ONE of the three grand prize winners of Upstart ’04: The Nokia Creative Arts Awards, Norhaslinda Nordin is holding a solo show entitled Temporary at ARTrageously RamsayOng Art Gallery till Oct 2. A total of 17 works, completed over a period of a year, are on display.

The exhibition is part of the Upstart-The Nokia Creative Arts Programme, an initiative by Nokia Malaysia since 1999 to nurture young talents and to create a space for students to explore the possibilities that a future in the arts might bring.

Norhaslinda, 23, said Temporary focuses on the transient nature of things, where a subject constantly changes in look and shape.

"A current item, through the passing of time, becomes obsolete eventually. The obsolete may be forgotten or it may be nostalgically remembered," said the final-year Bachelor of Fine Arts student at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

Her subject in Temporary are old cars — the Volvo, Opel, Morris Minor and the classic Volkswagen Beetle in muted colours of beiges, off-whites, siennas and ochres. However, the strong lines coupled with Norhaslinda’s attention to details give a sense of timelessness and masculinity to the subjects.

Journey, the work that clinched the Upstart ’04: The Nokia Creative Arts Awards grand prize for Norhaslinda, shows the Jalur Gemilang on a pole amidst images of rickety bicycles — a metaphor to highlight the passage of time the nation faces in order to progress.

"I happened to pass by an old car one day and was attracted to it because it was a rare object to me. I took some pictures and decided to paint it," said Norhaslinda, on her inspiration for Temporary.

Admission is free.

Call 03-2141-2566.