In this striking and introspective show, Look This Way brings together four artists of contrasting temperaments: Faizal Suhif the ‘Constant Gardener’, Khairudin Zainudin the ‘Plagued Soul’, Anniketyni Madian the ‘Wonder Woman with a Saw’, and newly-anointed ‘Shaded Princess’, Ain Rahman. Art of course, necessitates us to take a very lengthy look; it’s corporeal, with its own balance and solidity and must be reflected upon, revisited, and inspected in the light of its own unique stories. The work of art is encrusted and meshed with allusions to both inner and outer realms that are not just seminal — everything possesses a transcendent effect.
The representation of plants in art is certainly well and thriving. Located at the corner of the gallery, Faizal Suhif’s monoprint/ oil on canvas Sebenih and installation The Roots of Me creates a brilliant sense of drama. The painting on the rust-hued wall, of a solitary seed fractured and fragmented and waiting impatiently to burst into life, mirrors the life of the artist to perfection.
In his own words: “This piece is a road of self-discovery inspired by my father’s own life experiences; working on his land, planting vegetables and palm trees. Our land begins fertile, opulent and full of hope. It is very much like our own existence. My father always says that ‘life is short like vegetables’ but we must never wallow in its ephemeralness; we must instead do as much as we can to be joyful, to be true to ourselves.”
At the base of Sebenih’s grainy haze is Faizal’s environmental installation The Roots of Me. Here is where his earth’s heart beats. Sprouting marvelously-wild, the shapes of his plants are eddying, surging and redolent of a warm breeze and the swelling seas. He alternates and coils the materials, distending it within the precincts allocated. The result? His work becomes just as much a progression and a real-time happening.
His distinctive aptitude of perceiving plants gives The Roots of Me an electrifying, modern form. And after seeing too many works imbedded in dispiritedness, it’s refreshing to see an artist embracing consciences. The humble seed is now a collective reminder of everything that’s virtuous.
Khairudin Zainudin’s Tribute to Uncertainty of Mind hangs desolate in solitary confinement; done on purpose to further play up the work’s heavy subject. It’s political distress. It’s a foggy milieu of glum observers and imprisons the racial divisions entangling the nation; a crepuscular revelation of the country at its most tempestuous political and social instances. Each of the persons staring dolefully at us is a manifestation of the artist.
The painting’s nocturnal hissings depict deep confusion and perhaps, simmering rage. Their strangely contradicting silent-blaring expressions seem a vain effort at communication. Khairudin observes: “We live in such uncertain times, no one really knows what is happening. No one really knows what to do. It is chaos. It is terrifying.” Tribute to Uncertainty of Mind is a shrewd and visceral portrayal of our times, the powerful image carrying an eternal sense of people in limbo, exiled and abject.
More exciting canvas
Anniketyni Madian’s offerings are always amazing and just wonderful to look at. The Sarawakian artist continues to excite the local art scene with her wood sculpture works. Inimitable, spirited and optically-striking; her figures are epithets of her fierce loyalty to her inherent culture. The Pua Kumbu motifs play a large role in most of her works, but for Look This Way, the artist surprises us with an installation completely out of her comfort zone. She says: “This installation is about my journey in the art industry. I see so many opportunities which I must continue to explore. The art industry is unforgiving but I still survive doing it my own way. People, I hope, will see that I can do other things besides wood sculptures. Intuition is an indicator of my inner melees; it is incredibly difficult being in a ‘world’ dominated by men. “
Intuition is a potpourri of polyester and potted mini plants held up by a wood stand. Utilising white polyester to represent solid clouds, the artists curls and pleats the materials all the way to the ceiling, fashioning the perfect storm which is emblematic of her own distresses. There’s a kind of discomforting intimacy in this work, as although her clouds imply a sense of burgeoning freedom, they also lean towards a sickening awareness that everything is transitory. This is an artist who understands what it means to feel perennially oppressed and isn’t afraid to show it.
Ain Rahman’s True Colours I and II is a cavernous expose of the artist’s soul. Rendered in compressed soft charcoal on canvas, the paintings are a vaporous white/ black miasma violated by darkness. The 23-year-old ponders; “True colours is who you are, everyone has their own ‘true colours’. So here I am, crafting stories in compressed soft charcoal and several types of erasers on selective surfaces of canvas to create both positive and negative spaces through rubbing via additive and subtractive techniques. I love everything unicoloured; it’s how I view the world. Just like black, which is always depicted in negative light, we think of charcoal as dull material. In these paintings, I want to show that charcoal is actually valuable because the fact is, it has a liberating effect. Also, in these two works, I want to inspire young people to be courageous and let your true hues shine even when you are in the darkest stages of life.”
Come closer, even closer and notice that True Colours I and II are actually self-portraits. The artist focuses on her own eyes as her subject matter. Each use of the wateriest values of black to grey to ashen white denotes the cleaved eyes which is simultaneously commanding and subtle. Her downcast eyes framed by lush ebony lashes, she tells the age-old stories of nightmares and dreamscapes. Meanwhile, the glittering orbs permeating her canvas signifies her hopes of a better tomorrow.
There’s some very clever splicing here; and Ain, whether deliberately or otherwise, has somehow pulled off a glamorously-melancholic androgynous work which disturbs and arouses. This newcomer is naturally-gifted, and given a few more years, we dare say Ain Rahman may very well be a force to be reckoned with.
Look This Way is a melange of methodological complexities and sentimental brazenness. It implores audiences to react, to look at both beauty and entropy in ‘ravenous’ ways. These four superb artists articulate their spirits and moods in clashing yet oddly-harmonious styles; and the idea here is to strip us of our own securities.
And in the spirit of Look This Way and that though things may be deplorable, faith is crucial as we immerse ourselves in this beautiful prose by Emily Dickinson, Hope Is A Strange Invention.
Hope is a strange invention
A Patent of the heart
In unremitting action
Of this electric Adjunct
Not anything is known
But its unique momentum
Yet never wearing out
Embellish all we own
What: Look This Way
When: Until Nov 14
Where: Valette Gallery, 52 Jalan Doraisamy, The Row, 54-01-01, KL
Tel: (+60)19 901 3101