Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Dimension: 80cm X 80cm
Artist: Ahmad Shukri Mohamed the Matahati Group
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My 1st art acquisition, an approx 80cm X 80cm oil/acrylic on canvas entitled Burning Forest, by leading Malaysian contemporary visual artist, Ahmad Shukri Mohamed from the Matahati Group on 21 December 2012 - a Mayan dooms day - How appropriate considering that it is a burning forest painting!. As a gesture of art appreciation, I showed Shukri my own oil on canvas work (The Trio). His only comment was "You are a Pop-Surrealist artist". Not sure to what extent was his sincerity but it was good enough that he did not say anything negative, even if he was just being polite or patronising.
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Dimension: 25cm X 25cm
Artist: Yusof "Gajah"
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My 2nd art acquisition, an approx 25cm X 25cm acrylic on canvas from the Circle Series by a well known Malaysian Naive Art painter, Yusof "Gajah". There were actually many pieces for this series but unfortunately, there was no account of the sequence to which this piece fit into the series. Hence #?
Title: In the Name of Allah / Dengan Nama Allah
Medium: Bitumen/Acrylic on Canvas
Dimension: 76cm X 38cm
Artist: Hamir Soib from Gudang Kuang
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The only words that came out from my mouth was, "Shape gitar siap ada strap tu yang tak tahan tu..." Magnificent piece, really. I asked him (Hamir), "Bro, mana lu punya signature?" He replied, "Oh! ada kat belakang. Bila ayat Quran saja, aku segan nak taruk nama kat depan, sebab kita ni hanya 'wakil' Dia." Fair enough, but no worries, even without his signature, the strokes themselves have 'Hamir' written all over it. This is worthy of a 3rd acquisition.
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Dimension: 153cm X 107cm
Artist: Md. Fadli Yusoff
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On 29 Jan 2013, Sooshie (Art Space 12) at White Box Publika showcased a solo exhibition for a Malaysian contemporary artist, Md. Fadli Yusoff. When asked, "Kau tak takut ke orang cakap kau male chauvinist because of this piece?" He (Fadli) said, "Oh kalau ada yg marah, maknanya dah tercapai hasrat aku dengan piece ni." Because of the poetic subliminal message, why not make this the 4th acquisition?
Medium: Mixed Media
Dimension: 120cm X 180cm
Artist: Nizam Rahmat of Garaj
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Recently, I met Nizam Rahmat for coffee at Uncle Don, Plaza Damas. We talked about art especially on the recent solo show done by Md. Fadli Yusoff via Shoosie's Art Space 12 at White Box. Coincidentally, his wife, a TV announcer at RTM, had just interviewed me on live broadcasted TV show on the subject matter 'art' (as well). I asked him, "Why do you do pop art?" He said, "I have passed the excitement of doing all other genre. My time is pop art now." I disagreed with him. I said, "Bro, you shouldn't abandon genres that may still be in demand. Many new collectors in the recent times prefer genres other than pop. For example the Malays, or the Muslims, they want contemporary mystical Islamic art. Even if not Islamic in its true sense, a mere Jawi is enough to have the Islamic attraction." Later, after a week or so, Nizam did something. I'm not sure whether he actually went to his studio to do a new piece or simply went through his personal collection to pull out his own work of 'Islamic' genre. He introduced me to Jannah dated 2013, his mixed media work to manifest paradise. 'Jannah' is an Islamic conception of paradise. In Arabic 'Jannah' is a shortened version of the meaning 'Garden'. And so it is then. Paradise, for a 5th acquisition. Nizam could only say, "Bro, you inspired me to restart doing Islamic art."
When asked what do I think of the Malaysian artists, I have always replied back with an urgent message of supporting them by saying, "Berilah seniman suatu kelainan, suatu taraf apresasi; dan suatu maruah sanjungan", which means: Give artists some differentiation, a level of appreciation; and a dignified celeration.
* Johan Ishak
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