A Curatorial Note: A Place Called Home

How I wish the lady in red look back and wink to the audience. Any subtle gestural movement will make it interesting. This thought run in my mind back in 2002 when I stand and contemplated upon Hoessein Enas’s Memetik Daun Tembakau.

Hoessein Enas's Memetik Daun Tembakau

Then in 2008, when I flipped Susurmasa’s catalog, Zabas wrote something that strikes me -

Art history, production and experience that we want to conceive significantly must be approached broadly, taking into consideration whatever could be related to and connected with them (audience) – wherever possible[1].

The audience and the artwork must be connected, just like how we line up for cinema tickets, popcorn and transported from the grim reality to the celluloid fantasy for good one hour or two.       

Looking back it can be same reason or motivation why we attend any “ART” exhibition. The problem is, we don’t pay anything to attend an art exhibit, but we invest TIME in attending it. Mind you we can’t buy TIME back.

So we need something to take away.

We need a catharsis.

In 2017, my wishful thinking came true when selected paintings belongs to Balai Seni Negara go alive. The static visuals moves, we shared it to everyone in the social media and now, all of these moving images placed together to present a narrative that is based on writings by Dr Mohd Najib Dawa.

Since 1999, I have the opportunity to engage with Dr Mohd Najib Dawa ( now Dato and Prof ) termed as “ngopi session”, This exhibit is one of the result from the “ngopi” session.

How to know and engaged in culture where the society no longer practice them, we see people have keris on the hips like those jedi’s in Star Wars. Keris now turned as a deco on the wall. It’s unfortunate seeing how cultural artefacts that is alive now turned to museum display pieces complemented with DO NOT TOUCH warning note, turned to text in PhD writings or worst stored away in the university archives, collecting dust.

Ismail Zain called called it “permuzium budaya”[2].

It’s the same issue here.

How to make the collection of Balai Seni Negara to be relevant to current age, where our language, culture now infused with technology? How to make a painting of a kampung house relevant and engage with audience who are now in the age of Elon Musk’s automated landing rocket ship.

Everybody is busy finding ways to Mars. 

We in the 21^st century.

It’s important to know and be aware that every idea, forms and functions of art itself must encounter uncertainties, interpretation and reinventions. We communicate now with videos, gifts and memes. How can paintings, sculptures or mixed media works from 50’s, 70’s and 80’s stand thru  test of time.

One of the many possibilities lies in the Remix Theory[3]. 

This exhibit A Place Called Home here shows of one of the many possible ways and treatment. The keyword here is getting a relevant story and some twist to the existing collection.  The writing by Dr.Najib is treated like a short film script, editing the paintings and sculptures like a storyboard. A story about tradition and a place which we lived, breathe in – our country.

Our HOME.

We hope everyone from all ages and background able experience and most importantly enjoy it. 

Sincerely

Anderson Ee

Guest Curator

April 2018

Occasionally lectures in the field of media/film/cultural studies and visual and art history, his documentary An Ordinary Needle won first prize in the Southeast Asia Festival of Photos, Documentary and Reportage in Vietnam in 2010. The Conversation, his experimental documentary was selected in the non-competition screening in Chopshots Festival, Jakarta in 2014. Extremely lucky, blessed and grateful to have opportunities to work , surrounded and collaborated with talented individuals in multi-platform projects and always looking out for limitless possibilities of cross-cultural projects, inspiring stories and projects transcends any narrow categorization.

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[1]   Susurmasa catalog, Balai Seni Lukis, 2008

[2] Dengan kerana itulah penempatan artifek-artifek tradisi ini dalam anti-environment seperti muzium, tidak manyumbang terhadap kejituan fungsi sebenarnya, Masa Depan Tradisi – Dikhususkan Kepada Pengalaman Kuno di Malaysia, 1978.

[3] http://remixtheory.net/