Step into the Ilham Art Show 2002 and you may be greeted by the sight of a white Roman pillar on its aspect, a flock of flying black roosters and a stylised rubber plantation within the background.
Many of the artworks seen at Ilham Gallery in Kuala Lumpur are enormous items – in reality, Samsudin Wahab’s blended media work Ibu-Pegun (Mother-Still), which is a large coconut coir head, even spills past the doorway of the gallery.
If you wanted affirmation, Malaysian contemporary art is in impolite well being right here.
The inaugural Ilham Art Show options the works of 31 artists chosen from 360 functions in response to an open name final 12 months.
“During the pandemic, when we were all working from home and all of our museums and galleries were shut, it was a time of reflection when we asked ourselves how at a time like this, could we as an institutional gallery support artists in Malaysia in a meaningful way. it felt more important than ever to introduce a programme that would support contemporary artists and stimulate public discussion in Malaysia,” says Rahel Joseph, director of Ilham Gallery.
The Ilham Art Show is an initiative that encourages the making of latest work, significantly work that’s experimental, or the type of work that artists might not have had the chance to do earlier than. Each artist obtained a manufacturing grant.
“In order to have a dynamic art scene, we need to support artists who may be working outside the conventions of the private gallery system, and support deeper critical engagement. With the Ilham Art Show, we wanted to also expand our reach and make it more exciting by making it an open call.
Young artist Mimi Aslinda’s ‘Aiyier Di Aiyier Tarjun Lambah Anai Taruih Mangalier (Air Di Air Terjun Lembah Anai Terus Mengalir)’ installation (fabric, 2022). Photo: The Star/Low Lay Phon
“And we are so glad we did because we would not have had young artists like Mimi Aslinda, who just graduated from art school, or Tan Kian Ming, who has never exhibited in Malaysia before, if we had not,” says Joseph.
On the gallery ground, guests can sit up for a numerous exhibit, together with work, installations, textile-based works, video and sound art.
There are established artists like Chang Yoong Chia, Azizan Paiman, Ivan Lam, Sharon Chin, Samsudin Wahab and Haffendi Anuar, exhibiting alongside rising artists and collectives who incorporate conventional craft and rituals of their art work.
“By embracing such a diverse group of practitioners, we can create a more equitable public understanding of art and artists.
“Among those selected include the Kumpulan Ukir Kite’ Kelab Kebudayaan Mah Meri, whose work Hatat Yut comprising a sampan carved out of nyireh batu wood, centres around a traditional healing ritual to ‘send off’ the Covid-19 virus – a very contemporary issue that has plagued our world for the last two years,” factors out Joseph.
The Ilham Art Show can also be the gallery’s first open name exhibition.
The choice panel included Rahel; Zoe Butt, the previous inventive director of The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre in Vietnam; and Shabbir Hussain Mustafa, senior curator on the National Gallery Singapore – in order to incorporate a regional perspective.
Visitors collect to view Azzaha Ibrahim’s ‘After Monsoon’ (single channel video, 2022) art work ‘wall’. Photo: The Star/Low Lay Phon
The staff visited the artists at their studios over the past 12 months to see how the works have been growing and what kind of technical assist was required.
“The studio visits gave us more insight into the works and how they could all be in conversation with each other when planning the exhibition layout. It was wonderful to travel all over the country to see the artists in their studios and discuss their works, although the flood situation as well as the resurgence of Covid-19 in February forced us to have some of the visits online. We left every studio visit feeling excited and energised, completely blown away by the quality of the work,” says Joseph.
The public has additionally responded positively to the Ilham Art Show, particularly with 1,550 guests recorded throughout the present’s opening weekend in May. It was Ilham Gallery’s highest opening attendance, which clearly exhibits the lots are able to expertise and interact with Malaysian art in a significant means.
Discovering untold tales
Joseph is simply as happy with the result of the present, describing the works as daring and thought-provoking.
“The works did not just meet our expectations, they exceeded it. Every single work in this exhibition is rich and complex. For instance, (Tan) Kian Ming created a life-sized sculpture of his great-grandfather’s tombstone made only of aluminium foil. It is quite spectacular and despite its material, actually feels ‘heavy’.
“Leon Leong has installed a wooden house in the gallery with seven paintings done in the form of the Indo-Persian miniature style, which depict the history of Kampung Baru (in KL). We have a wonderful video by Eddie Wong which tells the story of his grandfather who disappeared during the Communist insurgency in Malaya. It is a fascinating narrative and Eddie’s video combines his family history with the larger history of the nation.
Chang Yoong Chia’s batik painting installation ‘A Leaf Through History: Family Tree.’ Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani
“Chang Yoong Chia has made 28 batik paintings which depict the history of rubber plantations in Malaysia. The paintings are incredibly powerful, basically the story of Malaysia’s economic and agricultural development as well as the story of migration and labour,” she notes.
In the gallery, Chang’s A Leaf Through History: Family Tree collection is organized to evoke the sensation of standing in a rubber plantation and looking out in direction of the rows and columns of uniform rubber bushes.
The set up includes 4 rows of seven particular person batik fabric hanging from the ceiling and virtually touching the ground, with the best row positioned near the wall and the bottom close to the viewer.
“On each cloth is an image of a rubber tree which is also human. So when the viewer looks at the artwork, it is as if there are 28 rubber trees looking back at him, uniformed yet individualistic,” says Chang, who has been growing the talents and concepts for a batik collection with plant motifs for practically two years.
“It is a difficult medium to work with because it involves a lot of processes and there is a lot of waiting time, for the chemical to fix the dye onto the cloth or to wait for a sunny day because wax doesn’t stick properly onto the cloth on a humid, rainy day. Making batik helps me be more attuned to the weather. I am also interested that it has so much connotation with our national identity.
“Usually the patterns on our batik cloth consist of local floral motifs. I wanted to explore another category of floral motifs that are very important to Malaysia, which is the cash crops, as a way to understand the history of plantations in this country, and maybe ourselves even more. So I started with the rubber tree as a motif because Malaysia was once the largest natural rubber producer in the world,” he provides.
A Leaf Through History: Family Tree is Chang’s first main batik collection and the primary to be proven in Malaysia.
“Here I try to express that people who worked as rubber tappers have their own stories to tell but are often neglected or forgotten. I reference turning points in history (such as the Japanese Occupation in Malaya) in the hope to shed light on how these events affected the lives of rubber tappers,” he says.
Leon Leong’s ‘Stilt Houses – The Floating World Of Kampung Baru’ includes seven miniature work introduced in a wood construction titled ‘Stilt House No. 1’. Photo: The Star/Low Lay Phon
As for Leong’s Stilt Houses – The Floating World Of Kampung Baru, this wood construction is a nod to indigenous structure and a tribute to the ingenuity of the tanggam interlocking timber jointing approach.
Kampung Baru, a small settlement in Kuala Lumpur, was based on the flip of the twentieth century. Today, many view it as a romantic image of a “simpler kampung life”, a quaint village juxtaposed in opposition to the town’s skyscrapers.
Now gazetted for re-development, a Malay Heritage Park has been proposed the place 11 wood stilt properties might be conserved.
Over the previous 12 months, Leong spent a few months residing and doing analysis for his art work in Kampung Baru.
“Kampung Baru is a fascinating place, steeped in history and full of heritage. As it might change significantly if the proposed mega redevelopment plan happens, I wanted to know more about it now, and perhaps to document and share to others. Beyond the locality, this project is also a meditation of change, and how we manage (or straddle the right balance) between old and new. In a way, the ‘existential angst’ of modern man?” says Leong.
Seven miniature work are introduced on his wood construction, coming collectively to chronicle the historical past and sociocultural significance of Kampung Baru, and the monumental adjustments it faces at this essential juncture.
Connected to actuality
Azizan Paiman’s sculptural art work ALP, which showcases 222 bottles of saliva in a “mobile ventilator” cabinet, speaks to the social and political problems with our time.
“At a time of outbreak and isolation, it probably wasn’t a good idea to undertake such a heavy going artwork. Jiwa saya terganggu (my soul was very disturbed) back then, but when I got the chance to participate in this Ilham show, I decided to face down the anxieties associated with the pandemic, as well as approach the angst of political turmoil that have been roiling in recent years, in a different way,” says Azizan, who collaborated with a few assistants to grasp the ALP set up.
Visitors taking a nearer take a look at Azizan Paiman’s ‘ALP’ (blended media, 2022) set up. Photo: The Star/Low Lay Phon
“So many people have had to deal with huge changes, the world has become ever more volatile I just didn’t want to add an ‘aggressive’ work to the exhibition.
“ALP has many elements in it, with references to history, fiction, social structures, humour, power play, disturbing headlines yet it also connects to the mood of the times, where compassion and empathy have been showing people a more hopeful path ahead.
“It’s really up to the individual to read into things. To me, ALP is a rather calm and more conversational piece, and maybe, just maybe, I’m embracing the mellowness of age,” he provides jokingly.
At 52, Azizan is the oldest artist collaborating on this exhibition at Ilham Gallery.
Rahel reckons that guests can spend at the very least two hours within the gallery, as there may be a lot to see and expertise. There are wall texts with the artist statements accessible and for further studying materials on the artists, head to the gallery’s web site.
“With the majority of discussions about art revolving around sales and art fairs and auctions, it can sometimes feel like art is just reduced to a commodity, when in reality, the value of art is more than just a monetary one.
“I think it is vitally important that we provide space for artists to make work that pushes the envelope. There are works in the show that do not shy away from dealing with challenging subjects, from contestations of history to death in custody. I hope when audiences visit the Ilham Art Show, they will conceive of a group that extends far beyond artists whose works reach a certain figure. I hope this exhibition will also inspire younger artists,” she concludes.
Ilham Art Show 2022 is on at Ilham Gallery, Jalan Binjai in Kuala Lumpur until Oct 23. Free admission. More data here.
