Monday, April 6, 2020
Sunday, April 5, 2020
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Monday, March 18, 2019
Nordic Island in Nature Gothenburg
In Oct 2018, I participated in Live art festival NIAN, Nordic Island in Nature in Gothenburg, Sweden. I did two performances while I was there. One is a 3 hours festival at Gothenburg Kunst Museum and the one is a 5 minutes performance.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
' shhh....xxxx xxx xxxx xx'.
portrait of Fahmi Reza
This series called ' shhh....xxxx xxx xxxx xx!' is about the freedom of expression and it consists of portraits of malaysian artist, cartoonist, activists that have been arrested or jailed under the malaysia's multimedia act or the sedition law.
The portraits are made from masking tape on glass done in 2018.
portrait of Azmi Sharom
portrait of Lionel Morais
portrait of Haris ibrahim
portrait of Ho Kay Tat
portrait of Jahabar Sadiq
portrait of Zunar
Monday, March 26, 2018
'dream catcher' is a performance i did together with Gudrita lape, a performance artist from Iceland for Fresh Winds art biennale in Gardur, Iceland in 2017
.https://fresh-winds.com/
' with regards to the other' is a video i did with Karin Pedersen.
https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=RAAQ7HaKmXQ
between traditions and modernity
' in between traditions and modernity' is a performance i did in collaboration with Kana Nakamura, a performance artist from Japan during my residency for the Fresh Winds Biennale 2017 in Gardur, Iceland.
Friday, December 8, 2017
This is not your space - performance art
In october 2017, i collaborated with Rahman Hak-Hagir, Yong Sun Gullach and Molly Nyeland, in an art performance entitled – THIS IS NOT YOUR SPACE (2017) which view on Migration, Identity and Collective Memory.“
This performance was part of the International Performance Art Festival Copenhagen Body Landscapes 2017 organized by David Sebastian Lopez Restrepo.
Here is the link to the performance https://vimeo.com/241120342
This performance was part of the International Performance Art Festival Copenhagen Body Landscapes 2017 organized by David Sebastian Lopez Restrepo.
Here is the link to the performance https://vimeo.com/241120342
Tong Tana @ KL Biennale
I recently participated in KL Biennale with the work called Tong Tana. This work is in collaboration with sound artist Kamal Sabran who did the sound for Tong Tana. KL Biennale is taken place at the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur from 1 Nov 2017 - 31 March 2018.
Below is the description about the artwork:-
Tong Tana
Within the theme, five categorization applies socio-cultural practices in which I will approach the environmental shifts of deforestation and urbanisation of the Malaysian Indigenous people The Orang Asli and The Penan.
Tong Tana means ’in the forest’. It is a word taken from the Penan, a group of nomadic people that live in the rainforest in Sarawak Borneo. The Penan are some of the last people remaining as hunters and gatherers, and they are noted for their practice of 'molong' which means ’never taking more than necessary’.
This practice is quite the opposite from the system in the world most people are living in today. The dominating world economic is generated by consumerism, blamed for growing inequality and wasteful use of resources.
As an interdisciplinary artist that have migrated to Denmark and lived here for the past 15 years. My work has been shaped and inspired by my new environment and cultural conditions which explores themes such as identity, migration, movement and displacement. The expression of longing is also shaped by the feeling of belonging and not-belonging to two different countries, Malaysia and Denmark.
The indigenous people have been the subject of debate in Malaysia and the international human rights arena. The rights of several indigenous groups, such as the Penan, have been neglected as they continue struggle for land rights. They have a strong affinity to the land they live on and their environment is essential for their social and cultural conditions and survival as a cultural entity. The Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia continue to suffer day to day violations of their social, economic and cultural rights although Court decisions have acknowledged, that the orang asli have a form of native title to customary land.
At the same time the environmental shift due to deforestation, industrial logging, large-scale commercial oil palm plantations , road construction and large dams which have contributed to forest degradation. These activities have created hardship to the indigenous people as a result of diminished resources.
This artwork for the Kuala Lumpur Biennale reflects a longing towards the country where I was born and grew up. The installation attempts to capture a sense of memory in relation to history, diminishing cultures and a new way of life. Tong Tana examines conflict, displacement, marginalization and urban progress with regards to the indigenous people of Malaysia through site visits to homes of the indigenous people in Malaysia and through the mass media.
Below is the description about the artwork:-
Tong Tana
Within the theme, five categorization applies socio-cultural practices in which I will approach the environmental shifts of deforestation and urbanisation of the Malaysian Indigenous people The Orang Asli and The Penan.
Tong Tana means ’in the forest’. It is a word taken from the Penan, a group of nomadic people that live in the rainforest in Sarawak Borneo. The Penan are some of the last people remaining as hunters and gatherers, and they are noted for their practice of 'molong' which means ’never taking more than necessary’.
This practice is quite the opposite from the system in the world most people are living in today. The dominating world economic is generated by consumerism, blamed for growing inequality and wasteful use of resources.
As an interdisciplinary artist that have migrated to Denmark and lived here for the past 15 years. My work has been shaped and inspired by my new environment and cultural conditions which explores themes such as identity, migration, movement and displacement. The expression of longing is also shaped by the feeling of belonging and not-belonging to two different countries, Malaysia and Denmark.
The indigenous people have been the subject of debate in Malaysia and the international human rights arena. The rights of several indigenous groups, such as the Penan, have been neglected as they continue struggle for land rights. They have a strong affinity to the land they live on and their environment is essential for their social and cultural conditions and survival as a cultural entity. The Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia continue to suffer day to day violations of their social, economic and cultural rights although Court decisions have acknowledged, that the orang asli have a form of native title to customary land.
At the same time the environmental shift due to deforestation, industrial logging, large-scale commercial oil palm plantations , road construction and large dams which have contributed to forest degradation. These activities have created hardship to the indigenous people as a result of diminished resources.
This artwork for the Kuala Lumpur Biennale reflects a longing towards the country where I was born and grew up. The installation attempts to capture a sense of memory in relation to history, diminishing cultures and a new way of life. Tong Tana examines conflict, displacement, marginalization and urban progress with regards to the indigenous people of Malaysia through site visits to homes of the indigenous people in Malaysia and through the mass media.
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Freedom, it is just another word
This is for freedom.
Photo: Sunniva Mortensen
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Title: The Garden of Love @ Wei-‐ling Contemporary, Kuala Lumpur
Interactive art Year: 2017
I made an interactive art where i invited people in the shopping mall to write on a heart shaped papers on what they think about love, which were later installed in the ’garden’ i have built in the mall. In this project the ordinary modern lifestyle of going to the mall were brought closer to art where the public were invited to participate in an art project.
With their participation, the public has a sense of ownership in the artwork rather than being a mere audience.
Interactive art Year: 2017
I made an interactive art where i invited people in the shopping mall to write on a heart shaped papers on what they think about love, which were later installed in the ’garden’ i have built in the mall. In this project the ordinary modern lifestyle of going to the mall were brought closer to art where the public were invited to participate in an art project.
With their participation, the public has a sense of ownership in the artwork rather than being a mere audience.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
The Batang Kali Massacre
The Batang Kali massacre took place on the 12 Dec1948 when british soldiers killed 24 unarmed villagers during the Malayan Emergency. Despite several investigations and evidence, no charges were made to the perpetrators.
These are some of my drawings on the massacre.
They were done with indian ink on papers
These are some of my drawings on the massacre.
They were done with indian ink on papers
Spice Up Yor Life
Continuing my spice project, something that I have been working on for the last few years. One of the interesting thing I came across was the birth of capitalism which began in the early 17th century, with the Dutch indies companies monopolised the spice trade in 1602.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Balik Kampung - Going back Home Solo exhibition at balai Seni Lukis Melaka 2015
I had a solo exhibiton in Melaka, one of the places i have grown up. The show is called ' Balik Kampung' or Going back home.
Here is some pics and text from the exhibition.
Going back Home Balai Seni Lukis Melaka 1 December 2015 - 31 January 2016
I spent part of my life growing up in Melaka and still go back to Melaka when I am in Malaysia, because of my mother who still lives there. When I was invited by the government of Melaka to have an exhibition at the Balai Seni Melaka, Balik kampong or Going Back Home seemed to be the most natural title for a show. I am going back home - to my roots.
My occupation by the concept of home and looking for my roots has grown out of my personal history.
Balai Seni Lukis Melaka is located close to the ‘kampung’ where I grew up. One of the places we used to live was at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, close to the historical building Stadhuys, which was built by the Dutch occupants in 1650. So the area around Balai Seni Lukis is filled of my childhood memories.
Due to my mother’s employment, my brother, sisters and I lived in several different places. When I was three years old, we moved from Johor to Kelantan and by the time I was eight we moved back to Muar to live with my grandparents. After that we moved back to Melaka to live with my mother.
In Melaka alone we moved several times living and moving from Matakuching to Tun Tan Cheng Lock to Garden City to Ayer Molek and to Kandang.
After completing my High school, I moved to Perak to further my studies at the Polytechnic Ungku Omar. I stayed in there for 2 ½ years before starting a new job working in Agro Bank in Kuala Lumpur.
The bank job didn't suit me. After the minimum requirement of my working contract, I left to USA to continue my studies. I spent one and a half year in Conway Arkansas and then to Kansas City for over three years before moving back to Kuala Lumpur at the age of 27.
After hopping from one job to another, I ended up working with advertising in a public relations branches.
Feeling frustrated with my life and work, I quit my fulltime job after some years in search for a new way of life. I met the late Malaysian Pop artist Jeri Azhari the same year, and fell in love with painting. I also started to express myself by writing.
The change of ‘profession’ came as a big surprise to my family and friends. The pressure of being ‘successful’ and the competition for material gain is high in Malaysia. The expectation, such as; Who can come back ‘home’ with a bigger car during Hari Raya led me to distance myself from my own family. This distance has also brought me to question Who is my real ‘family’?
I moved to live and work in the Perhentian Island in 1998, moving back and forth to Kuala Lumpur for a period of three years. After this period I became a residence artist at Jaguar Motors Art Space in Yap Kwan Seng, Kuala Lumpur in 2000.
Coming back from a few month stay at the Perhentian islands, I realized that I had lost everything that I owned in the studio, including personal belongings and all my artwork from paintings, drawings, prints, collages, assemblages, old photographs and writings. The owner had rent out the space to a businessman and they had moved all my belongings by the roadside. It went missing after 3 days being left outside. This event more or less erased my historical past and symbolized another new beginning for me.
I moved back to live with my mum in Melaka for a few months and back to Kuala Lumpur after that.
In 2002, I met my Danish wife Pia in Jogyakarta during a visit to Indonesia. We got married in Melaka a few months later, and moved to Copenhagen where we have been based since.
These constant moves - physically and mentally have made me think and question where and what is home?
When in Denmark I am longing to come back home to Malaysia, but when in Malaysia I also miss my new home in Denmark!
Closely related to the concept of ‘Home’, are the two themes; identity and power. These issues occupies me, looking at my home country from the distance.
The artworks Batu Api and Duit Kopi are from my Malay idiom series. In search for my Malay identity I realized that these old Malay idioms can still be used until the present day.
The installation Batu api, is a community based art project involving local children and students from UITM in Melaka.
Duit Kopi reminds us, that power can be bought or gained by giving presents in a form of money.
The‘Migration’ reflects the issue surrounding migration globally. People from different places would risk their lives to seek for refuge and better life in another place.
Moving from one place to another, I had to deal with the authorities looking for a new home in another country. Denmark is one of the most difficult places to migrate to, due to the strict laws on migration. Conditions for getting a PR are given separately due to your background and profession. It took me 13 years living in Denmark before I was given a permanent resident ship. During that time I felt powerless and my fate to continue living with my family were reassessed every two years at the immigration office.
The Keris/Cricket series are sculptures and is taken from a historical perspective which refers to the colonial and post colonial issues. Cricket is a ball game which was introduced to Malaya when the british was ruling the country.
Keris is an ancient malay weapon used for fighting. In this artwork, the cricket bat is sculpted partly into a shape of a keris and logos from as Nike and Twitter.
Since Malaysia’s independent in 1957, the country tried to reestablish their national cultural identity based on malay values. These values however are challenged by big global corporations and social medias .
In ‘Portrait currencies’, current Malaysian Prime Minister is portrayed using real paper currencies such as ringgit, us dollars, Indonesian rupee, Thai bath etc.
A series of artwork called ‘ 5 cents portrait ‘ is ‘painted’ with oil using Malaysian 5 cents coins. These portraits are taken from paper currencies such as Benjamin Franklin from US dollar, Queen Elizabeth from Pound Sterling, The Japanese Emperor from yen etc.
These works question the global monetary system where the gap between the rich and the poor is seen growing all over the world due to corruptions and abused of power.
The artworks I am showing include installations, assemblage, drawings, video and sound installation. Some of the works such as ‘ The migration’ and Batu Api are collaborated with UITM Lendu Melaka.
Here is some pics and text from the exhibition.
Going back Home Balai Seni Lukis Melaka 1 December 2015 - 31 January 2016
I spent part of my life growing up in Melaka and still go back to Melaka when I am in Malaysia, because of my mother who still lives there. When I was invited by the government of Melaka to have an exhibition at the Balai Seni Melaka, Balik kampong or Going Back Home seemed to be the most natural title for a show. I am going back home - to my roots.
My occupation by the concept of home and looking for my roots has grown out of my personal history.
Balai Seni Lukis Melaka is located close to the ‘kampung’ where I grew up. One of the places we used to live was at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, close to the historical building Stadhuys, which was built by the Dutch occupants in 1650. So the area around Balai Seni Lukis is filled of my childhood memories.
Due to my mother’s employment, my brother, sisters and I lived in several different places. When I was three years old, we moved from Johor to Kelantan and by the time I was eight we moved back to Muar to live with my grandparents. After that we moved back to Melaka to live with my mother.
In Melaka alone we moved several times living and moving from Matakuching to Tun Tan Cheng Lock to Garden City to Ayer Molek and to Kandang.
After completing my High school, I moved to Perak to further my studies at the Polytechnic Ungku Omar. I stayed in there for 2 ½ years before starting a new job working in Agro Bank in Kuala Lumpur.
The bank job didn't suit me. After the minimum requirement of my working contract, I left to USA to continue my studies. I spent one and a half year in Conway Arkansas and then to Kansas City for over three years before moving back to Kuala Lumpur at the age of 27.
After hopping from one job to another, I ended up working with advertising in a public relations branches.
Feeling frustrated with my life and work, I quit my fulltime job after some years in search for a new way of life. I met the late Malaysian Pop artist Jeri Azhari the same year, and fell in love with painting. I also started to express myself by writing.
The change of ‘profession’ came as a big surprise to my family and friends. The pressure of being ‘successful’ and the competition for material gain is high in Malaysia. The expectation, such as; Who can come back ‘home’ with a bigger car during Hari Raya led me to distance myself from my own family. This distance has also brought me to question Who is my real ‘family’?
I moved to live and work in the Perhentian Island in 1998, moving back and forth to Kuala Lumpur for a period of three years. After this period I became a residence artist at Jaguar Motors Art Space in Yap Kwan Seng, Kuala Lumpur in 2000.
Coming back from a few month stay at the Perhentian islands, I realized that I had lost everything that I owned in the studio, including personal belongings and all my artwork from paintings, drawings, prints, collages, assemblages, old photographs and writings. The owner had rent out the space to a businessman and they had moved all my belongings by the roadside. It went missing after 3 days being left outside. This event more or less erased my historical past and symbolized another new beginning for me.
I moved back to live with my mum in Melaka for a few months and back to Kuala Lumpur after that.
In 2002, I met my Danish wife Pia in Jogyakarta during a visit to Indonesia. We got married in Melaka a few months later, and moved to Copenhagen where we have been based since.
These constant moves - physically and mentally have made me think and question where and what is home?
When in Denmark I am longing to come back home to Malaysia, but when in Malaysia I also miss my new home in Denmark!
Closely related to the concept of ‘Home’, are the two themes; identity and power. These issues occupies me, looking at my home country from the distance.
The artworks Batu Api and Duit Kopi are from my Malay idiom series. In search for my Malay identity I realized that these old Malay idioms can still be used until the present day.
The installation Batu api, is a community based art project involving local children and students from UITM in Melaka.
Duit Kopi reminds us, that power can be bought or gained by giving presents in a form of money.
The‘Migration’ reflects the issue surrounding migration globally. People from different places would risk their lives to seek for refuge and better life in another place.
Moving from one place to another, I had to deal with the authorities looking for a new home in another country. Denmark is one of the most difficult places to migrate to, due to the strict laws on migration. Conditions for getting a PR are given separately due to your background and profession. It took me 13 years living in Denmark before I was given a permanent resident ship. During that time I felt powerless and my fate to continue living with my family were reassessed every two years at the immigration office.
The Keris/Cricket series are sculptures and is taken from a historical perspective which refers to the colonial and post colonial issues. Cricket is a ball game which was introduced to Malaya when the british was ruling the country.
Keris is an ancient malay weapon used for fighting. In this artwork, the cricket bat is sculpted partly into a shape of a keris and logos from as Nike and Twitter.
Since Malaysia’s independent in 1957, the country tried to reestablish their national cultural identity based on malay values. These values however are challenged by big global corporations and social medias .
In ‘Portrait currencies’, current Malaysian Prime Minister is portrayed using real paper currencies such as ringgit, us dollars, Indonesian rupee, Thai bath etc.
A series of artwork called ‘ 5 cents portrait ‘ is ‘painted’ with oil using Malaysian 5 cents coins. These portraits are taken from paper currencies such as Benjamin Franklin from US dollar, Queen Elizabeth from Pound Sterling, The Japanese Emperor from yen etc.
These works question the global monetary system where the gap between the rich and the poor is seen growing all over the world due to corruptions and abused of power.
The artworks I am showing include installations, assemblage, drawings, video and sound installation. Some of the works such as ‘ The migration’ and Batu Api are collaborated with UITM Lendu Melaka.
'Everybody Must Get Stoned- A one Click Art Performance' Map Festival 7, Melaka, Malaysia
I took part in the Melaka Art Performance festival 7 in Malaysia recently. I have invited the public to participate in a performance called ' Everybody must get stoned' - A one click art performance`. The work is inspired by a malay proverb called ' batu api' or fire stone in english which means a person who likes to incite other people to fight with each other. in this performance i have invited the public to paint ' fire on the stone and then make a little performance by placing the stone to a place they have chosen. the performance ends with a click/s on my camera.
There was also a couple of musicians who happily entertained those participated in the performance with their light and happy music.
By end of the festival, a few of the stones that were placed on the site were found missing. The rest of the stones were collected and exhibited later in a gallery.
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