The Door II: Plight @ HOM Art Trans

UiTM graduates have the luxury of exhibiting at various private galleries - House of Matahati, Segaris, Taksu, and Morne, assume the role of willing hosts. The four artists showing at the "The Door II: Plight" have shown in these locations recently, which allows their development to be charted closely - an example being Manisah Daud's expansion on the nature theme. Wild animals are realistically depicted in a threatening pose, set against an attractive dripping backdrop that mirrors the subject matter's colour palette. Physical mutilation and helpless circumstances provide the narrative, but the melodrama represents good intentions, a continuation from the approach employed previously in "The Door".

Manisah Daud - I am King But Where is My Power (2013)

A Volkswagen Type 2 is parked in an alley between a fire hydrant and a worn-out brick wall, Warhol's banana from The Velvet Underground & Nico's album cover stuck onto the van, raring to go. The desire to embark on a journey, to break away from what's past, is illustrated in a delightful manner by Shafiq Nordin. Precarious situations like flying 'Into the Dream' in a wooden biplane, or being tied down to 'Fate' by his bearish alter-ego, convey a nervous enthusiasm within the young artist. Playful in his approach, Shafiq adds comic-like white borders to frame his situations; Fortunately this does not conceal his flourishing talent in drawing lines of different weights, that provide volume in his works.

Shafiq Nordin - Journey Begin! (2013)

Arikwibowo Amril paints faded and blurry pop icons, overlaying it with quotes associated to the celebrity. With the exception of 'Thin-ker Twice', which forcefully splits a picture of Rodin's 'The Thinker', other works by the artist can be classified as poster material. Hisyamuddin Abdullah draws visually interesting self-portraits that attempt to address current events, the bare palette only augmenting its simplistic and literal commentary. "Not many have a clear insight to the predicament of an aspiring artist", claims curator Jessica Ho, but UiTM graduates are fortunate that their initiation into the local art scene is more accessible than others.

Hisyamuddin Abdullah - I'm Not A Monkey (2013)