by Syed Muhd. Hafiz

The juxtaposition of Ahmad Zakii’s latest series of works, Being and Pramuhendra’s Spacing Identities within the NUS Museum programme continues to facilitate critical insights into Southeast Asian contemporary art.

By ARTERI

M.A.D dares to deliver the dangerous ddddddd D! The next installment in our Malaysian Art Dictionary. Come and join in the fun la.

by Simon Soon

Paiman’s drawing installation begins with the discipline of a daily exercise, routinely selecting a verbatim from a published mainstream media source that would best represent the political development of the day. He then types them on the entry page of the appropriate date from an Islamic diary and pairs them with a doodle of his mutant comic figures that are largely devoid of any political commentary.

By Eva McGovern

How aware are we of the influences of State urban planning on the creation of identity? Like it or not the positioning of infrastructure – housing, hospitals, schools, transport and government networks all inform individual and public consciousness. Where we live, where children go to school, where we shop and who we do all of this with is a carefully crafted construct designed by public and private individuals.

by Sharon Chin & Zedeck Siew

Messrs Fahmi Chin, Sharon Siew, and Zedeck Fadzil respectfully present Assembly Yr Own Story, a romp of Literary Genius and Artistic Magic. Mix and Match from 28 Hand-Crafted pages of Thematically Linked text and illustration to Construct Your Own Narrative! It’s got Extraterrestrial Encounters, Wildly Uninhibited Passion, and Socially Engaged Iconography! Simply Amazing!

by Sharon Chin

Catching Sculpture Studies: 3d to 2d at Pelita Hati House of Art reminded me of how fundamental the process of drawing is to all disciplines. The exhibition collects together a big range of drawings, or studies, from contemporary Malaysian sculptors. The idea of the exhibition itself must be commended. Compared to painting, much less attention has been given to Malaysian sculpture.

by Tunyaporn Hongtong

It has come to a point where I’m not sure if this exhibition is recognised solely as a platform for promoting the works of new Thai artists or that there’s an expectation that these artists would soon join the ranks of their predecessors to become the hot new thing in Thailand’s contemporary art scene. After all, the exhibtion is known to be a launch pad for the career of some of Thailand’s most well-known contemporary artists (Arin Roongjang, Porntaweesak Rimsakul, Yuree Kensakoo etc.). Reflecting on this, I reckon it does work both ways. And actually… why waste time doubting it anyway? It’s a good art project when you get right down to it.

By June Yap

Zai Kuning’s practice is multidisciplinary, producing works ranging from drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, to film, music, dance, poetry and writing. His works are remarkable in their weighty simplicity. In A Tree in a Room (2004) at Sculpture Square, audiences were confronted with a large tree trunk that overwhelmed the Chapel Gallery space with its presence. Lying on its side upon the floor, the cut made across its middle at the sawmill from which it was obtained stitched together by wire – the visceral stitches at once poignant and hopeful. His works may be read as open dialogues with his audiences, whether inscribed in music, dance performances, films, drawings or discussions. A work that began in 1999 involves his documentation of his experiences of the Riau Archipelago, its history and people, in particular the Mak Yong, a local performance of folk theatre argued to have been developed by the Orang Laut. His film on the Mak Yong was screened at the Asian Film Symposium in Singapore in 2004 and was presented at the 3rd Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale.

by Bernice Chauly

This series of ink drawings called Metamorphosis was created in the freezing winter month of November 1987 in Winnipeg, Canada. I was studying TESL and English Literature at the U of W and was then living in a house on Walnut Street (we dubbed it the Nut House) as it comprised of painter Robert Reimer, jewellery artist Aliza Amihude, her boyfriend Doug, Elena Feldman, a fellow writer whose name fails me, artist Tim Bremser and myself. This is the only series of drawings I’ve ever produced.