PAKSI; BERPAKSIKAN HARAPAN… oleh Tuk Kura

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Karya-karya seni seharusnya dipamerkan dan bukannya disimpan atau dibiar tersorok dari pandangan orang ramai. Karya-karya seni yang indah dan baik tidak akan berguna jika ianya tidak dikongsikan atau dipamerkan kepada orang ramai. Justeru itu, pameran itu amatlah perlu dalam proses kematangan dan kelangsungan sesebuah karya seni dan seniman itu sekaligus. Seniman itu saling bergantungan dan bukannya wujud secara sendiri tanpa ada perlu sebarang sokongan. Merujuk kepada penulisan Bolt; Reframed Heidegger, (2010) di mana Heidegger ada menjelaskan bahawa seniman bukanlah yang menaikkan seni sebaliknya seniman merupakan sebahagian daripada rangkaian ‘kebertanggungjawaban’ (co-responsible) terhadap keberadaan seni. Seniman merupakan sebahagian daripada elemen-elemen yang ‘menjadikan’ sesuatu itu seni – suatu hubungan yang kompleks mengambil tempat dan kekadang sukar untuk dicapai. Seseorang seniman memerlukan seniman lain, rakan, teman, galeri, kurator, penulis, pengkritik, duit, material dan sebagainya dalam menjayakan sesuatu perhubungan (penghasilan karya) – simbiosis.

Seorang seniman memerlukan seniman yang lain di mana ianya menjurus kepada perkongsian ide, menggarap persoalan dan membuahkan wacana-wacana seni. Justeru itu dapat dilihat beberapa seniman yang bermula dengan bergerak secara berkumpulan sewaktu awal pembabitan dalam dunia seni demi mengumpul pengalaman serta sokongan. Kumpulan seni pada kebiasaannya di inisiasi oleh sekumpulan seniman yang berkerja bersama dengan satu misi dan visi yang dikongsi secara kolektif. Pada pengamatan saya, sesebuah kumpulan diwujudkan atas beberapa sebab yang mana pada kebiasaannya adalah untuk tujuan berkongsi – perkongsian secara fizikal dan ide. Sesebuah kumpulan seni mungkin berkongsi idelogi, fahaman estetika, pandangan politikal, komuniti malahan berkongsi ruang studio dan material serta peralatan.

Dalam melihat mengenai kumpulan seni, kita boleh merujuk kepada sejarah seni Malaysia di mana wujudnya kumpulan-kumpulan seni seperti Wednesday Art Group (1954), Angkatan Pelukis Semenanjung (APS) (1956), Anak Alam (1974), Matahati (1989) dan lain-lain lagi. Dalam bergerak secara kolektif/berkumpulan, setiap individu masih lagi bisa aktif berkarya secara individu dalam mengembangkan amalan seni mereka sendiri. Hal ini terbukti dengan kolektif seni Matahati yang mana mereka telah berjaya sebagai sebuah kumpulan seni dan setiap ahli mereka juga berjaya dalam bidang seni masing-masing. Sebuah kumpulan seni pada harfiahnya tidak menyekat perkembangan seni ahli-ahlinya sebaliknya membantu serta menyokong kepada perkembangan tersebut terutamanya kumpulan seni yang terbina atas dasar persahabatan di mana persahabatan itu lebih dipandang tinggi dan ianya akan kekal dan kepada persahabatan itu disandarkan harapan agar ianya kekal utuh.

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                PAKSI jika dilihat dalam Kamus Dewan Bahasa merujuk kepada teras atau dasar. Ianya juga merujuk kepada ufuk atau tegak dan teguh. PAKSI dari apa yang saya fahami ialah menjadikan sesuatu sebagai teras, tunjang atau titik tengah. PAKSI yang akan diperkatakan dalam esei ini merupakan sebuah kumpulan seni yang ditubuhkan oleh tiga orang seniman muda iaitu Khairul Arshad, Arikwibowo Amril dan Mohd Akhir Ahmad.

“PAKSI merupakan sebuah kumpulan seni eksperimentasi yang mana setiap ahlinya menjadikan proses penubuhan kumpulan ini sebagai salah satu proses pematangan dalam menguji kemampuan serta kekuatan diri mereka. Ianya juga menguji sejauh mana kemampuan mereka untuk berkomunikasi secara berkumpulan dalam melontarkan ide serta mengenai pengurusan diri dalam menjadi seorang seniman yang berjaya.” (temubual bersama Shaika Nadwah; Pengurus PAKSI)

Sepanjang proses penghasilan karya ini, PAKSI berjaya mengenalpasti titik kelemahan diri masing-masing dan seterusnya bersama membaiki kelemahan tersebut secara berkumpulan – simbiosis. Pada awal penubuhannya, setiap seorang daripada mereka hanya berhubungan atas dasar kerja semata, namun lama-kelamaan hubungan itu menjadi semakin akrab dek kerana wacana dan diskusi seni yang sering di adakan mengukuhkan kesefahaman dan mengeratkan hubungan mereka sebagai ahli kumpulan.

“Sememangnya kumpulan ini ditubuhkan secara tidak sengaja pada awalnya, ianya lebih tertumpu kepada kepentingan berkerja yang mana sebagai seorang seniman dalam mengejar impian menjadi berjaya, kebergantungan terhadap entiti (seniman) lain amat perlu. – proses perbincangan, kritikan dan lain-lain. Namun hubungan yang pada asasnya atas dasar kerja semata menjadi semakin akrab dan rapat melalui proses perbincangan dan dialog yang sering diadakan.” (temubual bersama PAKSI) 

PAKSI merupakan sebuah kumpulan seni yang menjadikan karya bersifat 2 dimensi (2D) sebagai bentukan asas setiap karya mereka namun ketiga-tiga ahli ini punya tarikan serta kemampuan yang berbeza. Dari sudut pengolahan serta garapan ide juga berbeza-beza mengikut konteks masing-masing. Dalam pameran sulung PAKSI, mereka akan menyajikan para audiens dengan kepelbagaian bentukan karya seni namun kesemuanya berpaksikan kepada satu - HARAPAN.

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Lewat beberapa hari yang lepas, saya telah ke Studio Batu Belah, Klang untuk bertemu dan berborak santai bersama tiga orang seniman muda yang menggelarkan mereka PAKSI.. Pertemuan untuk lebih mengenali karya mereka yang dijangkakan mengambil masa beberapa jam menjadi satu pertemuan hampir 6 jam. Banyak perkara yang diborak bersama. Satu sesi sembang seni yang santai namun penuh ilmiah.

Setiap daripada mereka tampil dengan body of works yang sangat menarik namun setiapnya berPAKSIkan kepada satu teras yang sama iaitu HARAPAN. Harapan yang bermaksud sesuatu yang diidam-idamkan atau didambakan, sesuatu yang memang diingini oleh seseorang individu atau kelompok masyarakat. Namun harapan merupakan sesuatu yang bersifat ambigus. Ianya penuh dengan ketidakpastian – ianya boleh menjadi yang terbaik atau sesuatu yang berbeza?

Apakah itu HARAPAN? Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan HARAPAN dan bagaimana harapan itu menggarap kepada pembentukan karya-karya yang dihasilkan oleh ketiga-tiga seniman ini? HARAPAN itu bermaksud sesuatu yang diidamkan atau didambakan. Harapan juga merujuk kepada masa depan yang cerah. Harapan seringkali dihubungkaitkan dengan keindahan, kelangsungan dan kebaikan. Melalui perbualan bersama ketiga-tiga mereka, jelas sekali unsur pengharapan itu wujud – mengharapkan yang terbaik datang dari pameran ini yang semacam satu kelangsungan dalam proses kematangan diri mereka sebagai seorang seniman.

“The goal is to live a full, productive life even with all that ambiguity. No matter what happens, whether the cancer never flares up again or whether you die, the important thing is that the days that you have had you will have lived.” Gilda Radner

Petikan di atas yang di ambil daripada Gilda Radner – seorang pelakon dan ahli komedi yang meninggal dunia akibat kanser ovari – yang tidak putus-putus berharap akan sesuatu yang baik terjadi. Harapan pada hemat saya semacam satu kelangsungan untuk hidup. Setiap malam sebelum kita tidur, pasti kita akan berdoa dan berharap agar kita dijagakan semula di pagi hari. Analogi itu menggambarkan harapan sebagai satu bentuk sisipan kita kepada Tuhan agar kita terus dilangsungkan hidup.

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Kehidupan perlulah dihargai sama ada baik atau buruk. Apabila kita menghargai kehidupan, kemudiannya barulah kita dapat melihat kepada keindahan kematian. Bagaimana kematian itu sendiri ada wujudnya unsur estetika. Itulah yang cuba disampaikan oleh Arikwibowo Amril. Kehidupan perlulah sentiasa dihargai walau baik atau buruk kerana setiap yang wujud itu ada hikmahnya. Dalam melambangkan kepada kehidupan, Arikwibowo memilih untuk menggunakan rerama sebagai subjek. Apa yang menarik mengenai pemilihan subjek ini bukan sahaja disebabkan oleh pembawaan simbolnya tetapi bagaimana objek harian (mundane) – cenderamata rerama – digunakan dalam proses penghasilan karya beliau untuk pameran ini. Melalui penggunaan objek harian (mundane), Arikwibowo cuba memberikan satu refleksi kepada objek harian juga boleh diangkat dan dijadikan sebagai objek seni (objet trouvé)Rerama menurut Arikwibowo merupakan satu makhluk yang cantik namun ianya rapuh begitu juga dengan kecantikan. Ianya tidak kekal dan akan hilang. Rerama seperti yang diketahui mempunyai jangka hayat yang sangat pendek iaitu kurang dari 12 hari jadi bertepatan dengan konsep kecantikan yang akan hilang juga pada akhirnya. Rerama dipilih sebagai satu analogi kepada kecantikan dan dalam pada masa yang sama diasosiasikan kepada kerapuhan. Kecantikan yang rapuh melahirkan satu harapan. Kita sentiasa mengharapkan kecantikan itu untuk terus kekal lama dan tidak pudar sepanjang masa.

Melalui karya Mahu Hidup 100 Tahun Lagi, kecantikan tersebut digambarkan dengan imej rerama di dalam suasana negative dengan unsur cahaya yang samar-samar. Ianya umpama satu harapan yang tidak dapat ditanggapi oleh kita. Di dalam karya ini dapat dilihat penggunaan cermin sebagai objek yang menyokong kepada ide yang cuba disampaikan – refleksi. Melalui penggunaan cermin, audiens dapat melihat refleksi diri mereka dalam samar-samar yang mana menunjukkan harapan itu sesuatu yang ambigus, tidak dapat dikenalpasti secara tepat akan kewujudannya.

“Saya mengunakan cermin sebagai objek untuk melambangkan refleksi di dalam karya saya kerana pada pendapat saya penampilan kita merupakan refleksi diri kita dan cermin juga merupakan sesuatu yang rapuh – dalam konteks karya ini, rapuh menjurus kepada sikap manusia sendiri yang mahu dipuji dan akan merasa kecewa bila dinilai sebaliknya.” (Temubual bersama Arikwibowo Amril)

Mohd Akhir Bin Ahmad atau lebih mesra disapa sebagai Mat Akhir menghasilkan empat (4) buah karya yang berbentuk appropriation. Appropriation bermaksud penggunaan objek atau imejan sedia ada dengan melakukan sedikit perubahan atau tidak. Jika dilihat pada setiap karya Mat Akhir, jelas dapat dilihat penggunaan unsur appropriation dimana beliau menggunakan imej catan yang terdahulu kemudian ditambah atau diwujudkan situasi baharu dan secara tidak langsung mewujudkan makna dan konteks yang baharu mengikut kesesuaian semasa. Mat Akhir menggunakan beberapa catan old master antaranya ialah The Creation of Adam, Ledang dan lain-lain.

“Epal ni bagi aku semacam satu simbol kepada harapan. Malahan peribahasa Inggeris juga ada mengatakan ‘An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.’ Menunjukkan betapa buah epal ni sebagai simbolik kepada harapan. Bagaimana ianya digunakan, adakah ianya (harapan) disia-siakan atau diaplikasikan sepenuhnya.” (temubual bersama Mat Akhir)

Mat Akhir mengangkat epal sebagai subjek dalam body of work untuk pameran kali ini. Epal menjadi representasi kepada harapan. Seringkali kita lihat epal diasosiasikan dengan buah larangan dalam mitos-mitos dan cerita agama. Selain dikaitkan dengan simbol keagamaan, epal juga diangkat sebagai simbol cinta dan seksualiti dalam dunia seni. Ini terbukti dengan penggunaan imej epal di dalam karya seperti Adam and Eve yang menggambarkan epal sebagai buah larangan dalam tradisi agama Kristian. Jika dilihat kepada kisah Adam and Eve, Adam telah memakan sebiji epal (buah larangan) dan kemudian telah dihukum dengan dihantar ke dunia. Adam memakan buah tersebut setelah diberikan harapan oleh Iblis yang mengatakan buah tersebut merupakan buah yang paling sedap di syurga. Selain muncul dalam kitab Bible, epal juga muncul dalam mitologi Greek, Norse dan Celtic yang mana dalam setiap mitologi itu, epal digambarkan sebagai simbol yang mistik dan penuh dengan harapan. Namun Mat Akhir melihat epal sebagai simbol yang berbeza. Ianya dilihat sebagai satu simbol kepada pengharapan. Epal yang seringkali dilihat sebagai satu objek sensual dan mengghairahkan juga rapuh pada zahirnya. Ianya umpama satu simbolik kepada pengharapan dan impian. Adakah harapan itu dipergunakan sepenuhnya atau dipersiakan? Selain menggunakan epal, beliau juga menggunakan subjek figura untuk melambangkan kepada zat kehidupan, kepayahan serta baik dan buruk.

Khairul Arshad menggunakan subjek pokok (tumbuh-tumbuhan) dan bangunan untuk menzahirkan konsep perkembangan atau pembangunan dalam kesemua empat (4) karya beliau. Pokok boleh dilambangkan sebagai tumbuh manakala bangunan sebagai simbol bina. Tumbuh dan bina merupakan kata kunci dalam merungkai karya Khairul yakni pertumbuhan atau pembinaan kepada diri. Tumbuhan dan bangunan; dua entiti berbeza sifatnya namun Khairul Arshad dapat menggabungkan kedua-duanya sekali. Tumbuhan yang sifatnya organik bertentangan dengan bangunan yang bersifat geometrik. Tumbuhan yang sifatnya organik menjadi perlambangan kepada sifat rohani manusia manakala bangunan yang geometrik ialah tubuh fizikal manusia itu. Kedua-duanya bertentangan namun saling memerlukan antara satu sama lain.

“Setiap pagi bila kita bangun pasti kita akan bertanya, apa yang aku nak buat hari ini? Adakah aku akan lakukan sesuatu yang lebih baik dari semalam? Atau aku akan buat macam biasa saja? Persoalan-persoalan ini yang menjadi salah satu kunci kepada karya aku.” (temubual bersama Khairul Arshad)

Pertumbuhan di sini bermaksud menjadi lebih baik daripada sedia ada. Bagaimana seorang individu itu menjadi lebih baik dari semalam dan hari-hari sebelumnya? Selain itu, karya-karya Khairul menegaskan kepada keperibadian seseorang – pendirian, kepercayaan, peluang dan kekuatan.  Khairul menggarap setiap karyanya berdasarkan kehidupan sehariannya dengan menjadikan dirinya sebagai subjek. Self-Landscape melambangkan kepada diri, bagaimana seniman menjadikan diluar kebiasaan dengan menggunakan lanskap sebagai ganti kepada self-portrait. Pada kebiasaannya self-portrait melambangkan kepada sifat-sifat sejadi seseorang melalui riak muka, emosi dan ekspresi namun dalam melihat karyanya ini, ianya lebih kepada perlambangan kepada proses pembinaan dan pertumbuhan diri. Pertumbuhan diri berkait rapat dengan pendirian, nasib dan peluang seseorang. Bagaimana seseorang itu menggunakan setiap peluang yang ada dalam proses pembinaan diri dan menjadi lebih baik pada hari-hari mendatang.

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PAKSI! Apakah itu PAKSI? Adakah ianya merupakan teras atau dasar yang harus diikuti? Atau ianya merujuk kepada garis ufuk yang berada di tengah?Adakah PAKSI yang terbentuk secara tidak sengaja ini merupakan teras atau dasar yang ingin dizahirkan oleh ketiga-tiga seniman muda ini? Adakah ianya titik tengah yang akan menghubungkan Khairul Arshad, Arikwibowo Amril dan Mohd Akhir Ahmad menjadi satu dalam mengharungi dunia seni ini?

Apresiasi Karya; "Ongkos - Shafrizal Fitri Mustapha"

Shafrizal Fitri Mustapha

Ongkos

Mixed Media

21 x 21 inches (2 pieces)

2013

In the artwork done by this artist, we can see the usage of mixed media material. Mixed media tends to refers to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct visual art media.

            Shafrizal Fitri Mustapha uses the image of Ringgit Malaysia One Thousand bank note as the main image using jigsaw puzzle with the support wood chips as the secondary image. Why Shafrizal did used the image of bank note using the jigsaw puzzle? Why can’t he just print it on a piece of paper? Jigsaw puzzle can be associated with ambiguity and uncertainty. First of all I would define ambiguity. What is ambiguity? According to The Free Dictionary by Farlex, ambiguity is something that has doubtful meaning. Other definition from the same dictionary, ambiguity is doubtfulness or uncertainty as regards interpretation.

            What is “Ongkos” as per the title of this artwork? “Ongkos” is an Indonesian term or word that referring to money or cost of living. Shafrizal used the image of bank note to show the costs of living which are nowadays are uprising. He not only uses the bank note as a way to convey the message but he print the Thousand Ringgit Malaysia banknote on a jigsaw puzzle to show the uncertainty of the living cost nowadays. Besides the banknote as the images, Shafrizal also used wood chip as his secondary image. Wood chips can be considered or interpreted as a shelter. Back then wood oftenly used in the making of a house especially in rural area. In “Ongkos” the usage of wood chips can be interpreted as a source of shelter, a place of residence. Shelter as defined by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, “A place to be protected from the natural element.” Shelter is a place where a family live and being protected by natural element as well as a place to stay and being loved and being belong to.

            Money and shelter (home) is two most important things in the world as these two needed by each human being. As stated by Abraham Maslow (1943) in his Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, shelter is one of the basic needs of a human. It is under the physiological needs which are the physical requirement for human survival. 

SPECTRUM

INTRODUCTION

   “Literature is a beautiful way of keeping the imagination alive of visiting worlds you would never have time to in your day-to-day life. It keeps you abreast of a wider spectrum of human activities”. It is a statement by Abraham Varghese about literature affecting us as a human being. Literature in a way is closely related to art. As what Vonnegut had said about art, “… arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable…” Art is something that is important to us as a human being. Art is like a good story, appeals to us as it takes us to wander in wonder. It gives us the chance to explore, feel and see all the experience that the artist experienced in the journey of making an artwork. Through the journey of experiences, audiences will be able to see the spectrum of idea and content of an artwork.

     I remembered a quote by Oscar Wilde on the uniqueness of individuality is shown on an artwork. “A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament.” Each work of art is unique. If they were to be collective, it wills result into a spectrum of ideas that varies from each other yet has one distinctive unity to it. The unity of this uniqueness is known as the “Spectrum”. 

     What is so unique about this exhibition? What is so special about “Spectrum”? Well it is something that intriguing to be talk about yet with an open mind; I jot down a few notes about it. First of all, what is the meaning of “Spectrum”? Why is it the title of this exhibition? A run through of any dictionary will give us the meaning of it. The term spectrum usually associated with optics but has since been applied by analogy outside the topic of optics. “Spectrum “is usually been used to define a broad range of conditions or behaviors that grouped together in order to ease the discussion. The term “Spectrum” also uses to unify a group of unique idea under one theme. Basically the title of this exhibition, “Spectrum” is an idea of unifying the entire artworks exhibit under one theme. It is in accordance to one of the Islamic art philosophy which is “Unity in Diversity”. 

     In “Spectrum” the audiences can see the diversity of artworks that is united under one theme. The theme as I have been told was, "East meet West". The idea first coined at Malacca. It is about how an artist utilizes the western approaches, medium, techniques and merges them with eastern philosophies, ideas, and moralities. In "Spectrum”, the audiences can see the merging of both east and west in an artwork.

     In "Spectrum" one can see the correlation of ideas emerged into one unifying theme and the audiences will also be presented with the idea of, "See One, See All." (Amir, 2014).

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            Each of the artists produce different type of artworks. Some may used different media while some chose different method. So does in this exhibition, “Spectrum”. Every artwork is different than the others. Some of the artists tend to use conventional methods, medium and approaches while some may not. This can be seen in the variety of artworks ranging from the conventional medium; acrylic, canvas, oil paint et cetera. Some opt to use unconventional method; exploring the new media such as paper, video installation and et cetera.

            Each of the artists comes equipped with personal experiences, and their idea or perspective views are often embedded into their artworks. Basyariah Bt Muhd Bukhari or commonly known among friends as Basya is no exception. For this exhibition, Basya revisits her childhood fairytale; Alice in the Wonderland. Her choice of medium to be used is quite extraordinary as well. She used books as her medium to represent her artworks unlike other artists that used canvas to portraying messages for the audiences. Her style differentiates Basya from other artists in this show. She opts to use altered book; a technique that changes a book from its original form into different form; altering its appearance and/or meaning. Other artist that use altered book as his/her technique is Haslin Ismail.

Aishah in the Dreamland. – Basyariah Bt Muhd Bukhari, 50 cm x 80 cm, Mixed Media, 2014

            Alice in Wonderland is a western fairytale that Basya favored for as long as time. First of all, let’s dig deeper into the story of Alice in Wonderland. Why is Alice in Wonderland as the referral subject for the artist? Alice in Wonderland or the originated name was Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, was a fantasy novel written by Lewis Caroll. The novel is a tale that plays with logic, peculiar anthropomorphic creatures; The White Rabbit, The Dodo and such. The story gives the audiences lots of morale value such as be specific, develop your own identity and et cetera. This later proven in Basya’s artworks that she used the morale value in the process of making the artworks.

 The main character for Alice in Wonderland is Alice but Basya did convert the character Alice into Aishah in accordance with the idea of eastern philosophy. The plot started as Aishah who is a curious girl that founded a rabbit thus following it down into a big hole. The character, Aishah is a lot like Basya herself in term of her attitude which is curiosity. In one of her artwork, Aishah in the Dreamlands, Basya recreated a tree, a few characters from the fairytale out of the books. This artwork represents the dreamland that has been searched or imagined by Aishah.

The idea of storytelling in the dreamland setting is highlighted in this artwork with the involvement of certain fantasy character of Alice in the Wonderland such as The White Rabbit, Alice (Aishah), The Dodo and many more. The process of making this piece required the artist to be very keen and sensitive as well as thorough as this piece requires a lot of them. With a closer inspection, the audiences can see that there are few words that were highlighted; responsible, curiosity, brave, and clumsy just to name a few. Each of these words was glued to the characters that represent the attitude. For example, in one of the character that being carved, there is some collage of different adjective such as clumsy, curious and et cetera.

Into the Rabbit Hole! – Basyariah Bt Muhd Bukhari, 90 cm x 105 cm, Mixed Media, 2014

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Jawi Dalam Diri Siri IX – Muhammad Amir Amin Bin Mohd Idris, Variable Dimensions, Video Installation, 2014

The usage of new media is not a foreign thing in the Malaysian art scene because the usage of new media such as video installation has been in Malaysia since the late 80’s and early 90’s. According to Hasnol Jamal Saidon (1989) on the interaction between artists with his/her audiences can be achieved through the use of this new media; video art technique.

Painting or other creative means of expression must be able to communicate, it demands serious commitment from the artist involved, and especially matters concerning the idea, we adapt an open approach to deal with our means of expression. As a result, our idea will not exist in a form of painting but could also be developed and expanded through other forms of art.

According to Julin and Irrje (2003),

Video art nowadays is not necessarily directed specifically to people who are only interested in the arts; instead it is shown to mass audience who are not trained to interpret a specific code to understand contemporary art.

In “Jawi Dalam Diri” a series of artworks inspired by Prof Kang Kyoung Seok; a Korean who is fluently able to speak and write using both Jawi alphabets and Bahasa Melayu. Prof Kang Kyoung Seok inspired the artist to translate the statement of, “Jawi di ambang kepupusan” into a series of artworks (Amir, 2014). For Muhammad Amir Amin Bin Mohd Idris or commonly known as Amir among his colleagues and friends, the usage of new media such as video projection is a part of learning process where as the usage of conventional medium is still relevant as the artist himself painted six other paintings on canvases.

In the works of Amir, the Jawi is the message projected as for the theme with the usage of both conventional and unconventional method. The use of human figure become the primary object as well to emphasize the subject of this artwork which are the symbol of individuality, personality and to bring forth the importance and significance for Malaysia  and Melayu.

The use of new media in the production of an artwork is sometimes necessary in accordance with the shape of the piece. In the production process of Jawi in Yourself IX, the artist uses some software as a replacement to materials like acrylic paint, brushes and so on. Amir has been using some software such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effect and Adobe Flash.

Regarding the usege of the image or subject, the artist has used the figure of himself as a subject in which they are then arranged in overlapping and arbitrarily using the Jawi script. Why the artist did uses figure in his painting? The figures themselves refer to the idea and content of the paper reflects the cultural identity of the nation in which the Jawi is part of our identity.

Jawi Dalam Diri Siri V – Muhammad Amir Amin Bin Mohd Idris, 121 cm x 76 cm, 2014

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Diversity – Ahmad Saiful Nizam B Mohd Sah, 150 cm x 99 cm, Paper Cut Layering with Wooden Box, 2014

Here is an artist that used conventional material and developed it into an unconventional approach. He is Ahmad Saiful Nizam. He used paper art as the approach to represent his idea and theme in which deforestation is the theme which presented in the “Spectrum”. The image of forest, twigs, branches and roots as the subject, Saiful unintentionally brings the irony of his artworks that paper comes from the trees, yet in his artworks, the usage of papers as the main media.

Paper art is a form of art which uses a collection of paper or card as the primary artistic medium to produce three-dimensional works. According to the artist, paper is a material that is often used in art and craft activities. The use of paper as the material allows the artist to explore it in various forms such as folding, cutting, glued, sewing and layered. Paper art deserves a better place in the perspective of the audiences, especially for the ones that knows and appreciate art.­

The Sculpted – Ahmad Saiful Nizam B Mohd Sah, 154 cm x 91 cm, Model Card Layering with Wooden Frame, 2014

            Saiful intended to introduce and highlight the usage of paper art so that the audience somewhere in the matrix of local art scene can enjoy the beauty and intriguing of paper art. Paper cut works also deserve attention because of the long-hauled years of practice around the world, as well as the beauty it is full of.

            Paper art always been looked at as lightly as the audience tend to perceive as it is an easy and invaluable art. The artist tries to educate the audience about the intriguing and intricate process of making this art piece as well as telling the audience that paper art also deserve a much better place in the art scene.

            The composition that the artist used for his artworks deliver a message that such work is intricate and manipulative. There are different layering in each artwork represented itself (the layering) as foreground, mid-ground and background. Each of the pieces needed to be looked at from a far as the audiences will see the image or picture plane the artist tries to show.

*****

                                                

Disordered Mind – Muhammad Shazzil Bin Abd Thoher, 152 cm x 182 cm, Ink on Canvas, 2014

I feel the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiot.

The statement above by Albert Einstein criticizing the youth nowadays regarding the usage of technologies in daily life that will surpass the human interaction with each other. In reality that is what been happening nowadays. The youth are spending time with their friends yet their eyes seem to be locked to their phone’s screen. It is this very concept that has been exploited by Muhammad Shazzil through his artworks. The artworks produced unintentionally criticizing the audiences regarding the situation nowadays.

Based upon the artist point of view, his artworks mainly are about the observation towards the social media culture and how it is becoming a mass culture. The act of uploading their pictures to their respective account can be seen as a way to read or know someone’s characteristic.

The artist used his own figure as the subject for the artworks. The usage of his self is intended to remind the artist as well as the audience about the theme and idea that he want to convey through his artwork.

                                       

Clear Vision – Muhammad Shazzil Bin Abd Thoher, 152 cm x 182 cm, Ink on Canvas, 2014

            Regarding the media used by the artist, the writer can assume that the artist is well taught and familiar with the media and the technique. The media used is ink on canvas while the technique that been applied was stippling. What is stippling? Stippling is a monochromatic technique produces similarly yet distinct from pointillism though the artist used stamp as the tool to produce this technique. The technique was discovered by Giulio Campagnola in about 1510.

*****

The Light from Underwater series – Salimah Bt Maznan, 30 cm x 30 cm (3 pieces), Felt, Threads on Wooden Frame, 2014

The first time I step into this exhibition, I was amaze and awe when I looked at these set of artworks. The technique used was intriguing and intricate to the eyes. Salimah Maznan quite famous among her friends as a girl who is shy yet very diligent in the process of art making.

Each of the artists comes equipped with personal experiences, and their idea or perspective views are often embedded into their artworks. As I mentioned earlier in the writing, each of the artists exhibit in this show; “Spectrum” come equipped with personal experiences, and their idea or perspective views are often can be seen in their artworks. So does Salimah Maznan. Her main image is fish that was stylized. The image of fish was inspired by her earlier experience as the daughter of a fish trader in Kelantan.

She is known for making use felt; a fiber fabric material, into a stunning piece of artwork. By using felt, her artworks can be seen as soft sculpture in term of form yet in term of content; it is still a painting where her idea is about colors as painting. The artist explore the geometry where it is divided into two; 1) geometric plane and 2) solid geometry.

Color and Geometric 1 – Salimah Bt Maznan, 122 cm x 100 cm, Felt and Threads on Wooden Frame, 2014

In Color and Geometric 1, Salimah uses the element and principle of art such as color and repetition in her artworks. The usage of warm and cool colors as well as primary and secondary colors such as red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Most of her artworks use warm and cool colors. By using warm and cool colors, it relates to the color psychology as each of the color has its strong value. For example red color usually associate with bravery, green color usually associate with coolness and calmness.  The element of repetition is seen in her artworks as the fabric she used was to cut into pieces of similar design.

CONCLUSION

In general, it appears that all the artists involved have different ideas, theme and point of perspective; philosophy, social culture, visual perspective, method and approaches but were united under one big theme; “Spectrum”. The artworks exhibited are all beautiful evocative that consists of different approaches ranging from video installation, painting, paper art and many more that appeal to our senses. There is however, one similarity, and that is each of the artists put up a strong visual commentary based on personal point of perspectives, ideas, themes and their journey that embark on a new level as an undergraduate and also an emerging artist.

REFERENCES

Azzad Diah (2013). Awal Hurouf Asal hurouf by Husin Hourmain. Subang Jaya, Selangor: Core Design Gallery Sdn Bhd.

Hasnol Jamal Saidon (1989). Bicara Makna Empat Persepsi. Balai Seni Lukis Negara. Kuala Lumpur: Balai Seni Lukis Negara.

Muhammad Amir Amin. (2014). A Study on the Usage of Jawi and Roman Scripts in Painting. (Dissertation of Bachelor Degree’s academy writing, Universiti Teknologi MARA.). Perak.

Muhammad Amir Amin (2014) Spectrum; Fine Art Degree Show 2014. Seri Iskandar, Perak: Galeri Al-Biruni, UiTM Seri Iskandar.

Julin R. & Irrje H. (2003). Translated by Prof Madya Dr. Muliyadi Mahmood. Beyond Paradise. Penulis, Pelukis dan Moderna Museet. Kuala Lumpur.

Spectrum. (2008). Hawkins J. M. Kamus Dwibahasa Oxford Fajar (p.386, 4^th ed., Vol. 1). Selangor: Vivar Printing Sdn Bhd.

Varghese A. (n.d.). Literature. Retrieved at http://brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/abraham_verghese.html.

Vonnegut K. (n.d.). Art. Retrieved at http://goodreads.com/quotes.html.

Izinkan Aku

Izinkan aku memelukmu erat,
Izinkan aku memegang jemarimu.
Izinkan aku menyeka butir-butir mutiara yang jatuh membasahi pipimu itu,
Izinkan aku mendengar setiap keluhanmu,
Izinkan aku menjadi bahu untuk kau tangisi kala kau bersedih.
Izinkan aku mendampingimu,
menjadi teman kala susah mahupun senang.
Izinkan aku memasuki hatimu sebagaimana kau telah pun memasuki
hatiku.
Aku ingin kau tahu betapa aku menyukai,
Betapa aku mulai jatuh cinta padamu.
Aku mahu kau tahu betapa hati ini membuak-buak
dengan perasaan cinta dan sayang.
Izinkan aku mengapai tanganmu kala kau hampir terjatuh.
Sambutlah huluran tanganku,
Usah kau ragu.
Aku akan tetap di sisimu.
Aku ingin sentiasa bersama kamu,
sungguh andai dua jasad terpisah ribuan batu.
Aku mahu kau tahu, aku sentiasa di sisimu.
Akanku utus surat rindu buatmu saban waktu.
takkan pernah aku biarkan kau sendiri tanpa aku di sisi.
Izinkan aku menjadikan kau ratu hatiku...



p/s baca dengan lagu Sadness and Sorrow - Toshiro Masuda

Tanpa Tajuk

saban malam aku terkenangkan kamu,
terkenang kelunakan suaramu.
terkenangkan manis senyumanmu.
sungguh kita tak pernah bersua muka,
tidak pernah mata bertemu mata.
namun aku tenang sama kamu.
berbual sama kamu,
berbicara sama kamu.
bagaimana kamu mampu membuatkan ku
tersenyum sendiri.
kala jasad kita terpisah ribuan batu,
namun hati ku terasa kau dekat disisiku.
aku mahu kamu.
aku mahu kita bersatu.
dua jiwa menjadi satu.
tanpa ada rasa sangsi.



*p/s cuba sampaikan coretan ini dengan lagu Bleach OST - 19 -Shiro Sagisu - Neverland

Apresiasi Karya; "Dialog Dalaman II : Hembusan Dingin - Zainon Abdullah"

Zainon Abdullah

Dailog Dalaman II : Hembusan Dingin

Acrylic on Canvas

36 x 48 inches

2014

            Artwork inherits the artist’s reflection about the world; which they formed into an object of art based upon the subjective point of view of the artistically expressed objective through their artworks.

In this series of “Dailog Dalaman II” we can see how intimate Zainon Abdullah is. Intimism is “an exploration of the domestic inerior in order to capture light and atmosphere of the moment.” It was practiced principally by Pierre Bonnard and Edouard Vuillard. (Encyclopedia of Britannica)

            Zainon uses the beauty of nature as the main theme for his latest artworks. The artist has found a new form of artwork themed the beauty of nature. (zainonabdullah1.blogspot.com). Based on this set of artworks we can see that Zainon utilized the use of plants (flora) surrounding him. He used taro plant as the subject matter. The repetition of the subject with underlying of colors somehow making it appeared to be ambiguous. He uses pastel color in his artwork to depict the mood surrounding the environment of his studio. The color of this artworks somehow reminiscence me of Rafiee Gahani’s solo show; Perfumed Garden where Rafiee also used bright yet subdued colors impart a peaceful atmosphere to the painting. In some of Zainon’s artwork there is a present of aggressive line that according to the artist himself, the line depicting the wind as he said earlier, “Plant and wind are two nature’s element or the signs of great marvel created by ALLAH SWT.” (zainonabdullah1.blogspot.com)

As I can interpreted on why the usage of taro plant as the subject matter of his series of artwork maybe because of the characteristic of the plant itself as well as the beauty of nature. As we know, taro plant is a plant that has leaves that are waterproof. First of all why the leaves are waterproof? The leaves have cuticle or waxy layer on their epidermis and because of that the leaves are waterproof. When writing this article, I recalled a Malay proverb which taro plant as the main subject, “Bagai mencurah air ke daun keladi.” Which can be defined as to give advice to a person in whom the person never bothers to listen too? 

Apresiasi Karya; "Not a Keyboard Warrior - Azlan Zainal"

Introduction

“The mind is like an umbrella – it functions best when open.” A statement by Walter Gropius about what mind is. Mind is like an umbrella. It functions best when open just like our mind. One needed his mind to be open to take in as much as information, knowledge and etc. he can get.

Art is like a good story, appeals to us as it takes us to wander in wonder. It gives us the chance to explore, feel and see all the experience that the artist experienced in the journey of making an artwork. Through the openness of one’s mind, then only one can see, feel and explore as the artist has intended to in the first place.

“An intellectual is someone whose mind watches it.” As being stated by Albert Camus. A man should be open enough to receive data, information and etc. in order to mature his mind. Be frank, be bold, be open and take all the information and knowledge that was given to you yet you still need not to be naïve or believe everything.   

“Buka Minda” is a group show of few lecturers of Faculty of Art and Design, UiTM Perak. This exhibition entitled “Buka Minda” is a show that consists of various disciplines such as painting, sculpture, ceramic and many more. “Buka Minda” is something that intriguing to be talk about yet with an open mind I jot down a few notes about it. First of all what is the meaning “Buka Minda”? The term can be distinctly divided into two parts which are “Buka” and “Minda”. “Minda” or in English the term can be defined as an entity distinct from the brain. It is a form of energy and it is not an organ. According to the philosopher Karl Popper, mind has three tiers. The first is occupied by things one can see and touch. The second houses the conscious and unconscious states and the third accommodates thoughts and ideas. Mind is something that we usually assume as the seat of thought although no one knows exactly where, since the mind seems to be anywhere but nowhere in particular. The term”Buka” can be translated as open in English. So the theme of this exhibition is Open Mind where the artists’ presents their artworks and the audiences with an open mind receive all the data and information given by the artists. 

Azlan Zainal

Not a Keyboard Warrior

Digital Print & Mixed Media

39' x 30'

2014

          

         The title of this artwork had captured my attention the first time I stood in the gallery for this exhibition, 'Buka Minda'. The usage of urban term such as “Not A Keyboard Warrior” and “Hash Tag” surely make it grew closer to the younger audiences (youth).

            First of all, let’s define what is the meaning of term “Not a Keyboard Warrior”? First let us define what “Keyboard Warrior” is. “Keyboard Warrior” can be defined as a person who being unable to express his/her anger through physical violence (owning to their physical weakness, lack of bravery and/or conviction in real life), instead manifests said emotions through the text-based medium of the internet, usually in the form of aggressive writing that the “Keyboard Warrior” would not (for reasons previously mentioned) be able to give form in real life. (Urban Dictionary, www.urbandictionary.com)  “Not a Keyboard Warrior” can be defined as not being a person that unable to express his/her anger through physical violence.

            Azlan literally used a keyboard as the main object for his artwork making his artwork a literal or direct to the point. As for the background of his artwork, Azlan used adjectives that describe what a non-keyboard warrior's characteristics. For example, 'Respect', 'Ethics', 'Helpful', 'Responsibility', 'Professional', 'Sensible', 'Transparent', 'Positive' and etc. Each of this word written with a 'Hash Tag' in which 'Hash Tag' nowadays is an urban slang. The elements of repetition are seen in these artworks as all the words with ‘Hash Tag’ are organized in a repetitive manner.

            'Hash Tag' is an urban slang in which originated on Twitter but interestingly enough, it is not a Twitter function (TwitterFanZone.com). 'Hash Tag' is simply a way for people to search for tweets that have a common topic and to begin a conversation. (www.urbandictionary.com)

            For me Azlan did successfully deliver his intention which asks us (the audiences) not to be a keyboard warrior. Keyboard warrior as I have stated above is a person which turn into someone else once in front of the computer. Sometimes they irritated people and sometimes do not but most of the time they are pretending and lying to their-selves. Psychologically they wish they were someone else, maybe some cooler, handsome or beautiful but in reality maybe they are not. For some, they are such an insecure person but in front of a computer they are entirely different person.

            In this artwork the artist ask us, to open our mind and find in ourselves, are we a keyboard warrior? Are we the bravest man by expressing our self behind the screen or so call 'shield' of the internet? Be a responsible man, take up the responsibility and correct them, don't just shielding behind the screen and express yourself. Be sensible and have respect to others. This are what a good characteristic a man should possess not the other way round just like what a keyboard warrior usually does; being a hero online yet in reality they are the scaredy-cat.