Twin Towers

I've been working on something for an upcoming exhibition to be held at Gallery 4A, Sydney, called 'Selamat Datang Malaysia' (Welcome to Malaysia). I've struggled long and hard with the theme; understandably the curator wanted something quite literal - that is, recognizable as having a Malaysian identity.

There's still an unresolved part of my mind that wonders: isn't my art Malaysian because I'm a Malaysian artist? But Malaysian art doesn't necessarily mean it's about Malaysia. I think that to be able to view one's 'home' as one views the rest of the world represents true freedom of the mind and soul; art-wise it means the development of a language that is both local and universal.

This is a different approach than what is seen in alot of 'post-colonial' art, especially in the late 1990's - that of taking local signs/icons and tweaking them for an international flavour. It's still done today, and sometimes quite well, like the dead-pan installations of Suboph Gupta. On the other hand, although the work of the late Montien Boonma was Thai in form and essense, it was never about Thai-ness. In his installations you don't get the sense that he was trying to reclaim ownership of local signs/images to reassert or represent an identity.

Like Francis Alys, Emil Goh and even Nam Jun Paik, his works possess a striking and elusive universality. To me universality doesn't mean that a work speaks the same things to local and international audiences, but that it speaks equally to both - that there is equal depth of meaning for everyone viewing or understanding it.

Hmm. So I think I have a long way to go - because of all my attachments and worries, my 'home' still gives me alot of pressure, which distorts my views and translates into the art I make. I read somewhere about a musician (can't remember who) wanting to make 'a happy album that wasn't escapist'. Someone commented that in a sense all artistic creations where idealistic and therefore escapist. He replied that 'it's not escapism if it's permanent. If you don't plan to come back, it's forever and therefore it becomes real'.

I like that!

Here are some video stills of the project I'm working on for the show. I'm quite unsure and insecure about the whole affair, which I've decided is good thing - happy accidents always happen when there's no set goal in sight. I've been filming a very iconic Malaysian building during the 5 daily prayer times when you hear the Azan (call to prayer) sing out. Only prizes for wrong guesses which building it is.