Abdullah Jones sings his personal blues in his startling debut exhibition, writes Sarah NH Vogeler
Min
Aku ini punya hati
Yang aku bimbang akan mati
Min
My heart
I fear, is dying
The artist‘s poem from his collection Sajak-Sajak Suci (first print 2002) perhaps best condenses his entire body of work. Kuantan-based self-taught artist Abdullah Jones‘ (AJ) Blues Malaya is his first solo, comprising 24 canvases of intense commentaries on current/ past socio/ political concerns.
He loves his country, which is painfully obvious. He is “tortured“ by what is plaguing the world, and throughout the interview, he says little. What needed saying is all there, inscribed on the walls. He is exhausted, but that subtle glint in his eyes suggests a degree of satisfaction that he has given it all for Blues Malaya.
Gallery directors Fuad Salleh and Azhar Ahmad are in unison when they express: “AJ first showed with us in a group show, Benchmark. What‘s interesting about Blues Malaya is that being a poet, he puts all of that into his works. There is that level of maturity evident in the way he expresses himself. He speaks of patriotism, social media, the disguise of neutrality. He talks about things considered taboo with such depth and empathy. He uses sock puppets as a tool of communication and in that sense we see that even in these dire times, AJ is still able to laugh at himself. He is a patriot, he loves his country, even if she is not, beautiful‘.“
Blues Malaya is witty, sarcastic, and emphatic. It is political in the logic that it engrosses us because in some way, we become swayed by it. Several of the works voice more openly disquiet involving human rights, exploitation, and the dispersal of class, affluence or control. These are not pretty subjects, and they make for grim viewing. Some of his messages are direct, others elusive. It all looks and feels complicated, but that‘s symptomatic of this culturally mystifying times we now face.
AJ observes: “There‘s a little Judas in all of us. It‘s greed. We can‘t help ourselves. These are seriously disturbing times. Things must change. How we do it is entirely up to us.“
One of his works, which stands out is Tutup Tapi Buka (Close but Open), a hilarious look at how we share details of our lives with the world, where little is secret and sacred. The subject matter is emptied and hollowed-out. This “show-and-tell” attitude has become normal, demanded even, and you are considered a leper for not owning, say, a Facebook page. Scary times, yes, when you have this uncontrollable urge to let everyone know where you had dinner last night and with whom.
AJ is clever at harmonising the stinging with the blase, melding variegated art with social observations that make his works strangely appetising. Some are antagonistically political, but circumvented from being distasteful purely through the spirited and animated landscape of their arrangements, making scrutiny of political leitmotifs as relaxed, and a cerebral pleasure. His self-critical works simply works.
He has, for the last decade, operated Rajawali Art Studio, an independent art space supporting budding artists and making possible chances for the art practices of artists to be seen and heard. A visit, perhaps, is due.
The artist
BORN in Kuantan, Pahang, in April 1964, where he continues to reside, Abdullah Jones’ socially active position is manifest both in his artistic practice as well as his key involvement in the artist-run space Rajawali Art Studio.
Themes of patriotism, self-critique, and social critique recur throughout his portfolio of artworks, which have received critical recognition both in Malaysia and abroad. Abdullah‘s interest in social discourse is embodied through several multi-disciplinary formats, including writing, which he engages in both conceptually as a poet and from an observational standpoint with short stories.
In 2016 he published two collections of past writings: Sajak Sajak Suci, a collection of poems from 2002 to 2015, and Hikayat, a collection of short stories documenting the everyday.
Locally Abdullah has presented work at several exhibitions such as Gabung at Pahang State Art Gallery and Saudagar Cinta at Pahang State Art Museum, T!GA (2014) at National Gallery Kuala Lumpur, Benchmark (2016) at Artcube Gallery and Love Me and My Batik (2016) at Ilham Gallery.
Internationally, he has participated in events such as Un-Cut at Gallery Shambala in Copenhagen, The Outsider Art at Octane Photographic Studio/Gallery in Ferndale, Minnesota, and most recently, BATIK: Expression of Identities at Chinese Cultural Centre Museum, Vancouver, Canada in 2016.
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Blues Malaya
When: Until March 26, 2017
Where: ARTCUBE, 3-10 & 3-13, level 3, Intermark Mall, The Intermark, 348 Jalan Tun Razak, KL
Monday - Friday 11am to 8pm
Saturday & Sunday 12pm to 6pm
www.artcube.com.my