LIGHTWEIGHT Heavyweight, an exhibition by Noor Azizan Rahman Paiman aka Paiman and Roslisham Ismail aka Ise, is representative of the use of lightweight paper as a base for their drawings and the heavyweight social and personal issues expressed through their work.

Paiman’s works, entitled "The Code" series, are of surreal figures and images, drawn from his imagination. Through random scouring of newspapers, magazines and other forms of media, he has taken interesting quotes and statements and incorporated them into his works.

"My work consists of many facets such as images and texts which I believe make ordinary everyday life extraordinary. "The Code" is a series of artworks which give an open-ended experience to the audience which I hope will make us more concerned about our past and what we have been through," said Paiman.

Well-known for his works on social commentary, Paiman has been the recipient of many awards including a major award at the 2002 Young Contemporary Competition, an Honourable Mention award at the 1995 and 1997 Phillip Morris Group of Companies Malaysian Art Awards as well as the Pearson Lowe Prize at the Royal Overseas League Competition in London in 1996 for his "Fake IC" piece.

He is currently teaching full-time at the Fine Arts Department of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Seri Iskandar, Perak and has exhibited extensively in Malaysia and overseas.

Ise’s works are representative of his personal life. His drawings are a visual diary of his experiences, fears, joys, significant events, etc. He is represented by his alter-ego, a robot. This robot is usually accompanied by his faithful companion, a robotic dog.

Together they go through many journeys and discoveries. All the moments are captured in his works. Aside from his drawings, Ise will also showcase his animation videos and his limited edition books.

Ise has exhibited extensively since 1991. He has received many awards including an Honourable Mention award at the 2003 Phillip Morris Group of Companies Malaysian Art Awards and a Special Mention Award at the 2000 Young Contemporary Competition. He was also awarded artist residencies at the Khoj International Artist Workshop in New Delhi, India and also with RuangRupa in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Mohd Rashad Suhaimi is the young guest artist who was invited by Paiman and Ise to exhibit his works. They saw a kindred spirit in Rashad when they first saw his drawings of Ultraman, monsters, the experiences in his life as an eight-year-old and the prominent images derived from his imagination. In his own way, his works complement his fellow artists’ works. This will be Rashad’s first exhibition.

Lightweight Heavyweight is currently on at Galeri Seni Maya until April 24. The exhibition is curated by Nur Hanim Mohd Khairuddin, an artist herself and also the curator of Yayasan Kesenian Perak (Perak Arts Foundation).

Venue: Galeri Seni Maya, 12, 1st floor, Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur. It is open from Tuesday to Friday (11am-7pm), Saturday and Sunday (noon-6pm) and is closed on Mondays and public holidays. Admission is free. Call 03-2282-2069 or e-mail maya@mayagallery.com.my.