393_9EA4_A746_41E2_7F82F298372B.label = 21. 11 jan. 1942
photo_86AE5393_9EA4_A746_41E2_7F82F298372B.label = 21. 11 jan. 1942
photo_86AE5639_9EA4_A142_41D1_103CB602D155.label = 23. 1941-45
photo_86AE5639_9EA4_A142_41D1_103CB602D155.label = 23. 1941-45
photo_86AE5863_9EA4_A1C6_41D8_0A35FAABA296.label = 36. 1955 (4)
photo_86AE5863_9EA4_A1C6_41D8_0A35FAABA296.label = 36. 1955 (4)
photo_86AE5A75_9EA4_A1C2_41DE_E37393EDA82F.label = 26. may 1946
photo_86AE5A75_9EA4_A1C2_41DE_E37393EDA82F.label = 26. may 1946
photo_86AE5B32_9EA4_A746_41C7_4EB9592121C1.label = 38. 1955 (2)
photo_86AE5B32_9EA4_A746_41C7_4EB9592121C1.label = 38. 1955 (2)
photo_86AE5DEF_9EA4_A2DE_41D1_3363110605FC.label = 40. 3 july 1956
photo_86AE5DEF_9EA4_A2DE_41D1_3363110605FC.label = 40. 3 july 1956
photo_86AE615F_9EA4_A3FE_41D3_4AF55A3D6902.label = 31. 20 feb. 1954
photo_86AE615F_9EA4_A3FE_41D3_4AF55A3D6902.label = 31. 20 feb. 1954
photo_86AE6428_9EA4_A142_41D6_5E38B63703B5.label = 33. 29 june 1954
photo_86AE6428_9EA4_A142_41D6_5E38B63703B5.label = 33. 29 june 1954
photo_86AE66E6_9EA4_AECE_41E3_0CB4A46D4694.label = 35. 1955 (3)
photo_86AE66E6_9EA4_AECE_41E3_0CB4A46D4694.label = 35. 1955 (3)
photo_86AE6C8C_9EA4_A142_41E2_1F0B8391BB7A.label = 39. 1955
photo_86AE6C8C_9EA4_A142_41E2_1F0B8391BB7A.label = 39. 1955
photo_86AE6F49_9EA4_9FC2_41C2_55E329FC6EC3.label = 41. 29 mei 1957
photo_86AE6F49_9EA4_9FC2_41C2_55E329FC6EC3.label = 41. 29 mei 1957
photo_86AE79D9_9EA4_A2C2_41AB_E07AC766FAB5.label = 37. 28 dec. 1955
photo_86AE79D9_9EA4_A2C2_41AB_E07AC766FAB5.label = 37. 28 dec. 1955
photo_86AE7E8D_9EA4_A142_41B6_AA382E946951.label = 29. 1950's
photo_86AE7E8D_9EA4_A142_41B6_AA382E946951.label = 29. 1950's
photo_86AE8257_9EA4_61CE_41B1_D7736BD80849.label = 43. 30 aug. 1957
photo_86AE8257_9EA4_61CE_41B1_D7736BD80849.label = 43. 30 aug. 1957
photo_86AE8514_9EA4_6342_41C9_1BB1186D01D5.label = 56. 16 sept. 1963
photo_86AE8514_9EA4_6342_41C9_1BB1186D01D5.label = 56. 16 sept. 1963
photo_86AE8C4A_9EA4_61C6_41E2_1DB1C3E64AE5.label = 50. 6 aug. 1962
photo_86AE8C4A_9EA4_61C6_41E2_1DB1C3E64AE5.label = 50. 6 aug. 1962
photo_86AE8F29_9EA4_7F42_41D1_98A40B2D1A17.label = 52. 21 oct. 1963
photo_86AE8F29_9EA4_7F42_41D1_98A40B2D1A17.label = 52. 21 oct. 1963
photo_86AE9210_9EA4_6142_41D1_B43E023EA058.label = 54. 1963 (2)
photo_86AE9210_9EA4_6142_41D1_B43E023EA058.label = 54. 1963 (2)
photo_86AE939B_9EA4_6746_41CE_38D20A477FED.label = 55. mac 1963
photo_86AE939B_9EA4_6746_41CE_38D20A477FED.label = 55. mac 1963
photo_86AE93CE_9EA4_66DE_41DA_FBD007EE7333.label = 44. 29 nov. 1957
photo_86AE93CE_9EA4_66DE_41DA_FBD007EE7333.label = 44. 29 nov. 1957
photo_86AE968A_9EA4_6146_41D5_1AF5323D1CC1.label = 46. 23 may 1958
photo_86AE968A_9EA4_6146_41D5_1AF5323D1CC1.label = 46. 23 may 1958
photo_86AE97DB_9EA4_6EC6_41B5_9EB29F90245F.label = 58. 15 sept. 1964
photo_86AE97DB_9EA4_6EC6_41B5_9EB29F90245F.label = 58. 15 sept. 1964
photo_86AE9949_9EA4_63C2_41D4_733E8487FDC6.label = 59. 1966
photo_86AE9949_9EA4_63C2_41D4_733E8487FDC6.label = 59. 1966
photo_86AE996C_9EA4_63C2_41D6_6A19F2A1A5E0.label = 48. 1960
photo_86AE996C_9EA4_63C2_41D6_6A19F2A1A5E0.label = 48. 1960
photo_86AE9DB5_9EA4_6342_41B9_2161DEF72ECB.label = 51. 1960's (2)
photo_86AE9DB5_9EA4_6342_41B9_2161DEF72ECB.label = 51. 1960's (2)
photo_86AEA0C7_9EA4_62CE_41D0_A0240B5BB8B6.label = 42. 31 aug. 1957
photo_86AEA0C7_9EA4_62CE_41D0_A0240B5BB8B6.label = 42. 31 aug. 1957
photo_86AEC977_9EA4_E3CE_41DF_7F23AA36C627.label = 3. 1869
photo_86AEC977_9EA4_E3CE_41DF_7F23AA36C627.label = 3. 1869
photo_86AECAFA_9EA4_E6C6_41DB_3C7013ECE464.label = 4. 1869 (2)
photo_86AECAFA_9EA4_E6C6_41DB_3C7013ECE464.label = 4. 1869 (2)
photo_86AECDD1_9EA4_E2C2_41CE_0895A8F31621.label = 6. 1880's
photo_86AECDD1_9EA4_E2C2_41CE_0895A8F31621.label = 6. 1880's
photo_86AECF3F_9EA4_FFBE_41D5_CB746C30A7DC.label = 7. 1880's (3)
photo_86AECF3F_9EA4_FFBE_41D5_CB746C30A7DC.label = 7. 1880's (3)
photo_86AED0AB_9EA4_E146_41D9_26C6C58CE623.label = 8. 1909
photo_86AED0AB_9EA4_E146_41D9_26C6C58CE623.label = 8. 1909
photo_86AED394_9EA4_E742_41D2_B45A888DADD8.label = 10. 1886 (2)
photo_86AED394_9EA4_E742_41D2_B45A888DADD8.label = 10. 1886 (2)
photo_86AF14B8_9EA3_A142_41CC_559B429040A5.label = 67. 1981
photo_86AF14B8_9EA3_A142_41CC_559B429040A5.label = 67. 1981
photo_86AF4065_9EA3_A1C2_41E1_1336BC3DFC1B.label = 64. 15 mei 1969
photo_86AF4065_9EA3_A1C2_41E1_1336BC3DFC1B.label = 64. 15 mei 1969
photo_86AF4C2B_9EA4_6146_41DE_8F9A769B3456.label = 61. 1967
photo_86AF4C2B_9EA4_6146_41DE_8F9A769B3456.label = 61. 1967
photo_86AF6094_9EA4_6142_41C6_5E75D26D05BE.label = 53. 1960's
photo_86AF6094_9EA4_6142_41C6_5E75D26D05BE.label = 53. 1960's
photo_86AF61DC_9EA3_A2C2_4197_0B1A5A3EDA19.label = 65. 26 aug. 1975
photo_86AF61DC_9EA3_A2C2_4197_0B1A5A3EDA19.label = 65. 26 aug. 1975
photo_86AF6670_9EA4_61C2_41D8_85B6C4AD7D85.label = 57. 1963
photo_86AF6670_9EA4_61C2_41D8_85B6C4AD7D85.label = 57. 1963
photo_86AF6796_9EA3_AF4E_41DC_EDC16883511F.label = 69. 1986
photo_86AF6796_9EA3_AF4E_41DC_EDC16883511F.label = 69. 1986
photo_86AF6A65_9EA3_A1C2_41E2_7AF8C40CD9D9.label = 71. 22 june 2002
photo_86AF6A65_9EA3_A1C2_41E2_7AF8C40CD9D9.label = 71. 22 june 2002
photo_86AF6AB2_9EA4_6146_41C0_6DF780546C6F.label = 60. 1966 (2)
photo_86AF6AB2_9EA4_6146_41C0_6DF780546C6F.label = 60. 1966 (2)
photo_86AF6D8F_9EA4_635E_41E2_7B0B20F3A1AD.label = 62. 1968
photo_86AF6D8F_9EA4_635E_41E2_7B0B20F3A1AD.label = 62. 1968
photo_86AF7351_9EA3_A7C2_41E1_CFA6D72CF161.label = 66. 1975
photo_86AF7351_9EA3_A7C2_41E1_CFA6D72CF161.label = 66. 1975
photo_86AF752C_9EA4_6342_41CB_ED3EE5335016.label = 45. 25 sept. 1957
photo_86AF752C_9EA4_6342_41CB_ED3EE5335016.label = 45. 25 sept. 1957
photo_86AF7630_9EA3_A142_41A6_7FD9A88C4C31.label = 68. 1 sept. 1985
photo_86AF7630_9EA3_A142_41A6_7FD9A88C4C31.label = 68. 1 sept. 1985
photo_86AF77E6_9EA4_6ECE_41E1_2A9203F18584.label = 47. 9 dec. 1959
photo_86AF77E6_9EA4_6ECE_41E1_2A9203F18584.label = 47. 9 dec. 1959
photo_86AF78F5_9EA3_A2C2_41C9_8C36C44DF36F.label = 70. sept. 1985
photo_86AF78F5_9EA3_A2C2_41C9_8C36C44DF36F.label = 70. sept. 1985
photo_86AF7AD9_9EA4_66C2_41D9_E47995313A9C.label = 49. 15 june 1960
photo_86AF7AD9_9EA4_66C2_41D9_E47995313A9C.label = 49. 15 june 1960
photo_86AF7EF2_9EA3_9EC6_41E0_71962C826AAE.label = 63. 15 may 1969
photo_86AF7EF2_9EA3_9EC6_41E0_71962C826AAE.label = 63. 15 may 1969
## Popup
### Body
htmlText_151EF073_18AF_8FDC_41A7_A1E6F788BA9D.html = Kambing Hitam (Sebelum dan Sesudah 13 Mei)
by Usman Awang
sebelum
sepinggan nasi di stadium negara
lima belas ringgit cuma
sengih para menteri goncang-goncang tangan
- ada komentar dalam hati
para tauke gendut bibir berlemak
bersama menyanyikan lagu Berjaya untuk mereka yang BERJAYA!
13 Mei
secupak beras di ibu kota
semangkuk darah harganya
nilai pasaran jalan raja muda
- tidak ada tukaran wang hari ini
harga besi mengejut tinggi
pembeli-penjual saling berebutan
rumah jadi hitam langit hitam
merah senja ibu kota
merah warna jalan raya
merah air sungai Kelang
merah baju si anak malang
menteri demi menteri di tv
- demokrasi telah mangkat
permakamannya di mana saja, di mana saja pemabuk politik ganja
- taridra 13 mei
mahkamah sepi para hakim kehilangan palu
kini dibentuk mahkamah di jalan-jalan raya
masing-masing pendakwaraya menghujah tanpa bahasa
para hakim menjelma dengan wig merah
saling menjatuhkan hukuman
- sorak-sorai para juri tanpa kerusi.
berkurung
para penggubah dendang Berjaya ke mana hilangnya
para tauke bibir-berlemak nyaman bermahjung
poker jadi perlu mempertajam mata dan otak
ada rindu pada kuda entah makan gerangan tidak
orang kayangan makan angin keluar negeri
- negara kita makmur!
rakyat si buruh si miskin menggadai nyawa percuma
biskut sekeping rebutan anak-anak lapar
beras segenggam seperiuk kanjinya makan sekeluarga.
sesudah
kekuasaan negara berteriak mencari
“di mana dia kambing hitam
kambing hitam”
pemabuk politik-ganja beramai menjawab,
“kambing hitam di sini
kambing hitam”
namanya perkauman
namanya komunis
namanya ultra
namanya gangster
ahli fikir negara merumuskan
penyelesaian
jamuan teh makan durian
makanlah buah tempatan
di meja muhibah di kerusi muhibah
sesama mereka bertanya besar di akhbar mereka.
kini
betapa larisnya buku 13 mei
ilham dan mimpi seorang wali
terkutuklah barang siapa mengutukinya
si perkauman si komunis si ultra si gangster
rakyat si buruh si miskin gali kubur sendiri
di gua bimbang di penjara takut
saling mencurigai
kesan politik-ganja
sebelum dan sesudah 13 mei.
YEE I-LANN
Kerbau
2007
PVC tarpaulin
243 × 916 cm
Collection of the Artist
Kerbau is Sabahan artist Yee I-Lann’s tribute to the water buffalo, the once ubiquitous beast of burden familiar to the pastoral and agrarian landscapes of Southeast Asia, and now an uncommon sight in Malaysia. The artist regards its disappearance as a sign of shifting cultural and socio-economic realities. The animal, as an integral aspect of traditional ways of life in the country, stands here not as a measure of an individual’s wealth, but, in the artist’s words, “as a measure and value of transformation.” The herd of buffalo evokes the sight of a mass of people on the street, a reference to popular demonstrations of recent years, which were condemned by the then-government as “bukan budaya kita”, or “not our culture”. The kerbau remains, in Yee’s vision, resolutely and obstinately part of Malaysian culture.
Yee I-Lann (b. 1971, Sabah, Malaysia) graduated from the University of South Australia, Adelaide. Her photomedia-based practice speculates on issues of culture, power, and the role of historical memory, often with a focus on shared regional histories as well as Borneo. Yee has enjoyed retrospective exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia (Adelaide, 2011) and at the Ayala Museum (Manila, 2016). Her work has been included in the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (Brisbane, 1999 and 2015), the Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale (2009) and the Singapore Biennale (2006). She lives and works in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
Karya Kerbau adalah suatu penghormatan yang dilakukan oleh Yee I-Lann, seorang artis Sabah, kepada kerbau, yang pada suatu masa dulu merupakan sebahagian daripada pemandangan biasa landskap pertanian dan kampung di Asia Tenggara, tetapi kini hampir hilang terus di Malaysia. Beliau menganggap kehilangan ini sebagai suatu tanda perubahan realiti budaya dan sosio-ekonomi. Binatang ini, sebagai sebahagian kehidupan tradisional di negara ini, muncul di sini bukan sebagai tanda ukur kekayaan individu, tetapi, dalam kata artis ini sendiri, “sebagai suatu ukuran dan nilai perubahan.” Sekawanan kerbau membangkitkan pemandangan orang beramai-ramai di jalan raya, merujuk kepada demonstrasi popular beberapa tahun lepas, yang dikutuk oleh kerajaan semasa sebagai suatu yang “bukan budaya kita.”
Yee I-Lann (lahir 1971, Sabah, Malaysia) berkelulusan Universiti Australia Selatan, Adelaide. Pengkaryaannya yang mengguna media fotografi meneroka isu-isu budaya, kuasa dan peranan memori sejarah, selalunya memberi tumpuan kepada sejarah wilayah yang terkongsi, termasuk Borneo. Yee telah mengadakan pameran retrospektif di Pusat Seni Sezaman Australia Selatan (Adelaide, 2011) dan di Muzium Ayala (Manila, 2016). Karya beliau telah dimasukkan dalam Triennial Seni Sezaman Asia-Pasifik (Brisbane, 1990 dan 2015), Triennale Seni Asia Fukuoka (2009) dan Biennale Singapura (2006). Beliau tinggal dan bekerja di Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
BAYU UTOMO RADJIKIN
Lang Kacang
1991
Mixed media installation
141 × 104 × 120 cm
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Bayu Utomo Radjikin’s armless figure, which evokes the titular Orang Ulu warrior, tilts its head up and its torso forward, its mouth open in a soundless scream of warlike bellicosity or existential trauma. As the artist recounts, his interest in the culture of the Orang Ulu was piqued by a class trip to Sarawak during his student days. Its anatomy—assembled from fragments of industrial materials such as metal sheets, chains and cement—and its expression of anguish, perhaps stand as a response to the conditions of capitalist modernity facing Malaysia’s tribal communities, but also represent the artist’s personal reaction to events happening in the world around him then, such as the Gulf War. The warrior’s visage was modelled on Bayu’s own.
Bayu Utomo Radjikin (b. 1969, Sabah, Malaysia) graduated from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in 1991. A founding member of the seminal artists’ collective, MATAHATI, his practice utilises a range of mediums, from painting to sculpture, to focus on issues of personal and communal identity. His solo exhibitions include those at the The Substation (Singapore, 2011) and and Wei-Ling Gallery (Kuala Lumpur, 2007). Bayu is the founder of independent art space, HOM Art Trans, which promotes contemporary talent from Malaysia and the region. He is also a member of the Malaysian figurative artists’ collective, The F Klub, and founder of CHETAK 12, a printmaking collective. He lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Bentuk figura tanpa lengan oleh Bayu Utomo Radjikin yang tajuknya merujuk kepada seorang pahlawan Orang Ulu, kepalanya mendongak sambil tubuhnya ditonjol ke depan, mulut ternganga melaung tanpa bunyi ghairahan perang atau renjatan kehidupan. Kata si artis bila mengimbas, minatnya dalam budaya Orang Ulu dicetus oleh lawatan kelas ke Sarawak semasa sekolah. Anatominya – disusun dengan serpihan bahan perindustrian seperti lembaran logam, rantai dan simen – dan air muka berteriak, mungkin menandakan reaksi terhadap modeniti kapitalis yang dihadapi oleh masyarakat orang asal di Malaysia, namun membayangkan juga respon peribadi pelukis kepada peristiwa dalam dunia semasa itu, seperti Perang Teluk di Timur Tengah. Wajah pahlawan dibentuk berdasarkan muka Bayu sendiri.
Bayu Utomo Radjikin (lahir 1969, Sabah, Malaysia) berkelulusan Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) pada tahun 1991. Beliau ialah salah seorang ahli pengasas kolektif artis MATAHATI. Pengkaryaannya yang melibatkan berbagai bahantara, seperti catan dan arca, memberi tumpuan kepada isu identiti peribadi dan kampung. Pameran solonya telah dibuat di The Substation (Singapura, 2011) dan Galeri Wei-Ling (Kuala Lumpur, 2007). Beliau juga adalah pengasas ruang seni bebas HOM Art Trans, yang mempromosi bakat semasa di Malaysia dan serantau. Dia juga seorang ahli The F Klub, sebuah kolektif artis figuratif di Malaysia, dan pengasas CHETAK 12, sebuah kolektif seni cetak. Beliau menetap dan bekerja di Kuala Lumpur.
AHMAD FUAD OSMAN
Recollections of Long Lost Memories
2007
71 slide projections
Dimensions variable
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Occasioned by Malaysia’s 50th anniversary in 2007, Recollections of Long Lost Memories consists of a series of historical photographs in which the artist has intervened. He refers to these images as “false memories”. A bearded figure, often donning sunglasses and a hat, is inserted into the sepia-hued and black-and-white tableaus, lending a sense of critical satire to the proceedings. The artist was inspired by the Merdeka celebrations to re-examine the history of his country, and realised important historical events and episodes had either been forgotten or were not known; even history books that he consulted presented a skewed version of things. In characteristically waggish fashion, the artist observes: “Some of the events are not mentioned in the (mainstream) history books and some not in the way it happened. So why can’t I play with history?”
Ahmad Fuad Osman (b. 1969, Kedah, Malaysia) graduated from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). A founding member of the seminal MATAHATI collective, his practice embraces critical socio-political themes such as power, identity politics and historical amnesia. He works across a variety of media, including painting, installation, video and sculpture. His works are in the collections of institutions such as the National Art Gallery, Malaysia, Petronas Gallery, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore Art Museum. He has exhibited in various countries, and was most recently in the Sharjah Biennial (2019) and the Singapore Biennale (2016). He lives and works in Bali, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sempena ulang tahun kemerdekaan Malaysia ke-50 pada tahun 2007, Recollections of Long Lost Memories adalah sebuah siri gambar foto bersejarah yang telah menerima pencelahan si artis. Dia menggelar imej-imej ini sebagai “memori palsu”. Suatu figura manusia berjanggut, selalunya berkaca mata hitam dan bertopi, diselitkan ke dalam gambar tablo hitam-putih keperangan, memberikan unsur kritikan sindiran kepada upacara yang dipetik. Si artis terdorong oleh perayaan Merdeka untuk meneliti semula sejarah negara, dan menyedari bahawa ada peristiwa dan kisah-kisah penting dalam sejarah yang telah dilupakan atau tidak diketahui; malah buku-buku yang dirujuk pun memusingkan kisah. Dengan cara gurauannya yang biasa, dia perhati: “Beberapa peristiwa tidak disebut dalam buku-buku sejarah (arus perdana) dan ada juga yang tidak menyatakannya seperti yang terjadi. Kenapa pula aku tak boleh bermain dengan sejarah juga?”
Ahmad Fuad Osman (lahir 1969, Kedah, Malaysia) berkelulusan Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). Beliau salah seorang ahli pengasas MATAHATI, sebuah kolektif artis yang berpengaruh, dan mengamal pengkaryaan yang merangkumi tema sosio-politik yang kritikal seperti kuasa, politik identiti dan amnesia sejarah. Beliau bekerja dengan berbagai bahantara: lukisan cat, instalasi, video dan arca. Karyanya dihimpun oleh institusi seperti Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Malaysia, Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur, dan Muzium Seni Singapura. Beliau juga telah berpameran di berbagai negara, terkini sekali di Biennial Sharjah (2019) dan Biennale Singapura (2016). Beliau tinggal dan bekerja di Bali, Indonesia dan di Kuala Lumpur.
MOHAMMAD DIN MOHAMMAD
The Voyage
1994
Wooden staff (tungkod) mounted with horsehair, jute twine, wayang klitik, partially gilded bull horns, barong bell
110.7 × 82 × 20 cm
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Mohammad Din was particularly interested in extending the life of cultural objects, especially by carefully recomposing them as a vivid celebration of the syncretic heritage and esoteric knowledge systems of the Malay world. Many of the objects and artefacts he – together with his wife and fellow artist Hamidah Jalil – collected over several decades found their way into his artworks. These include Javanese stabbing and slashing knives (keris) to wayang kulit (shadow puppets), rare coins, talismans and fabrics. A selection of these collected objects and artefacts are assembled in The Voyage. Fused together, the assemblage refers to a spiritual journey into mystic knowledge.
Mohammad Din Mohammad (1955–2007) was born in Malacca, Malaysia, but moved to Singapore as a young child. He was trained in painting at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, from which he graduated in 1976. A painter, sculptor and traditional healer, he developed a body of work that was heavily influenced by Sufism, Malay traditions and the martial arts of silat. For Mohammad Din, confluence could be found in art and healing, with many of his artworks operating also as amulets, having talismanic and healing properties. He has been featured in numerous exhibitions worldwide, including those in Malaysia, Turkey, France and China. He enjoyed his first solo exhibition in 1978, and was the subject of a posthumous exhibition, ‘Archives & Desires: Selections from the Mohammad Din Mohammad Collection’ (2008) at the National University of Singapore Museum. His works are in the collection of the Singapore Art Museum and National Art Gallery, Malaysia.
Mohammad Din mempunyai minat khusus dalam mengekalkan hayat objek-objek budaya, terutamanya menerusi menggubah kembalinya dalam menyanjungi warisan sinkretik dan sistem ilmu esoterik dunia Melayu. Kebanyakan benda dan artifak yang dihimpun oleh beliau dan isteri serta artis rakannya Hamidah Jalil, sepanjang beberapa dekad telah berakhir dalam karya beliau. Ini termasuk parang dan keris, patung wayang kulit, duit syiling lama, azimat dan penangkal serta kain. Pilihan bahan-bahan ini telah dikumpulkan dalam karya The Voyage. Apabila disatukan, gubahan ini merujuk kepada perjalanan kerohanian ke arah pengetahuan mistik.
Mohammad Din Mohammad (1955–2007) dilahirkan di Melaka, Malaysia, tetapi pindah ke Singapura semasa kecil. Beliau lulus pendidikan seni lukis di Akademi Seni Halus Nanyang, Singapura, pada tahun 1976. Sebagai seorang artis catan, arca dan seorang penyembuh tradisional, beliau telah menghasilkan sekumpulan karya yang diilhami oleh fahaman Sufi, tradisi Melayu dan seni silat. Bagi beliau, ada hubungan di antara seni dan ilmu penyembuhan, dan beberapa karyanya juga berupa tangkal, dengan ciri-ciri penyembuhan azimat. Beliau telah terlibat dalam beberapa pameran di dunia, termasuk di Malaysia, Turki, Perancis dan China. Pameran perseorangannya yang pertama ialah pada tahun 1978, dan beliau juga telah diberi pameran khas selepas beliau meninggal dunia, bertajuk, ‘Arkib dan Keinginan: Pilihan daripada Koleksi Mohammad Din Mohammad’ (2008), di Muzium Universiti Nasional Singapura. Karya beliau boleh ditemui dalam koleksi Muzium Seni Singapura dan Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Kuala Lumpur.
KOK SIEW-WAI
Portraits.Stories.Beneath.
Portraits.Stories.Beneath is a programme of experimental short videos curated by Kok Siew-Wai, The first section, Portraits, features works that deal with the instability of first impressions, the fluctuating perceptions of the physical appearance of places. The second, Stories, foregrounds the phenomenon of narratives, tales based on the longing and imagination of the storyteller. Works in the last section, Beneath, deal with the unseen and the hidden flickering just under the veneer of external appearances — the unspeakable, the abstract, the instinctual. Kok remarks: “How do we understand places and people? … From our own encounters and interpretation, we might be able to detect the realities hidden between the lines.”
Kok Siew-Wai (b. 1977, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) started out as a video artist and is now active as a vocal improviser and independent artist-curator. She graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo and Alfred University. She has been included in festivals and events worldwide, including the International Film Festival Rotterdam (The Netherlands), Les Rencontres Internationales (France), Singapore International Film Festival, Image Forum Festival (Japan), Kaohsiung Film Festival (Taiwan) and Beyond/In Western New York Biennial (USA), among others. She is the co-founder and director of the Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film, Video & Music Festival (KLEX), and is currently teaching at the Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Multimedia University, Malaysia. She lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Featuring works by Lim Chee Yong, Kok Siew-Wai, Safwan Salleh, Ong Sau Kai, Jimmy Hendrickx, Kamal Sabran, Chew Win Chen, Au Sow-Yee, and Rathimalar Govindarajoo.
Portraits. Stories. Beneath adalah suatu program video pendek eksperimental yang dikuratorkan Kok Siew-Wai. Bahagian pertama, Portraits (Potret), menampilkan karya-karya mengenai kegoyahan tanggapan pertama, andaian yang berubah-ubah tentang rupa sesebuah tempat. Bahagian kedua, Stories (Cerita), menekan fenomena penceritaan, kisah-kisah yang berdasarkan rindu-dendam dan imaginasi tukang cerita. Karya-karya bahagian ketiga, Beneath (Di Sebalik), menyentuh hal-hal halimunan yang terlindung di sebalik salutan rupa luaran—yang tidak terperi, abstrak, dan terjalin dalam naluri. Kata Kok: “Bagaimana kita mengenali tempat dan orang?... Daripada pertemuan dan tafsiran, mungkin kita boleh mengesan hakikat tersembunyi di antara kata-kata.”
Kok Siew-Wai (lahir 1977, Kuala Lumpur) bermula sebagai artis video dan kini aktif sebagai pengucap spontan dan artis-kurator bebas. Beliau berkelulusan daripada State University New York di Buffalo dan Universiti Alfred. Beliau telah terlibat dalam beberapa pesta dan acara di merata dunia, termasuk Pesta Filem Antarabangsa Rotterdam (Belanda), Les Rencontres Internationales (‘Pertemuan Antarabangsa’, Perancis), Pesta Filem Antarabangsa Singapura, Pesta Forum Imej (Jepun), Pesta Film Kaohsiung (Taiwan) dan Biennial Beyond/In Western New York (Amerika Syarikat), di antara lainnya. Beliau adalah pengasas bersama dan pengarah Pesta Filem, Video & Muzik Eksperimental Kuala Lumpur (KLEX), dan kini mengajar di Fakulti Multimedia Kreatif, Universiti Multimedia, Malaysia. Dia tinggal dan bekerja di Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mempersembahkan karya Lim Chee Yong, Kok Siew-Wai, Safwan Salleh, Ong Sau Kai, Jimmy Hendrickx, Kamal Sabran, Chew Win Chen, Au Sow-Yee, dan Rathimalar Govindarajoo.
Portraits
Lulai
2014
6:30 mins/sound
Lim Chee Yong
Mud Game
2014
3:40 mins
Kok Siew-Wai
Night Without Light
2015
4:25 mins/sound
Safwan Salleh
Plaza Rakyat
2018
3:05 mins/sound
Ong Sau Kai
Semalu2013
18:40 mins/sound
Jimmy Hendrickx
Stories
Di Bawah Bintang Mengerdip
2010
3:30 mins/sound
Kamal Sabran
Chinese Whisper
2018
4:55 mins/sound
Chew Win Chen
A Day Without Sun in Mengkerang: Chapter 1
2014
22:00 mins/sound
Au Sow-Yee
Beneath
Ruins I
2010
4:30 mins/sound
Au Sow-Yee
Faces
2002
7:00 mins/silent
Kok Siew-Wai
Blue
2016
8:17 mins/sound
Lesly Leon Lee and Rathimalar Govindarajoo
CHI TOO
13/05/1969, Reformasi, Bersih 2.0 (tentative working titles)
from the ‘Bukan Budaya Kita’ series
Road marking paint and bitumen on canvas
Various dimensions
Collection of the Artist
The ‘Bukan Budaya Kita’ series is chi too’s attempt to engage with the history of civil disobedience in Malaysia, ranging from the race riots of May 13, 1969, to the more recent Bersih rallies. The phrase “bukan budaya kita”, or “not our culture”, was the former government’s response to mass movements. Here, he has alluded to instances of street demonstrations by representing not its human participants, but the street itself: the paintings are recreations of road surface markings at specific geographical locations associated with the titular events. As the artist puts it, “My experience with civil disobedience is on streets and every time I find myself in one, I recognise that we are on a street, occupying it … there lies the power of our action.”
Locations:
13/05/1969 Junction of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Pahang, Kuala Lumpur
Reformasi Near 24, Leboh Pasar Besar, Kuala Lumpur
Bersih 2.0 Junction of Jalan Pudu and Jalan Tun Perak, Kuala Lumpur
chi too (b. 1981, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is a self-taught, multidisciplinary artist. Trained in mass communication and sound engineering, his practice is characterised by the use of humour and satire, vacillating between the high-minded and the frivolous, and the social and the personal. He has held five solo exhibitions to date, including shows at OUR ArtProjects (Malaysia, 2018), Lostgens Contemporary Art Space (Malaysia, 2012) and Art Lab AKIBA (Japan, 2012). He has participated in the Aichi Triennale (2015) and the Singapore Biennale (2013), and has been an artist-in-residence at the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art, Singapore (2017). He lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Siri ‘Bukan Budaya Kita’ adalah usaha chi too untuk melibatkan diri dengan sejarah bantahan awam (civil disobedience) di Malaysia, daripada rusuhan perkauman 13 Mei, 1969, kepada perhimpunan Bersih tidak lama dulu. Sebutan “bukan budaya kita” adalah respon kerajaan dulu kepada pergerakan awam beramai-ramai. Di sini, dia merujuk kepada peristiwa demonstrasi awam bukan dengan memaparkan peserta tetapi jalan raya atau tempat awam itu sendiri: catan-catannya merupakan gambaran semula tanda-tanda pada permukaan jalan di tempat-tempat tertentu berkaitan peristiwa yang dinamakan. Kata chi too, “Pengalaman saya dengan bantahan awam adalah di jalan raya, dan setiap kali saya menyertainya, saya sedar kita berada di atas jalan, mendudukinya… di situlah kekuatan aksi kita.”
Lokasi:
13/05/1969 Persimpangan Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman dan Jalan Pahang, Kuala Lumpur
Reformasi Berhampiran 24, Leboh Pasar Besar, Kuala Lumpur
Bersih 2.0 Persimpangan Jalan Pudu dengan Jalan Tun Perak, Kuala Lumpur
chi too (lahir 1981, Kuala Lumpur) adalah seorang artis pelbagai disiplin yang belajar sendiri. Berpendidikan komunikasi massa dan kejuruteraan bunyi, pengkaryaannya mengguna jenaka dan sindiran, berbolak-balik antara berprinsip serius dan bermain-main, yang sosial dan yang peribadi. Hingga sekarang beliau telah mengadakan lima buah pameran solo, termasuk pameran dengan OUR ArtProjects (Malaysia, 2018), Ruang Seni Sezaman Lostgens (Malaysia, 2012) dan AKIBA Art Lab (Jepun, 2012). Dia telah menyertai Triennale Aichi (2015) dan Biennale Singapura (2013), dan telah menjadi artis residensi di Pusat Seni Sezaman NTU Singapura (2017). Dia tinggal dan bekerja di Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
YAP SAU BIN
The Grand Phantom Narrates
2004
Mixed media installation
Various dimensions
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
The Grand Phantom Narrates forms a loose trilogy with Youthful Contention not ( ) Parental Eclipse. and … Who Gave Birth to the Great White One … These works, which were all finalists in the Bakat Muda Sezaman competition organised by the National Art Gallery, Malaysia, mark the beginning of Yap Sau Bin’s practice as a conceptually-driven artist. They are primarily concerned with the interrogation of socio-political and institutional contexts, especially those in which hierarchies of power are operative. Grand Phantom is Yap’s response to the momentous resignation of Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister of Malaysia in 2003. The installation suggests how institutional power—whether cultural, as with the museum, or political, as with the prime ministership—shapes and influences individual subjectivity.
Artist’s Statement:
was told by a friend not to be afraid of ghost
ghost of the great ones
thought we were talking ‘bout Hegel or Heidegger then
- I thought he had retired for good, from politics, of the meaningful
- I suppose it’s the vision of the menacing phantom which lingers
- ah! that’s the great Post Modern Artescape!
the narrative of the perfect-visionary continues, stays on, unchallenged,whitewashed
- hey P.M.’s here to stay
Here lies the ghost of the Grand Narrative
Here lies the ghost of the Great Narrator
Yap Sau Bin (b. 1974, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is one of the founders of the Malaysian collective Rumah Air Panas. Educated in Canada, Malaysia and the UK, he returned to Malaysia permanently in 1998, where he began his career as an artist and teacher. His practice encompasses installation, performance, writing and curatorial work. A three-time finalist of the Bakat Muda Sezaman (Young Contemporaries) awards series, his work has been featured in the 8th Havana Biennale (2006) and the Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism & Architecture (Shenzhen, 2007). He most recently curated BRANDNEW 2019, organised by the Bangkok University Gallery. He lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Grand Phantom Narrates merupakan sebuah trilogi dengan Youthful Contention not ( ) Parental Eclipse. dan … Karya-karya ini, semuanya calon tahap akhir pertandingan Bakat Muda Sezaman anjuran Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Malaysia, menandakan mulanya pengkaryaan Yap Sau Bin sebagai seorang artis berdorongkan konsep. Pada dasarnya, ia menyentuhi penyoalanan konteks sosio-politik dan institusi, terutamanya di mana hierarki kuasa berlaku. Grand Phantom ialah reaksi Yap terhadap waktu bersejarah Mahathir Mohamad meletak jawatan sebagai Perdana Menteri pada tahun 2003. Karya instalasi ini mencadangkan bagaimana kuasa institusi – sama ada budaya, seperti dalam pemuziuman, atau politik, seperti dengan perdana menteri – membentuk dan mempengaruhi subjektiviti individu.
Kenyataan Artis:
diberitahu kawan jangan takut hantu
hantu kepada yang terbesar
ingatkan kami bercerita tentang Hegel, mungkin Heidegger, masa itu
- aku ingat dia dah bersara untuk selama-lamanya, daripada politik, yang bermakna
- agaknya yang tinggal ialah bayangan hantu yang mengancam
- ah! itu dia ‘Elak-lari’ (Artescape) Pasca Moden yang terhebat! cerita dukun-wawasan sempurna, kekal terus, tanpa cabaran, dicatputihkan
- hey P.M. tetap kekal
Di sini semadinya hantu Cerita Besar
Di sini semadinya hantu Tukang Cerita Besar
Yap Sau Bin (lahir 1974, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) adalah seorang daripada pengasas kolektif artis Malaysia, Rumah Air Panas. Berpendidikan di Kanada, Malaysia dan UK, dia kembali ke Malaysia pada tahun 1998, memulakan kerja sebagai artis dan pendidik. Tiga kali calon peringkat akhir pertandingan Bakat Muda Sezaman, beliau telah mempamerkan karya di Biennale Havana Ke-8 (2006) dan di Biennale Dwi-Kota Urbanisme/Seni Bina (Shenzhen, 2007). Beliau baru-baru ini mengkuratorkan BRANDNEW 2019, anjuran Galeri Universiti Bangkok. Beliau tinggal dan bekerja di Kuala Lumpur.
THE BODY POLITIC AND THE BODY
Various bodies populate this exhibition: individual and collective bodies, physical and absent ones, metaphorical and fleshly bodies.
Due to its complex structure, the body is able to assume such diverse representation with ease. As anthropologist Mary Douglas explains, “the functions of its different parts and their relation afford a source of symbols for other complex structures.” It is therefore not surprising that the body’s capacity for the symbolic includes its potential for political reference.
In the pre-modern era, political authority was legitimised by the principle of hereditary rulership. Medieval political theology held that the kingdom constituted a communal body, with the king, naturally, at and as its head. Historian Ernst Kantorowicz described the monarch as having two bodies: the first, his natural, mortal body; and the other, a body politic that formed a “corporation” composed of the ruler and his subjects.
Today, the idea of the body politic has survived as an analogy for both the modern nation-state and contemporary society in their collective aspects, as political and social bodies with an internal logic of their own. More recent interpretations of the concept of the two bodies have extended to include action and responsibility.
The Body Politic and the Body draws from this rich, historical vein of thought concerning the body in its myriad dimensions. Featuring works by Malaysian artists from the permanent collection of the Singapore Art Museum, as well as loans and a commissioned performance, the exhibition foregrounds the relationships and negotiations between personal and communal bodies, observing their turns within Malaysian history.
These are artworks that imagine the socio-political body of contemporary society alongside the individual, subjective body. They reflect upon the anxieties and hopes of the singular body, as experienced in Malaysia, and as seen against the obligations and claims of the community as collective. If human and societal anatomies are considered analogous, these artworks and their artists may be said to have particular significance for their historical and cultural moments.
Like corporeal bodies, the parts make up the whole, and the whole is present in every part. Just as each member of a community is a part of the collective, a community, too, is both one body and many.
References
•Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger (1966)
•Ernst Kantorowicz, The King's Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology (1957)
AHMAD FUAD OSMAN
BAYU UTOMO RADJIKIN
CHIA CHUYIA
CHI TOO
HASANUL ISYRAF IDRIS
MOHAMMAD DIN MOHAMMAD
NADIAH BAMADHAJ
REDZA PIYADASA
SIMRYN GILL
WONG HOY CHEONG
YAP SAU BIN
YEE I-LANN
WITH MOVING IMAGE PROGRAMME CURATED BY KOK SIEW-WAI
Berbagai badan memenuhi pameran ini: badan perseorangan dan badan berlonggok, yang wujud dan yang ghaib, ibaratan atau zahir berisi.
Oleh kerana strukturnya rumit, berbagai bentuk perwatakan boleh diperlagak oleh badan. Seperti kata Mary Douglas, “fungsi bahagian-bahagiannya dan hubungan-hubungannya berupaya memberi sumber lambang kepada struktur rumit yang lain.” Oleh itu tidak hairanlah bagaimana kemampuan badan menjadi sesuatu yang simbolik termasuk potensinya mempunyai rujukan politik.
Sebelum zaman moden, kuasa politik disahkan berdasar prinsip kerajaan berturun-temurun. Teologi Zaman Pertengahan Eropah berpegangan bahawa kerajaan merupakan sebuah badan yang bersifat perkauman, dengan raja secara semula jadinya adalah ketua. Mengikut ahli sejarah Ernst Kantorowicz, raja dianggap sebagai mempunyai dua badan: pertama, badan berdarah yang semula jadi; dan yang lagi satu, suatu badan politik yang memberi “perbadanan” yang terdiri daripada raja dan rakyatnya.
Sekarang ini, idea politik badan terus kekal sebagai suatu analogi kepada negara berbangsa dan masyarakat kontemporari dari segi kolektif, dan sebagai badan politik dan sosial yang mempunyai logiknya tersendiri. Pemahaman baru konsep dua badan ini telah diperluaskan dengan memasukkan tindakan dan tanggungjawab.
The Body Politic and the Body ini memperolehi pengertian daripada aliran pemikiran sejarah yang subur mengenai badan dan dimensinya yang berbagai. Dengan memaparkan karya artis-artis Malaysia daripada koleksi tetap Muzium Seni Singapura, berserta karya pinjaman dan komisyen karya perlakuan, pameran ini mengutarakan perhubungan dan perundingan di antara badan peribadi dan badan kaum, sambil memerhati perkembangannya dalam sejarah Malaysia.
Inilah karya-karya yang membayangkan badan sosio-politik masyarakat sezaman sebelah-menyebelah badan individu yang subjektif. Ia meneroka keharuan dan hasrat badan tunggal, sebagaimana ianya dialami di Malaysia, bertentangan kewajipan dan tuntutan masyarakat secara kolektif. Jika anatomi masyarakat dianggap beranalogi dengan anatomi manusia, maka karya-karya ini dan artis-artisnya mungkin boleh dikatakan mempunyai makna dari segi kedudukannya dalam detik-detik sejarah dan budaya tertentu.
Sama seperti kezahiran badan, bahagian-bahagian memberi bentuk kepada keseluruhan, dan bentuk keseluruhan pula ada pada tiap-tiap bahagian. Sebagaimana setiap ahli masyarakat adalah sebahagian daripada sebuah kolektif, masyarakat juga adalah satu dan banyak, sekali gus.
Rujukan
• Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger (1966).
• Ernst Kantorowicz, The King’s Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology (1957).
AHMAD FUAD OSMAN
BAYU UTOMO RADJIKIN
CHIA CHUYIA
CHI TOO
HASANUL ISYRAF IDRIS
MOHAMMAD DIN MOHAMMAD
NADIAH BAMADHAJ
REDZA PIYADASA
SIMRYN GILL
WONG HOY CHEONG
YAP SAU BIN
YEE I-LANN
DENGAN PROGRAM IMEJ BERGERAK OLEH KOK SIEW-WAI
REDZA PIYADASA
May 13, 1969
1970, reconstructed 2006
Acrylic on plywood and mirror
183 × 123 × 123 cm
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Redza Piyadasa’s May 13, 1969 consists of a black sarcophagus, painted with the colours of the Malaysian flag, and positioned upright on a mirror. Embodying the nation and the body politic, the work utilises the language of installation art to interrogate issues of socio-historical urgency. The title is a reference to the race riots of 1969 in Kuala Lumpur, which resulted in the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP), a turning point in Malaysia’s post-independence history. The work was first shown in an exhibition in 1970, and was then accompanied by the text of a poem, Usman Awang’s Kambing Hitam (Sebelum dan Sesudah 13 Mei). As if in a gesture of mourning for his country, Piyadasa incinerated the piece the year after. Presented here is a recreation of the artwork from 2006.
Redza Piyadasa (1939–2007) was a Malaysian artist, art critic and art historian. Born into a Sinhalese family in Pahang, he studied at the Hornsey College of Art in London on a Malaysian government scholarship and, upon his return, embarked on a life-long teaching career. As an artist, he was influential in the New Scene movement of the 1970s, and is credited with introducing conceptual art to Malaysia. He was a recipient of the Australian Cultural Award (1987) and the Prince Claus Award (1998), and a co-founder of the Five Arts Centre. His work was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the National Art Gallery Malaysia in 2001.
Karya Redza Piyadasa May 13, 1969 ini mengandungi sebuah keranda hitam yang telah dicat dengan warna-warna bendera Malaysia dan diletak menegak di atas sekeping cermin. Seolah-olah mewakili negara dan politik badannya, karya ini mengguna bahasa seni instalasi untuk menyoal isu-isu sejarah sosial yang mendesak. Tajuknya merujuk kepada rusuhan kaum pada tahun 1969 di Kuala Lumpur, yang membawa kepada pelaksanaan Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB), suatu titik perubahan dalam sejarah Malaysia selepas kemerdekaan. Pertama kalinya karya ini dipamerkan ialah pada tahun 1970, diiringi sebuah sajak oleh Usman Awang, Kambing Hitam – Sebelum dan Sesudah Mei 13. Seolah-olah sebagai isyarat berkabung, Piyadasa membakar karya ini setahun selepas itu, dan hanya membentuknya semula pada tahun 2006. Karya yang dipamerkan di sini ialah binaan semula daripada tahun 2006.
Redza Piyadasa (1939–2007), adalah seorang artis, pengkritik dan ahli sejarah seni Malaysia, yang dilahirkan di Pahang dalam keluarga Sinhala. Beliau mempelajari Seni di Kolej Seni Hornsey di London di bawah pembiayaan biasiswa kerajaan Malaysia, dan setelah kembali, menjadi pendidik seni sepanjang hayat. Sebagai seorang pengkarya seni, dia memainkan peranan utama dalam pergerakan New Scene (Suasana Baru) pada tahun 1970an, dan dipercayai telah memperkenalkan seni konsepsual di Malaysia. Beliau menerima Anugerah Kebudayaan Australia pada tahun 1987 dan Anugerah Putera Klaus (1998). Pengkaryaannya diberi pengolahan retrospektif di Balai Seni Lukis Negara pada tahun 2001.
Kambing Hitam (Sebelum dan Sesudah 13 Mei)
by Usman Awang
sebelum
sepinggan nasi di stadium negara
lima belas ringgit cuma
sengih para menteri goncang-goncang tangan
- ada komentar dalam hati
para tauke gendut bibir berlemak
bersama menyanyikan lagu Berjaya untuk mereka yang BERJAYA!
13 Mei
secupak beras di ibu kota
semangkuk darah harganya
nilai pasaran jalan raja muda
- tidak ada tukaran wang hari ini
harga besi mengejut tinggi
pembeli-penjual saling berebutan
rumah jadi hitam langit hitam
merah senja ibu kota
merah warna jalan raya
merah air sungai Kelang
merah baju si anak malang
menteri demi menteri di tv
- demokrasi telah mangkat
permakamannya di mana saja, di mana saja pemabuk politik ganja
- taridra 13 mei
mahkamah sepi para hakim kehilangan palu
kini dibentuk mahkamah di jalan-jalan raya
masing-masing pendakwaraya menghujah tanpa bahasa
para hakim menjelma dengan wig merah
saling menjatuhkan hukuman
- sorak-sorai para juri tanpa kerusi.
berkurung
para penggubah dendang Berjaya ke mana hilangnya
para tauke bibir-berlemak nyaman bermahjung
poker jadi perlu mempertajam mata dan otak
ada rindu pada kuda entah makan gerangan tidak
orang kayangan makan angin keluar negeri
- negara kita makmur!
rakyat si buruh si miskin menggadai nyawa percuma
biskut sekeping rebutan anak-anak lapar
beras segenggam seperiuk kanjinya makan sekeluarga.
sesudah
kekuasaan negara berteriak mencari
“di mana dia kambing hitam
kambing hitam”
pemabuk politik-ganja beramai menjawab,
“kambing hitam di sini
kambing hitam”
namanya perkauman
namanya komunis
namanya ultra
namanya gangster
ahli fikir negara merumuskan
penyelesaian
jamuan teh makan durian
makanlah buah tempatan
di meja muhibah di kerusi muhibah
sesama mereka bertanya besar di akhbar mereka.
kini
betapa larisnya buku 13 mei
ilham dan mimpi seorang wali
terkutuklah barang siapa mengutukinya
si perkauman si komunis si ultra si gangster
rakyat si buruh si miskin gali kubur sendiri
di gua bimbang di penjara takut
saling mencurigai
kesan politik-ganja
sebelum dan sesudah 13 mei.
SIMRYN GILL
Dalam
2001
260 chromogenic colour prints
31.8 × 31.8 cm (each)
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Dalam is Malay for ‘deep’ or ‘within’. Adopted as title, it frames a suite of 260 photographic images that emerged from Simryn Gill’s travels across Peninsular Malaysia. Over an eight-week period, Gill went into the homes of strangers requesting to take a single photograph of their living spaces. Location is significant in Gill’s works, both in shaping one’s experience, and being marked by the acts of individuals and circumstance. With Dalam, Gill presents an expansive yet uncannily intimate survey of a contained geography through its interior spaces. Read together, these photographs hold the traces of the people who inhabit and activate these living rooms, as much as they also ask if these interiors might collectively serve as a reflection of a people.
Simryn Gill (b. 1959, Singapore) incorporates photography, writing, drawing, and making and modifying objects within her practice, with an attention to the acts of collecting and the material of text. Gill’s works have been exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions at numerous institutions, including the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Tate Modern, London, and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Her work was shown at documenta 12 (2007) and documenta 13 (2012) in Kassel, Germany. Gill represented Australia at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013. She lives and works in Port Dickson, Malaysia and Sydney, Australia.
Dalam bermaksud ‘di bawah permukaan’ atau ‘di dalam linkungan’. Sebagai tajuk, ia merangkumi sekumpulan 260 keping imej foto yang terhasil daripada penjelajahan Simryn Gillke merata Malaysia. Selama lapan minggu, Gill melawati rumah-rumah orang yang tidak dikenalinya, memohon mengambil satu gambar ruang tempat tinggal mereka. ‘Lokasi’ sangat bererti dalam karya Gill, dalam membentuk pengalaman kita dan juga dalam ianya disentuhi oleh perbuatan individu dan keadaan tertentu. Dengan karya Dalam, Gill memberi sebuah tinjauan ikhlas namun pelik dalam keintimannya, sebuah geografi terkandung menerusi ruang dalamannya. Bila dihayati secara kumpulan, gambar-gambar ini bagaikan menyimpan kesan-kesan mereka yang menghuni dan menghidupi bilik mereka ini, sebagaimana ia juga menyoal sama ada ruang dalaman ini boleh memberi gambaran segolongan manusia secara kolektif.
Simryn Gill (lahir 1959, Singapura) menggabungkan fotografi, penulisan, lakaran, serta membuat dan mengubahsuai objek dalam pengkaryaannya, dengan memberi perhatian kepada perbuatan mengumpul dan bahan teks. Karya Gill telah dipamerkan dalam kumpulan dan perseorangan di beberapa tempat, termasuk di Pusat Seni Sezaman NTU, Singapura; Muzium Seni Sezaman, Sydney; Muzium Seni Metropolitan, New York; Galeri Moden Tate, London; dan Muzium Solomon R. Guggenheim, New York. Karyanya telah juga ditunjuk dalam documenta 12 (2007) dan dokumenta 13 (2012) di Kassel, Jerman. Gill mewakili Australia di Biennale Venice ke-55 pada tahun 2013. Beliau tinggal dan bekerja di Port Dickson, Malaysia dan juga di Sydney, Australia.
SIMRYN GILL
Dalam
2001
260 chromogenic colour prints
31.8 × 31.8 cm (each)
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Dalam is Malay for ‘deep’ or ‘within’. Adopted as title, it frames a suite of 260 photographic images that emerged from Simryn Gill’s travels across Peninsular Malaysia. Over an eight-week period, Gill went into the homes of strangers requesting to take a single photograph of their living spaces. Location is significant in Gill’s works, both in shaping one’s experience, and being marked by the acts of individuals and circumstance. With Dalam, Gill presents an expansive yet uncannily intimate survey of a contained geography through its interior spaces. Read together, these photographs hold the traces of the people who inhabit and activate these living rooms, as much as they also ask if these interiors might collectively serve as a reflection of a people.
Simryn Gill (b. 1959, Singapore) incorporates photography, writing, drawing, and making and modifying objects within her practice, with an attention to the acts of collecting and the material of text. Gill’s works have been exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions at numerous institutions, including the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Tate Modern, London, and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Her work was shown at documenta 12 (2007) and documenta 13 (2012) in Kassel, Germany. Gill represented Australia at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013. She lives and works in Port Dickson, Malaysia and Sydney, Australia.
Dalam bermaksud ‘di bawah permukaan’ atau ‘di dalam linkungan’. Sebagai tajuk, ia merangkumi sekumpulan 260 keping imej foto yang terhasil daripada penjelajahan Simryn Gillke merata Malaysia. Selama lapan minggu, Gill melawati rumah-rumah orang yang tidak dikenalinya, memohon mengambil satu gambar ruang tempat tinggal mereka. ‘Lokasi’ sangat bererti dalam karya Gill, dalam membentuk pengalaman kita dan juga dalam ianya disentuhi oleh perbuatan individu dan keadaan tertentu. Dengan karya Dalam, Gill memberi sebuah tinjauan ikhlas namun pelik dalam keintimannya, sebuah geografi terkandung menerusi ruang dalamannya. Bila dihayati secara kumpulan, gambar-gambar ini bagaikan menyimpan kesan-kesan mereka yang menghuni dan menghidupi bilik mereka ini, sebagaimana ia juga menyoal sama ada ruang dalaman ini boleh memberi gambaran segolongan manusia secara kolektif.
Simryn Gill (lahir 1959, Singapura) menggabungkan fotografi, penulisan, lakaran, serta membuat dan mengubahsuai objek dalam pengkaryaannya, dengan memberi perhatian kepada perbuatan mengumpul dan bahan teks. Karya Gill telah dipamerkan dalam kumpulan dan perseorangan di beberapa tempat, termasuk di Pusat Seni Sezaman NTU, Singapura; Muzium Seni Sezaman, Sydney; Muzium Seni Metropolitan, New York; Galeri Moden Tate, London; dan Muzium Solomon R. Guggenheim, New York. Karyanya telah juga ditunjuk dalam documenta 12 (2007) dan dokumenta 13 (2012) di Kassel, Jerman. Gill mewakili Australia di Biennale Venice ke-55 pada tahun 2013. Beliau tinggal dan bekerja di Port Dickson, Malaysia dan juga di Sydney, Australia.
HASANUL ISYRAF IDRIS
HOL (Higher Order Love) Chapter 2.3, Wound: Environment of Naga and Doubt
2017
40 mixed media on paper panels
61 × 91.5 cm (each)
Collection of the Artist
Here, Hasanul retells the stories and histories of Pulau Pangkor, an island off the coast of Perak, where he spent his childhood. He imagines surreal tableaus both factual and fantastical, personal and political. Landscapes include the alluvial plains of the island, and feature the horseshoe crabs and mudskippers of his youthful memories, which, in one particular scene, are paired with a traditional Malaysian snack, pulut udang, which his late mother used to sell. Elsewhere, he pays tribute to his father’s various professions through the years, which reflect the island’s shifting economic fortunes. Figures in hazmat suits recur throughout the series, a reference to the visuals of science textbooks. (The artist was once a science teacher.) Hasanul remarks: “A small family unit is the foundation of a society, they shape a nation’s social and political situation. Through these drawings, I reflect on … a family’s lineage.”
Hasanul Isyraf Idris (b. 1978, Perak, Malaysia) was trained at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Perak. His practice spans a variety of media, including painting, drawing, installation and sculpture. His works typically manifest a fictional iconography drawn from personal invention as well as from a melange of pop culture references, such as comic books, science fiction, street art and film. He was a finalist in the Bakat Muda Sezaman (Young Contemporaries) Awards in 2007, and has shown his work in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, India and Switzerland. He lives and works in Penang, Malaysia.
Di sini Hasanul mencerita semula kisah dan sejarah Pulau Pangkor, sebuah pulau di negeri Perak, di mana dia membesar. Dia membayangkan tablo-tablo aneh seperti dalam mimpi, sama ada benar atau khayalan, berunsur peribadi atau politik. Landskapnya termasuk kawasan endapan di pulau itu, dan memaparkan belangkas dan ikan belacak daripada zaman remajanya, yang dalam satu gambaran, diletak bersama pulut udang, makanan tradisional Malaysia yang arwah emaknya pernah menjaja. Dalam karya lain pula, beliau memberi penghormatan kepada pekerjaan bapanya, mencerminkan sumber rezeki ekonomi yang berubah di pulau itu. Figura manusia berpakaian hazmat muncul dalam seluruh siri, suatu rujukan kepada gambar-gambar dalam buku teks sains. (Beliau seorang guru sains pada satu ketika.) Kata Hasanul: “Unit keluarga yang kecil merupakan asas masyarakat, ia membentuk keadaan sosial dan politik negara. Menerusi lukisan-lukisan ini, aku memikir tentang… keturunan keluarga.”
Hasanul Isyraf Idris (lahir 1978, Perak, Malaysia) menerima pendidikan di Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Perak. Pengkaryaannya meliputi berbagai bahantara, termasuk catan, lakaran, instalasi dan arca. Biasanya karya beliau memaparkan ikonografi khayalan daripada ciptaan khayalan peribadi dan rujukan kepada berbagai jenis budaya pop, seperti buku komik, fiksyen sains, seni jalanan dan filem. Beliau telah berjaya ke peringkat akhir Pertandingan Bakat Muda Sezaman 2007, dan telah mempamerkan karyanya di Malaysia, Singapura, Brunei, India dan Switzerland. Beliau tinggal dan bekerja di Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
HASANUL ISYRAF IDRIS
HOL (Higher Order Love) Chapter 2.3, Wound: Environment of Naga and Doubt
2017
40 mixed media on paper panels
61 × 91.5 cm (each)
Collection of the Artist
Here, Hasanul retells the stories and histories of Pulau Pangkor, an island off the coast of Perak, where he spent his childhood. He imagines surreal tableaus both factual and fantastical, personal and political. Landscapes include the alluvial plains of the island, and feature the horseshoe crabs and mudskippers of his youthful memories, which, in one particular scene, are paired with a traditional Malaysian snack, pulut udang, which his late mother used to sell. Elsewhere, he pays tribute to his father’s various professions through the years, which reflect the island’s shifting economic fortunes. Figures in hazmat suits recur throughout the series, a reference to the visuals of science textbooks. (The artist was once a science teacher.) Hasanul remarks: “A small family unit is the foundation of a society, they shape a nation’s social and political situation. Through these drawings, I reflect on … a family’s lineage.”
Hasanul Isyraf Idris (b. 1978, Perak, Malaysia) was trained at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Perak. His practice spans a variety of media, including painting, drawing, installation and sculpture. His works typically manifest a fictional iconography drawn from personal invention as well as from a melange of pop culture references, such as comic books, science fiction, street art and film. He was a finalist in the Bakat Muda Sezaman (Young Contemporaries) Awards in 2007, and has shown his work in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, India and Switzerland. He lives and works in Penang, Malaysia.
Di sini Hasanul mencerita semula kisah dan sejarah Pulau Pangkor, sebuah pulau di negeri Perak, di mana dia membesar. Dia membayangkan tablo-tablo aneh seperti dalam mimpi, sama ada benar atau khayalan, berunsur peribadi atau politik. Landskapnya termasuk kawasan endapan di pulau itu, dan memaparkan belangkas dan ikan belacak daripada zaman remajanya, yang dalam satu gambaran, diletak bersama pulut udang, makanan tradisional Malaysia yang arwah emaknya pernah menjaja. Dalam karya lain pula, beliau memberi penghormatan kepada pekerjaan bapanya, mencerminkan sumber rezeki ekonomi yang berubah di pulau itu. Figura manusia berpakaian hazmat muncul dalam seluruh siri, suatu rujukan kepada gambar-gambar dalam buku teks sains. (Beliau seorang guru sains pada satu ketika.) Kata Hasanul: “Unit keluarga yang kecil merupakan asas masyarakat, ia membentuk keadaan sosial dan politik negara. Menerusi lukisan-lukisan ini, aku memikir tentang… keturunan keluarga.”
Hasanul Isyraf Idris (lahir 1978, Perak, Malaysia) menerima pendidikan di Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Perak. Pengkaryaannya meliputi berbagai bahantara, termasuk catan, lakaran, instalasi dan arca. Biasanya karya beliau memaparkan ikonografi khayalan daripada ciptaan khayalan peribadi dan rujukan kepada berbagai jenis budaya pop, seperti buku komik, fiksyen sains, seni jalanan dan filem. Beliau telah berjaya ke peringkat akhir Pertandingan Bakat Muda Sezaman 2007, dan telah mempamerkan karyanya di Malaysia, Singapura, Brunei, India dan Switzerland. Beliau tinggal dan bekerja di Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
WONG HOY CHEONG
Tapestry of Justice
1998–2004
Thumbprints, petals of flowers and leaves
2010 × 89 cm
Collection of the Artist
Wong Hoy Cheong is deeply engaged with issues that reflect the historical and social trajectories of Malaysia’s post-war development. Tapestry of Justice was developed during the Reformasi movement in the late 1990s, beginning life simultaneously as a work of art and as a petition against the Internal Security Act (ISA). Wong approached friends and strangers, asking them for their thumbprints as support for the repeal of the ISA. He was interested in the connotations of thumb-printing as a signifier of criminal activity, and as the most reliable form of identity (before DNA sequencing). Photocopies of thousands of thumbprints, collected in various countries over a six-year period, are connected by leaves and petals of plants such as the hibiscus—Malaysia’s bunga raya—rose, and beech.
Wong Hoy Cheong (b. 1960, Penang, Malaysia) received his education at Brandeis University, Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His multidisciplinary practice is concerned with the retrieval of marginalised narratives, interrogating themes of ethnicity and power, and migration and post-coloniality, reflecting the cross-cultural history of Malaysia. In 2011, Wong was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Creative Fellowship. He has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the National Art Gallery (Malaysia, 1996 and 2004), National University of Singapore Museum (2008) and Eslite Gallery (Taipei, 2010). His work was recently included in the Biennale of Sydney (2018) and the Folkestone Triennial (2017). He lives and works in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia.
Wong Hoy Cheong sangat terlibat dengan isu-isu berkaitan haluan perkembangan sosial dan sejarah Malaysia selepas perang. Tapestry of Justice yang dibuat seiringan pergerakan Reformasi tahun-tahun lewat 1990an, dimulakan sebagai sebuah karya seni pada masa yang sama ianya suatu usaha petisyen menentang Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri. Wong telah memohon rakan dan orang bukan kenalan untuk memberi cap jari masing-masing sebagai tanda menyokong penafian Akta berkenaan. Beliau berminat dengan cap jari sebagai suatu yang menandakan kegiatan jenayah dan juga identiti seseorang (sebelum penjujukan DNA). Ribuan cetakan fotokopi cap jari dikumpul dari berbagai negera sepanjang enam tahun, dan kemudiannya dirangkaikan dengan daun dan kelopak bunga sepert bunga raya (bunga kebangsaan Malaysia), bunga mawar dan bic.
Wong Hoy Cheong (lahir 1960 di Penang, Malaysia) mendapat pendidikan daripada Universiti Brandeis, Universiti Harvard dan Universiti Massachusetts di Amherst, Amerika Syarikat. Pengkaryaan beliau dalam pelbagai disiplin menekankan pengembalian naratif terpinggir, penyiasatan tema-tema keturunan dan kuasa, serta penghijrahan dan keadaan pascakolonial, membayangi sejarah Malaysia yang bersilang budaya. Pada tahun 2011, Wong diberi Fellowship Kreatif Bellagio Yayasan Rockefeller. Beliau telah diberi pameran solo di Balai Seni Negara (1996 dan 2004); Muzium Universiti Singapura (2008) dan Galeri Eslite (Taipei, 2010). Karyanya telah dipapar baru-baru ini di Biennale Sydney (2018) dan Triennial Folkestone (England, 2017). Wong tinggal dan bekerja di Kuala Lumpur dan di Pulau Pinang.
MOHAMMAD DIN MOHAMMAD
The Voyage
1994
Wooden staff (tungkod) mounted with horsehair, jute twine, wayang klitik, partially gilded bull horns, barong bell
110.7 × 82 × 20 cm
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Mohammad Din was particularly interested in extending the life of cultural objects, especially by carefully recomposing them as a vivid celebration of the syncretic heritage and esoteric knowledge systems of the Malay world. Many of the objects and artefacts he – together with his wife and fellow artist Hamidah Jalil – collected over several decades found their way into his artworks. These include Javanese stabbing and slashing knives (keris) to wayang kulit (shadow puppets), rare coins, talismans and fabrics. A selection of these collected objects and artefacts are assembled in The Voyage. Fused together, the assemblage refers to a spiritual journey into mystic knowledge.
Mohammad Din Mohammad (1955–2007) was born in Malacca, Malaysia, but moved to Singapore as a young child. He was trained in painting at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, from which he graduated in 1976. A painter, sculptor and traditional healer, he developed a body of work that was heavily influenced by Sufism, Malay traditions and the martial arts of silat. For Mohammad Din, confluence could be found in art and healing, with many of his artworks operating also as amulets, having talismanic and healing properties. He has been featured in numerous exhibitions worldwide, including those in Malaysia, Turkey, France and China. He enjoyed his first solo exhibition in 1978, and was the subject of a posthumous exhibition, ‘Archives & Desires: Selections from the Mohammad Din Mohammad Collection’ (2008) at the National University of Singapore Museum. His works are in the collection of the Singapore Art Museum and National Art Gallery, Malaysia.
Mohammad Din mempunyai minat khusus dalam mengekalkan hayat objek-objek budaya, terutamanya menerusi menggubah kembalinya dalam menyanjungi warisan sinkretik dan sistem ilmu esoterik dunia Melayu. Kebanyakan benda dan artifak yang dihimpun oleh beliau dan isteri serta artis rakannya Hamidah Jalil, sepanjang beberapa dekad telah berakhir dalam karya beliau. Ini termasuk parang dan keris, patung wayang kulit, duit syiling lama, azimat dan penangkal serta kain. Pilihan bahan-bahan ini telah dikumpulkan dalam karya The Voyage. Apabila disatukan, gubahan ini merujuk kepada perjalanan kerohanian ke arah pengetahuan mistik.
Mohammad Din Mohammad (1955–2007) dilahirkan di Melaka, Malaysia, tetapi pindah ke Singapura semasa kecil. Beliau lulus pendidikan seni lukis di Akademi Seni Halus Nanyang, Singapura, pada tahun 1976. Sebagai seorang artis catan, arca dan seorang penyembuh tradisional, beliau telah menghasilkan sekumpulan karya yang diilhami oleh fahaman Sufi, tradisi Melayu dan seni silat. Bagi beliau, ada hubungan di antara seni dan ilmu penyembuhan, dan beberapa karyanya juga berupa tangkal, dengan ciri-ciri penyembuhan azimat. Beliau telah terlibat dalam beberapa pameran di dunia, termasuk di Malaysia, Turki, Perancis dan China. Pameran perseorangannya yang pertama ialah pada tahun 1978, dan beliau juga telah diberi pameran khas selepas beliau meninggal dunia, bertajuk, ‘Arkib dan Keinginan: Pilihan daripada Koleksi Mohammad Din Mohammad’ (2008), di Muzium Universiti Nasional Singapura. Karya beliau boleh ditemui dalam koleksi Muzium Seni Singapura dan Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Kuala Lumpur.
WONG HOY CHEONG
Tapestry of Justice
1998–2004
Thumbprints, petals of flowers and leaves
2010 × 89 cm
Collection of the Artist
Wong Hoy Cheong is deeply engaged with issues that reflect the historical and social trajectories of Malaysia’s post-war development. Tapestry of Justice was developed during the Reformasi movement in the late 1990s, beginning life simultaneously as a work of art and as a petition against the Internal Security Act (ISA). Wong approached friends and strangers, asking them for their thumbprints as support for the repeal of the ISA. He was interested in the connotations of thumb-printing as a signifier of criminal activity, and as the most reliable form of identity (before DNA sequencing). Photocopies of thousands of thumbprints, collected in various countries over a six-year period, are connected by leaves and petals of plants such as the hibiscus—Malaysia’s bunga raya—rose, and beech.
Wong Hoy Cheong (b. 1960, Penang, Malaysia) received his education at Brandeis University, Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His multidisciplinary practice is concerned with the retrieval of marginalised narratives, interrogating themes of ethnicity and power, and migration and post-coloniality, reflecting the cross-cultural history of Malaysia. In 2011, Wong was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Creative Fellowship. He has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the National Art Gallery (Malaysia, 1996 and 2004), National University of Singapore Museum (2008) and Eslite Gallery (Taipei, 2010). His work was recently included in the Biennale of Sydney (2018) and the Folkestone Triennial (2017). He lives and works in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia.
Wong Hoy Cheong sangat terlibat dengan isu-isu berkaitan haluan perkembangan sosial dan sejarah Malaysia selepas perang. Tapestry of Justice yang dibuat seiringan pergerakan Reformasi tahun-tahun lewat 1990an, dimulakan sebagai sebuah karya seni pada masa yang sama ianya suatu usaha petisyen menentang Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri. Wong telah memohon rakan dan orang bukan kenalan untuk memberi cap jari masing-masing sebagai tanda menyokong penafian Akta berkenaan. Beliau berminat dengan cap jari sebagai suatu yang menandakan kegiatan jenayah dan juga identiti seseorang (sebelum penjujukan DNA). Ribuan cetakan fotokopi cap jari dikumpul dari berbagai negera sepanjang enam tahun, dan kemudiannya dirangkaikan dengan daun dan kelopak bunga sepert bunga raya (bunga kebangsaan Malaysia), bunga mawar dan bic.
Wong Hoy Cheong (lahir 1960 di Penang, Malaysia) mendapat pendidikan daripada Universiti Brandeis, Universiti Harvard dan Universiti Massachusetts di Amherst, Amerika Syarikat. Pengkaryaan beliau dalam pelbagai disiplin menekankan pengembalian naratif terpinggir, penyiasatan tema-tema keturunan dan kuasa, serta penghijrahan dan keadaan pascakolonial, membayangi sejarah Malaysia yang bersilang budaya. Pada tahun 2011, Wong diberi Fellowship Kreatif Bellagio Yayasan Rockefeller. Beliau telah diberi pameran solo di Balai Seni Negara (1996 dan 2004); Muzium Universiti Singapura (2008) dan Galeri Eslite (Taipei, 2010). Karyanya telah dipapar baru-baru ini di Biennale Sydney (2018) dan Triennial Folkestone (England, 2017). Wong tinggal dan bekerja di Kuala Lumpur dan di Pulau Pinang.
YAP SAU BIN
The Grand Phantom Narrates
2004
Mixed media installation
Various dimensions
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
The Grand Phantom Narrates forms a loose trilogy with Youthful Contention not ( ) Parental Eclipse. and … Who Gave Birth to the Great White One … These works, which were all finalists in the Bakat Muda Sezaman competition organised by the National Art Gallery, Malaysia, mark the beginning of Yap Sau Bin’s practice as a conceptually-driven artist. They are primarily concerned with the interrogation of socio-political and institutional contexts, especially those in which hierarchies of power are operative. Grand Phantom is Yap’s response to the momentous resignation of Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister of Malaysia in 2003. The installation suggests how institutional power—whether cultural, as with the museum, or political, as with the prime ministership—shapes and influences individual subjectivity.
Artist’s Statement:
was told by a friend not to be afraid of ghost
ghost of the great ones
thought we were talking ‘bout Hegel or Heidegger then
- I thought he had retired for good, from politics, of the meaningful
- I suppose it’s the vision of the menacing phantom which lingers
- ah! that’s the great Post Modern Artescape!
the narrative of the perfect-visionary continues, stays on, unchallenged,whitewashed
- hey P.M.’s here to stay
Here lies the ghost of the Grand Narrative
Here lies the ghost of the Great Narrator
Yap Sau Bin (b. 1974, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is one of the founders of the Malaysian collective Rumah Air Panas. Educated in Canada, Malaysia and the UK, he returned to Malaysia permanently in 1998, where he began his career as an artist and teacher. His practice encompasses installation, performance, writing and curatorial work. A three-time finalist of the Bakat Muda Sezaman (Young Contemporaries) awards series, his work has been featured in the 8th Havana Biennale (2006) and the Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism & Architecture (Shenzhen, 2007). He most recently curated BRANDNEW 2019, organised by the Bangkok University Gallery. He lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Grand Phantom Narrates merupakan sebuah trilogi dengan Youthful Contention not ( ) Parental Eclipse. dan … Karya-karya ini, semuanya calon tahap akhir pertandingan Bakat Muda Sezaman anjuran Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Malaysia, menandakan mulanya pengkaryaan Yap Sau Bin sebagai seorang artis berdorongkan konsep. Pada dasarnya, ia menyentuhi penyoalanan konteks sosio-politik dan institusi, terutamanya di mana hierarki kuasa berlaku. Grand Phantom ialah reaksi Yap terhadap waktu bersejarah Mahathir Mohamad meletak jawatan sebagai Perdana Menteri pada tahun 2003. Karya instalasi ini mencadangkan bagaimana kuasa institusi – sama ada budaya, seperti dalam pemuziuman, atau politik, seperti dengan perdana menteri – membentuk dan mempengaruhi subjektiviti individu.
Kenyataan Artis:
diberitahu kawan jangan takut hantu
hantu kepada yang terbesar
ingatkan kami bercerita tentang Hegel, mungkin Heidegger, masa itu
- aku ingat dia dah bersara untuk selama-lamanya, daripada politik, yang bermakna
- agaknya yang tinggal ialah bayangan hantu yang mengancam
- ah! itu dia ‘Elak-lari’ (Artescape) Pasca Moden yang terhebat! cerita dukun-wawasan sempurna, kekal terus, tanpa cabaran, dicatputihkan
- hey P.M. tetap kekal
Di sini semadinya hantu Cerita Besar
Di sini semadinya hantu Tukang Cerita Besar
Yap Sau Bin (lahir 1974, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) adalah seorang daripada pengasas kolektif artis Malaysia, Rumah Air Panas. Berpendidikan di Kanada, Malaysia dan UK, dia kembali ke Malaysia pada tahun 1998, memulakan kerja sebagai artis dan pendidik. Tiga kali calon peringkat akhir pertandingan Bakat Muda Sezaman, beliau telah mempamerkan karya di Biennale Havana Ke-8 (2006) dan di Biennale Dwi-Kota Urbanisme/Seni Bina (Shenzhen, 2007). Beliau baru-baru ini mengkuratorkan BRANDNEW 2019, anjuran Galeri Universiti Bangkok. Beliau tinggal dan bekerja di Kuala Lumpur.
REDZA PIYADASA
May 13, 1969
1970, reconstructed 2006
Acrylic on plywood and mirror
183 × 123 × 123 cm
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Redza Piyadasa’s May 13, 1969 consists of a black sarcophagus, painted with the colours of the Malaysian flag, and positioned upright on a mirror. Embodying the nation and the body politic, the work utilises the language of installation art to interrogate issues of socio-historical urgency. The title is a reference to the race riots of 1969 in Kuala Lumpur, which resulted in the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP), a turning point in Malaysia’s post-independence history. The work was first shown in an exhibition in 1970, and was then accompanied by the text of a poem, Usman Awang’s Kambing Hitam (Sebelum dan Sesudah 13 Mei). As if in a gesture of mourning for his country, Piyadasa incinerated the piece the year after. Presented here is a recreation of the artwork from 2006.
Redza Piyadasa (1939–2007) was a Malaysian artist, art critic and art historian. Born into a Sinhalese family in Pahang, he studied at the Hornsey College of Art in London on a Malaysian government scholarship and, upon his return, embarked on a life-long teaching career. As an artist, he was influential in the New Scene movement of the 1970s, and is credited with introducing conceptual art to Malaysia. He was a recipient of the Australian Cultural Award (1987) and the Prince Claus Award (1998), and a co-founder of the Five Arts Centre. His work was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the National Art Gallery Malaysia in 2001.
Karya Redza Piyadasa May 13, 1969 ini mengandungi sebuah keranda hitam yang telah dicat dengan warna-warna bendera Malaysia dan diletak menegak di atas sekeping cermin. Seolah-olah mewakili negara dan politik badannya, karya ini mengguna bahasa seni instalasi untuk menyoal isu-isu sejarah sosial yang mendesak. Tajuknya merujuk kepada rusuhan kaum pada tahun 1969 di Kuala Lumpur, yang membawa kepada pelaksanaan Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB), suatu titik perubahan dalam sejarah Malaysia selepas kemerdekaan. Pertama kalinya karya ini dipamerkan ialah pada tahun 1970, diiringi sebuah sajak oleh Usman Awang, Kambing Hitam – Sebelum dan Sesudah Mei 13. Seolah-olah sebagai isyarat berkabung, Piyadasa membakar karya ini setahun selepas itu, dan hanya membentuknya semula pada tahun 2006. Karya yang dipamerkan di sini ialah binaan semula daripada tahun 2006.
Redza Piyadasa (1939–2007), adalah seorang artis, pengkritik dan ahli sejarah seni Malaysia, yang dilahirkan di Pahang dalam keluarga Sinhala. Beliau mempelajari Seni di Kolej Seni Hornsey di London di bawah pembiayaan biasiswa kerajaan Malaysia, dan setelah kembali, menjadi pendidik seni sepanjang hayat. Sebagai seorang pengkarya seni, dia memainkan peranan utama dalam pergerakan New Scene (Suasana Baru) pada tahun 1970an, dan dipercayai telah memperkenalkan seni konsepsual di Malaysia. Beliau menerima Anugerah Kebudayaan Australia pada tahun 1987 dan Anugerah Putera Klaus (1998). Pengkaryaannya diberi pengolahan retrospektif di Balai Seni Lukis Negara pada tahun 2001.
Kambing Hitam (Sebelum dan Sesudah 13 Mei)
by Usman Awang
sebelum
sepinggan nasi di stadium negara
lima belas ringgit cuma
sengih para menteri goncang-goncang tangan
- ada komentar dalam hati
para tauke gendut bibir berlemak
bersama menyanyikan lagu Berjaya untuk mereka yang BERJAYA!
13 Mei
secupak beras di ibu kota
semangkuk darah harganya
nilai pasaran jalan raja muda
- tidak ada tukaran wang hari ini
harga besi mengejut tinggi
pembeli-penjual saling berebutan
rumah jadi hitam langit hitam
merah senja ibu kota
merah warna jalan raya
merah air sungai Kelang
merah baju si anak malang
menteri demi menteri di tv
- demokrasi telah mangkat
permakamannya di mana saja, di mana saja pemabuk politik ganja
- taridra 13 mei
mahkamah sepi para hakim kehilangan palu
kini dibentuk mahkamah di jalan-jalan raya
masing-masing pendakwaraya menghujah tanpa bahasa
para hakim menjelma dengan wig merah
saling menjatuhkan hukuman
- sorak-sorai para juri tanpa kerusi.
berkurung
para penggubah dendang Berjaya ke mana hilangnya
para tauke bibir-berlemak nyaman bermahjung
poker jadi perlu mempertajam mata dan otak
ada rindu pada kuda entah makan gerangan tidak
orang kayangan makan angin keluar negeri
- negara kita makmur!
rakyat si buruh si miskin menggadai nyawa percuma
biskut sekeping rebutan anak-anak lapar
beras segenggam seperiuk kanjinya makan sekeluarga.
sesudah
kekuasaan negara berteriak mencari
“di mana dia kambing hitam
kambing hitam”
pemabuk politik-ganja beramai menjawab,
“kambing hitam di sini
kambing hitam”
namanya perkauman
namanya komunis
namanya ultra
namanya gangster
ahli fikir negara merumuskan
penyelesaian
jamuan teh makan durian
makanlah buah tempatan
di meja muhibah di kerusi muhibah
sesama mereka bertanya besar di akhbar mereka.
kini
betapa larisnya buku 13 mei
ilham dan mimpi seorang wali
terkutuklah barang siapa mengutukinya
si perkauman si komunis si ultra si gangster
rakyat si buruh si miskin gali kubur sendiri
di gua bimbang di penjara takut
saling mencurigai
kesan politik-ganja
sebelum dan sesudah 13 mei.
REDZA PIYADASA
May 13, 1969
1970, reconstructed 2006
Acrylic on plywood and mirror
183 × 123 × 123 cm
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Redza Piyadasa’s May 13, 1969 consists of a black sarcophagus, painted with the colours of the Malaysian flag, and positioned upright on a mirror. Embodying the nation and the body politic, the work utilises the language of installation art to interrogate issues of socio-historical urgency. The title is a reference to the race riots of 1969 in Kuala Lumpur, which resulted in the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP), a turning point in Malaysia’s post-independence history. The work was first shown in an exhibition in 1970, and was then accompanied by the text of a poem, Usman Awang’s Kambing Hitam (Sebelum dan Sesudah 13 Mei). As if in a gesture of mourning for his country, Piyadasa incinerated the piece the year after. Presented here is a recreation of the artwork from 2006.
Redza Piyadasa (1939–2007) was a Malaysian artist, art critic and art historian. Born into a Sinhalese family in Pahang, he studied at the Hornsey College of Art in London on a Malaysian government scholarship and, upon his return, embarked on a life-long teaching career. As an artist, he was influential in the New Scene movement of the 1970s, and is credited with introducing conceptual art to Malaysia. He was a recipient of the Australian Cultural Award (1987) and the Prince Claus Award (1998), and a co-founder of the Five Arts Centre. His work was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the National Art Gallery Malaysia in 2001.
Karya Redza Piyadasa May 13, 1969 ini mengandungi sebuah keranda hitam yang telah dicat dengan warna-warna bendera Malaysia dan diletak menegak di atas sekeping cermin. Seolah-olah mewakili negara dan politik badannya, karya ini mengguna bahasa seni instalasi untuk menyoal isu-isu sejarah sosial yang mendesak. Tajuknya merujuk kepada rusuhan kaum pada tahun 1969 di Kuala Lumpur, yang membawa kepada pelaksanaan Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB), suatu titik perubahan dalam sejarah Malaysia selepas kemerdekaan. Pertama kalinya karya ini dipamerkan ialah pada tahun 1970, diiringi sebuah sajak oleh Usman Awang, Kambing Hitam – Sebelum dan Sesudah Mei 13. Seolah-olah sebagai isyarat berkabung, Piyadasa membakar karya ini setahun selepas itu, dan hanya membentuknya semula pada tahun 2006. Karya yang dipamerkan di sini ialah binaan semula daripada tahun 2006.
Redza Piyadasa (1939–2007), adalah seorang artis, pengkritik dan ahli sejarah seni Malaysia, yang dilahirkan di Pahang dalam keluarga Sinhala. Beliau mempelajari Seni di Kolej Seni Hornsey di London di bawah pembiayaan biasiswa kerajaan Malaysia, dan setelah kembali, menjadi pendidik seni sepanjang hayat. Sebagai seorang pengkarya seni, dia memainkan peranan utama dalam pergerakan New Scene (Suasana Baru) pada tahun 1970an, dan dipercayai telah memperkenalkan seni konsepsual di Malaysia. Beliau menerima Anugerah Kebudayaan Australia pada tahun 1987 dan Anugerah Putera Klaus (1998). Pengkaryaannya diberi pengolahan retrospektif di Balai Seni Lukis Negara pada tahun 2001.
WONG HOY CHEONG
Tapestry of Justice
1998–2004
Thumbprints, petals of flowers and leaves
2010 × 89 cm
Collection of the Artist
Wong Hoy Cheong is deeply engaged with issues that reflect the historical and social trajectories of Malaysia’s post-war development. Tapestry of Justice was developed during the Reformasi movement in the late 1990s, beginning life simultaneously as a work of art and as a petition against the Internal Security Act (ISA). Wong approached friends and strangers, asking them for their thumbprints as support for the repeal of the ISA. He was interested in the connotations of thumb-printing as a signifier of criminal activity, and as the most reliable form of identity (before DNA sequencing). Photocopies of thousands of thumbprints, collected in various countries over a six-year period, are connected by leaves and petals of plants such as the hibiscus—Malaysia’s bunga raya—rose, and beech.
Wong Hoy Cheong (b. 1960, Penang, Malaysia) received his education at Brandeis University, Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His multidisciplinary practice is concerned with the retrieval of marginalised narratives, interrogating themes of ethnicity and power, and migration and post-coloniality, reflecting the cross-cultural history of Malaysia. In 2011, Wong was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Creative Fellowship. He has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the National Art Gallery (Malaysia, 1996 and 2004), National University of Singapore Museum (2008) and Eslite Gallery (Taipei, 2010). His work was recently included in the Biennale of Sydney (2018) and the Folkestone Triennial (2017). He lives and works in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia.
Wong Hoy Cheong sangat terlibat dengan isu-isu berkaitan haluan perkembangan sosial dan sejarah Malaysia selepas perang. Tapestry of Justice yang dibuat seiringan pergerakan Reformasi tahun-tahun lewat 1990an, dimulakan sebagai sebuah karya seni pada masa yang sama ianya suatu usaha petisyen menentang Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri. Wong telah memohon rakan dan orang bukan kenalan untuk memberi cap jari masing-masing sebagai tanda menyokong penafian Akta berkenaan. Beliau berminat dengan cap jari sebagai suatu yang menandakan kegiatan jenayah dan juga identiti seseorang (sebelum penjujukan DNA). Ribuan cetakan fotokopi cap jari dikumpul dari berbagai negera sepanjang enam tahun, dan kemudiannya dirangkaikan dengan daun dan kelopak bunga sepert bunga raya (bunga kebangsaan Malaysia), bunga mawar dan bic.
Wong Hoy Cheong (lahir 1960 di Penang, Malaysia) mendapat pendidikan daripada Universiti Brandeis, Universiti Harvard dan Universiti Massachusetts di Amherst, Amerika Syarikat. Pengkaryaan beliau dalam pelbagai disiplin menekankan pengembalian naratif terpinggir, penyiasatan tema-tema keturunan dan kuasa, serta penghijrahan dan keadaan pascakolonial, membayangi sejarah Malaysia yang bersilang budaya. Pada tahun 2011, Wong diberi Fellowship Kreatif Bellagio Yayasan Rockefeller. Beliau telah diberi pameran solo di Balai Seni Negara (1996 dan 2004); Muzium Universiti Singapura (2008) dan Galeri Eslite (Taipei, 2010). Karyanya telah dipapar baru-baru ini di Biennale Sydney (2018) dan Triennial Folkestone (England, 2017). Wong tinggal dan bekerja di Kuala Lumpur dan di Pulau Pinang.
NADIAH BAMADHAJ
Quiet Rooms
2009
Charcoal on paper
250 × 600 cm (installation size)
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Quiet Rooms, which is rendered in Nadiah Bamadhaj’s characteristic technique of charcoal on paper collage, is a deeply autobiographical work. It stems from a period in the artist’s life when she was living in a suburban village in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and attempting to start a family with her husband. The iconography of the piece suggests the emotional turbulence and social discomfort experienced by the young couple: the portrait of the wife is both silenced and immobile, while a similar reference to silence is found in a closed mouth replacing an ovary on a diagram of a uterus. The idea of surveillance is conveyed by a Javanese house with a pair of loudhailers, implying observation and gossip within the village.
Nadiah Bamadhaj (b. 1968, Selangor, Malaysia) was trained as a sculptor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, and today works in a range of media, including drawing, video and digital images. She has also worked in non-governmental organisations for HIV/AIDS prevention and human rights advocacy. In 2002, she was awarded the Nippon Foundation’s Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship, and spent her fellowship period in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Her artwork continues to focus on the social intricacies of Yogyakarta’s society, using myth, architecture, and dwelling to articulate her observations. She has held solo and group exhibitions in the UK, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. She lives and works in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Quiet Rooms, yang dilukis dengan arang atas kolaj kertas, suatu teknik yang biasanya dikaitkan dengan Nadiah, adalah sebuah karya yang padat autografi. Ianya tumbuh daripada suatu masa dalam hidupnya bila dia tinggal di sebuah perkampungan di pinggir bandar Yogyakarta, Indonesia, di mana beliau cuba memulakan kehidupan berkeluarga dengan suaminya. Ikonografi karya ini membayangkan pergolakan emosi dan ketidakselesaan sosial yang dialami oleh pasangan muda ini: potret isteri senyap-sunyi dan kaku; kesenyapan juga ternyata pada mulut tertutup yang mengganti tempat ovari dalam gambar rajah rahim perempuan. Perihal pengawasan pula ternyata pada sebuah rumah Jawa yang dilengkapi dengan sepasang corong pembesar suara, memaksudkan pemerhatian dan pengumpatan yang berlaku dalam kampung.
Nadiah Bamadhaj (lahir 1968, Selangor, Malaysia) mendapat latihan seni arca di Universiti Canterbury, New Zealand, dan kini berkarya dalam berbagai bahantara, termasuk lakaran, video dan pengimejan video. Beliau pernah bekerja dengan pertubuhan bukan kerajaan untuk pencegahan HIV/AIDS dan advokasi hak asasi manusia. Pada tahun 2002, beliau menerima Fellowship Intelek Awam Asia daripada Yayasan Nippon dan menggunakan masanya di Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Pengkaryaan beliau masih tertumpu pada kerumitan sosial dalam masyarakat Yogyakarta, mengguna mitos, seni bina dan rumah tinggal untuk mempernyatakan pemerhatiannya. Beliau juga mempamer secara perseorangan atau berkumpulan di Hong Kong, UK, Malaysia dan Singapura. Dia menetap dan bekerja di Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
NADIAH BAMADHAJ
Quiet Rooms
2009
Charcoal on paper
250 × 600 cm (installation size)
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Quiet Rooms, which is rendered in Nadiah Bamadhaj’s characteristic technique of charcoal on paper collage, is a deeply autobiographical work. It stems from a period in the artist’s life when she was living in a suburban village in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and attempting to start a family with her husband. The iconography of the piece suggests the emotional turbulence and social discomfort experienced by the young couple: the portrait of the wife is both silenced and immobile, while a similar reference to silence is found in a closed mouth replacing an ovary on a diagram of a uterus. The idea of surveillance is conveyed by a Javanese house with a pair of loudhailers, implying observation and gossip within the village.
Nadiah Bamadhaj (b. 1968, Selangor, Malaysia) was trained as a sculptor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, and today works in a range of media, including drawing, video and digital images. She has also worked in non-governmental organisations for HIV/AIDS prevention and human rights advocacy. In 2002, she was awarded the Nippon Foundation’s Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship, and spent her fellowship period in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Her artwork continues to focus on the social intricacies of Yogyakarta’s society, using myth, architecture, and dwelling to articulate her observations. She has held solo and group exhibitions in the UK, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. She lives and works in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Quiet Rooms, yang dilukis dengan arang atas kolaj kertas, suatu teknik yang biasanya dikaitkan dengan Nadiah, adalah sebuah karya yang padat autografi. Ianya tumbuh daripada suatu masa dalam hidupnya bila dia tinggal di sebuah perkampungan di pinggir bandar Yogyakarta, Indonesia, di mana beliau cuba memulakan kehidupan berkeluarga dengan suaminya. Ikonografi karya ini membayangkan pergolakan emosi dan ketidakselesaan sosial yang dialami oleh pasangan muda ini: potret isteri senyap-sunyi dan kaku; kesenyapan juga ternyata pada mulut tertutup yang mengganti tempat ovari dalam gambar rajah rahim perempuan. Perihal pengawasan pula ternyata pada sebuah rumah Jawa yang dilengkapi dengan sepasang corong pembesar suara, memaksudkan pemerhatian dan pengumpatan yang berlaku dalam kampung.
Nadiah Bamadhaj (lahir 1968, Selangor, Malaysia) mendapat latihan seni arca di Universiti Canterbury, New Zealand, dan kini berkarya dalam berbagai bahantara, termasuk lakaran, video dan pengimejan video. Beliau pernah bekerja dengan pertubuhan bukan kerajaan untuk pencegahan HIV/AIDS dan advokasi hak asasi manusia. Pada tahun 2002, beliau menerima Fellowship Intelek Awam Asia daripada Yayasan Nippon dan menggunakan masanya di Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Pengkaryaan beliau masih tertumpu pada kerumitan sosial dalam masyarakat Yogyakarta, mengguna mitos, seni bina dan rumah tinggal untuk mempernyatakan pemerhatiannya. Beliau juga mempamer secara perseorangan atau berkumpulan di Hong Kong, UK, Malaysia dan Singapura. Dia menetap dan bekerja di Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
CHIA CHUYIA
Trace and Memory
2019
Performance and relics
Dimensions variable
Commissioned by the Singapore Art Museum
Artist Chia Chuyia has lived outside of her home country since the late 1990s, first in Singapore and, currently in Sweden, where she is based. Trace and Memory is an autobiographical performance based on memories of her childhood in Sekinchan, a small coastal town in Selangor where fishing and rice farming were the primary economic activities in the 1970s. As a performative gesture, Chia imprints the silhouette of her body on a bed of padi stalks, channelling the memory of rice in her early life in deeply sensorial, corporeal ways. As she puts it, these are “traces left behind, where one’s roots can never be erased and stays with time, following the flow of nature and remaining as withered traces and as part of the exhibition.”
Chia Chuyia (b. 1970, Selangor, Malaysia) works across painting, installation, performance art and digital media, focusing on global issues concerning the environment and the future of food. Her work expresses meaning through action, examining perspectives on how body language and gestures in different contexts communicate with the viewer. Her practice also encompasses collaborative projects; she was a co-founder of the performance art collective, Communication Laboratory/ ComLab Sweden, which initiates and organises performances in public spaces.
Chia has participated in festivals, exhibitions and art activities in more than 35 countries across the globe, including the Singapore Biennale (2016). She lives and works in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Chia Chuyia, seorang artis yang sejak lewat tahun 1990an telah tinggal di luar negara asalnya, mula-mulanya di Singapura, kini di Sweden, di mana dia bertempat. Trace and Memory adalah sebuah perlakuan autobiografi berdasarkan ingatan masa kecil beliau di Sekinchan, sebuah pekan di bahagian pantai negeri Selangor di mana menangkap ikan dan bersawah ialah usaha ekonomi yang asas pada tahun 1970an. Sebagai sebuah aksi perlakuan, Chia mengecap rupa-bayang tubuhnya ke atas sebidang jerami padi, menyalurkan ingatan beras semasa kecilnya menerusi jasad dan rasa. Katanya, “ inilah kesan yang kita tinggal, di mana akar asal kita tertanam dan kekal dalam masa, mengikut arus alam dan ditinggal sebagai bekas jejak yang pudar dan sebagai sebahagian daripada pameran.”
Chia Chuyia (lahir 1970, Selangor, Malaysia) berkarya dengan catan, instalasi, seni perlakuan dan media digital, dan menyentuh isu-isu global mengenai alam sekitar and masa depan makanan. Karya beliau menyatakan makna menerusi aksi-laku, memeriksa bagaimana bahasa badan dan gerak-laku berkomunikasi dengan pemerhati dalam berbagai konteks. Pengkaryaannya boleh juga melibatkan usaha kerjasama; beliau adalah pengasas bersama kolektif seni perlakuan, Makmal Komunikasi/ComLab Sweden, yang melakukan dan menganjur seni perlakuan di ruang awam. Chia telah menyertai pesta, pameran dan kegiatan seni di lebih daripada 35 buah negara, termasuk Biennale Singapura (2016). Beliau tinggal dan bekerja di Gothenburg, Sweden.
MOHAMMAD DIN MOHAMMAD
The Voyage
1994
Wooden staff (tungkod) mounted with horsehair, jute twine, wayang klitik, partially gilded bull horns, barong bell
110.7 × 82 × 20 cm
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Mohammad Din was particularly interested in extending the life of cultural objects, especially by carefully recomposing them as a vivid celebration of the syncretic heritage and esoteric knowledge systems of the Malay world. Many of the objects and artefacts he – together with his wife and fellow artist Hamidah Jalil – collected over several decades found their way into his artworks. These include Javanese stabbing and slashing knives (keris) to wayang kulit (shadow puppets), rare coins, talismans and fabrics. A selection of these collected objects and artefacts are assembled in The Voyage. Fused together, the assemblage refers to a spiritual journey into mystic knowledge.
Mohammad Din Mohammad (1955–2007) was born in Malacca, Malaysia, but moved to Singapore as a young child. He was trained in painting at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, from which he graduated in 1976. A painter, sculptor and traditional healer, he developed a body of work that was heavily influenced by Sufism, Malay traditions and the martial arts of silat. For Mohammad Din, confluence could be found in art and healing, with many of his artworks operating also as amulets, having talismanic and healing properties. He has been featured in numerous exhibitions worldwide, including those in Malaysia, Turkey, France and China. He enjoyed his first solo exhibition in 1978, and was the subject of a posthumous exhibition, ‘Archives & Desires: Selections from the Mohammad Din Mohammad Collection’ (2008) at the National University of Singapore Museum. His works are in the collection of the Singapore Art Museum and National Art Gallery, Malaysia.
Mohammad Din mempunyai minat khusus dalam mengekalkan hayat objek-objek budaya, terutamanya menerusi menggubah kembalinya dalam menyanjungi warisan sinkretik dan sistem ilmu esoterik dunia Melayu. Kebanyakan benda dan artifak yang dihimpun oleh beliau dan isteri serta artis rakannya Hamidah Jalil, sepanjang beberapa dekad telah berakhir dalam karya beliau. Ini termasuk parang dan keris, patung wayang kulit, duit syiling lama, azimat dan penangkal serta kain. Pilihan bahan-bahan ini telah dikumpulkan dalam karya The Voyage. Apabila disatukan, gubahan ini merujuk kepada perjalanan kerohanian ke arah pengetahuan mistik.
Mohammad Din Mohammad (1955–2007) dilahirkan di Melaka, Malaysia, tetapi pindah ke Singapura semasa kecil. Beliau lulus pendidikan seni lukis di Akademi Seni Halus Nanyang, Singapura, pada tahun 1976. Sebagai seorang artis catan, arca dan seorang penyembuh tradisional, beliau telah menghasilkan sekumpulan karya yang diilhami oleh fahaman Sufi, tradisi Melayu dan seni silat. Bagi beliau, ada hubungan di antara seni dan ilmu penyembuhan, dan beberapa karyanya juga berupa tangkal, dengan ciri-ciri penyembuhan azimat. Beliau telah terlibat dalam beberapa pameran di dunia, termasuk di Malaysia, Turki, Perancis dan China. Pameran perseorangannya yang pertama ialah pada tahun 1978, dan beliau juga telah diberi pameran khas selepas beliau meninggal dunia, bertajuk, ‘Arkib dan Keinginan: Pilihan daripada Koleksi Mohammad Din Mohammad’ (2008), di Muzium Universiti Nasional Singapura. Karya beliau boleh ditemui dalam koleksi Muzium Seni Singapura dan Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Kuala Lumpur.