Art KL-itique

“Ajim Juxta’s fourth solo exhibition arkologi: gelap , is an on-going and progressive questioning of the world we live in, and more importantly a reflection of an artist’s questioning of humanity and what it is that drives us. (…) His evolving narrative continues to warn us. With his 2014 Matikatak exhibition, he told us to listen to frogs, or rather reminded us that we have ceased to hear croaking frogs in our padangs, a sign that flora and fauna are rejecting our ways of building and living. Following, his 2016 Unknown Plus exhibition further drew out penghuni distopias, a mirror onto a future where we adopt and assimilate technology to achieve an optimum self.” - Sharmin Parameswaran, catalogue essay for “arkologi: gelap” Penghuni Distopia X (2018) A reflective mood sets in, after reading the above paragraph. Not about dystopian living, but about one’s journey in art. Ajim Juxta is the first full-time artist I met in person, when I first stumbled upon Malaysian (contem...

I visited the National Art Gallery 3 times in 3 months, during the inaugural KL Biennale. Among offsite exhibition locations, I was at Piyadasa Gallery twice – once to visit Niranjan Rajah’s installation, and another time to attend the artist’s talk. I spent 30 minutes trying to locate Siti Zainon Ismail’s ‘Rumah Waris Uwan’ within Kampung Bandar Dalam. I did not find it, even after enquiring at multiple warungs along the way. At my first visit to Balai, one usher prompted me to register as a visitor by pen on paper, which I assume was the organizer’s method in tabulating the number of visitors, which target was announced as 250,000 . I was not asked to register, in subsequent visits. In the first week of November, the elevators were undergoing refurbishment, two galleries were closed, and the open galleries had different exhibits than what I saw during my final visit in February. [foreground] Bashir Makhoul – Shift (2017); [background] Syed Ahmad Jamal – Lencana Balai Seni L...

For the interested visitor, the second floor KL Biennale exhibition area in the National Art Gallery, presents an incoherent and challenging display. The immersive “Cracks in the Wall” presentation by Leon Leong greets those walking up the stairs. A draped “Under Construction” installation greets one walking up the rotunda, its censored form and state, not made known to the uninformed. Siti Zainon Ismail’s “Rumah Waris Uwan” proposes a visit to one kampung house six kilometres away, that cannot be found on Google Maps, thereby decreasing the prospects of proposed trip. Entering Galeri 2B next, pastel-tone photographs of “Swedish Dads” cuddling their offspring, and other works featuring children are displayed. While Zakaria Awang’s solemn ‘Warkah Buat Anakanda’ is undoubtedly the centrepiece within these small galleries, the remaining presentation is disjointed. Installation snapshot of Zakaria Awang – Warkah Buat Anakanda (2012) The cavernous Galeri 2A projects a better fi...

Cerita Belas ‘Kanou Moung Hilo Bawang’ greets the visitor into Galeri Tun Razak, which exhibits the biennale sub-theme Belas Alam . I wrote in an older post, “(c)urator Tan Hui Koon also maximized the installation for the subsequent exhibits that feature fish/water/rocks, resulting in a coherent display at the beginning of this gallery.” After appreciating Shamsu Mohamad’s beautifully moulded and glossy ceramic pieces, I turn the corner to admire Jamil Zakaria’s dramatic wire mesh sculpture ‘Lubok’, which references a number of Malay proverbs (‘Ada air, adalah ikan’, ‘Bondong air, bondong ikan’, ‘Bagai ikan pulang ke lubuk’, ‘Lain padang lain belalang, lain lubuk lain ikannya’). Three fishing “Traps” by Anassuwandi Ahmad command one’s full attention, so too the sensory pleasures of virtually touching a large rock, as engineered by J.C. Tan. Snapshots of author’s hand on J.C. Tan – “Techure” (2017) Tourists and new audiences get to appreciate good examples of Malaysian modern...

While KL Biennale organizers were lackadaisical in managing its website and social media  platforms – the person responsible for reviewing (not posting) each post should be held accountable – the web content posted by the public presents more care. A hat tip to each of these YouTube channel users (perhaps offering also an insight into what the public is interested in): ‘KL Biennale at the National art gallery’ by BulanLifestyle, published on 12th December 2017 ‘#JujueVlogs 🎥 KL Biennale 2017’ by Zulaika Shamin, published on 16th December 2017 ‘KL BIENNALE 2017’ by Nur Izz Damia, published on 29th December 2017 ‘KL Biennale 2017 || VLOG - 27/12/2017’ by anis sofea, published on 30th December 2017 ‘KL #3 | KL Biennale 17'/18'’ by Liaaa, published on 17th January 2018 ‘WeekendVlog: KL Biennale 2017’ by syahira rose, published on 22nd January 2018 ‘KL Biennale 2018’ by Han Hanan, published on 2nd February 2018 ‘KL Biennale...

When the inaugural KL Biennale’s theme "Belas / Be Loved ” was revealed, cynics deride it as fatuously sanguine and bereft of ideology, as compared to other international biennales. Curator Faizal Sidek remarks in an interview , “(m)ost biennales held around the world revolve around lofty themes that the normal man in the street wouldn’t be able to identify with. We wanted to be different (…) The concept originated from Professor Hasnul Jamal Saidon…” In late 2016, Hasnul (with the National Art Gallery) initiated an outreach program  “gemaBELAS” , in which “ Belas can contribute in exploring the healing potentials of creative practice.” How much of that noble intention carries over to this biennale is not clear, although Hasnul is in the selection committee.  Installation snapshot of Siti Zainon Ismail – Rumah Waris Uwan (2013) and Kasih Bonda Kampung Paya Kami (2008/2015) Single-word non-“lofty” biennale themes are not uncommon, as one looks across the Causeway. Fo...

The cavernous Galeri 3A houses a collection of artworks, that purports to be an exhibition titled “Malaysian Geometric Abstracts, and a couple pieces that don’t fit into the other Biennale galleries” . Greeting the visitor is the magnificent acrylic painting ‘Semangat Ledang’ by Syed Ahmad Jamal, and the walls flanking it showcase equally colourful and solemn works dedicated to one’s religious beliefs. Sharifah Fatimah Syed Zubir’s “Mihrab” series features textured collages arranged in sublime compositions; Mohd Noor Mahmud’s creations are caked in layers of pigment-based colours. Along with large creations by Sulaiman Esa and Anuar Rashid, the collection of works in this area invokes a deep conviction that seeing is not knowing, but seeing does help in knowing.  [l] Sharifah Fatimah Syed Zubir – Mihrab Nusantara (Tribute to Sharif Hussein) (2006); [r] Detail snapshots From the spatial displacement between protruding pyramids in ‘Dinding’, to the woven gold textile patter...