Covid Surreality
I was inspired to do this series of photo works when National Art Gallery Malaysia uploaded ‘Read’ on the social medias to show some of their collections to the public.
Read is an artwork which I did in 2006 and was exhibited in a two person exhibition at Alstrup Gallery in Denmark and then at Pelita Hati Gallery in KL for my first solo exhibition at my home country in Malaysia.
Read is a collage work done from posters given to me from friends and some which I collected from my trips to the libraries in Copenhagen. I used an image from a magazine to make the artwork which shows a picture of three-man reading books. (I got this habit of using readymade images when I met the late Jeri Azhari in 1995, who inspired me to paint and later on became my mentor and close friend).
The post on Instagram was on 3rd April 2020 and when I bumped into it, the world was in a chaotic state with the unexpected attack of Corona virus that have infected over a million people and killed thousands.
Right after I saw the post, there was this sudden impulse and idea to make something similar to that, and I thought the best medium to do it was with photography. With my iPhone and half broken tripod, I started to experiment taking pictures of myself at home. It was pretty natural, as we are all advised to stay home during the lockdown.
The first work I did was posing myself like in ‘Read. Being a ‘model’ of myself is an expression of irony. The second work which I called ‘Uno anyone?’ gave a big smile on my face.
Humor has been an important element in my work simply because it works as a therapy to my soul. At a time when we are veiled in darkness and uncertain future, anything that we can do to uplift the human spirit is certainly needed and welcomed.
I have been posting this series of work on my Facebook and Instagram page and it is such joy to make it when I received such positive responses and a few laughing emojis on my post, especially in time like this. Living as a diaspora in Copenhagen, this series of work somehow keep me connected with my friends and family and revived old friendships – and ex-girlfriends J.
But then, when you think of it, it does not matter where you are in the world because with the lockdown, distance is irrelevant and we better get used to it. Perhaps the best way to get in touch with someone in this changing world is through the social media but it only works for those who have access to it. Who knows what’s going to happen in the future but we have to learn to quickly adapt to our new surroundings.
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