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Pixel GIFs by Shika Corona/ Shieko Reto
“I've been inspired by pixel art and 80s B-grade sci-fi movies during the 80s and during college times in the 80s, playing my housemates computer games like the Lucas Art's 'Full Throttle', 'Day of...
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August, or Month of the Hungry Ghost (of Painting)
After the customary festive lull, a profusion of art exhibitions are staged in Klang Valley within the month. The first show I saw was deserted on opening night. Beautiful watercolours by a Shanghai...
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Cage of Deliverance @ Wei-Ling Contemporary
Mortification of the flesh is a religious practice that is difficult to forget once seen. In Rajinder Singh’s case, it is the bearing of kavadi by devotees who worship the Hindu God of war, and the...
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MAPPING (IV): PERALIHAN @ NVAG
…This segment of Balai Seni Lukis Negara’s “MAPPING” project focuses on the 1960s and 1970s timeframe in Malaysian art history. A glaring difference with “Formasi” showing downstairs, is the lack of...
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MAPPING (V): PERALIHAN @ NVAG
...Ponderings about being Muslim are made manifest in complementing prints by Sulaiman Esa and Ponirin Amin, which should have been placed closer together. The former utilises iconographic...
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Era Mahathir @ ILHAM
Is it coincidence that the years which a Malaysian prime minister was in power (1981 – 2003), can be transcribed into an art exhibition? No doubt it is convenient, as organisers like utilising a fixed...
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ARTAID 16 @ White Box
At a selling exhibition where proceeds are channelled to an aid organisation, this visitor cannot sidestep the cause which the charity represents. Subtitled ‘Love for Sale’, the event theme offers the...
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Dari Langit dan Bumi @ Wei-Ling Contemporary
Snapshot at "Dari Langit dan Bumi"The impulse of creationaligns not with the impulse of receptionThe refuge of mother natureContradicts the human impulse to createLine, colour, and texture Come from...
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CROSSINGS: Pushing Boundaries @ Galeri Petronas
An exhibition about Malaysian artists who “work internationally” starts off on the wrong foot, by greeting presenting each visitor with a world map overlaid with random historical events. This display,...
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Everlasting Love @ Rimbun Dahan
Azliza Ayob ends her year-long residency at Rimbun Dahan – which includes her family moving in together – with an incredibly well-balanced exhibition, the lush surroundings providing both inspiration...
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Art KL-itique 2016 Look Back
Blame it on the economic & political gloom, but 2016 feels like a dour year in visual art highlights. Nevertheless, there are moments to cherish by looking back at... In the city centre, “MAPPING”...
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Snippets: Q4 2016
Some artists leave the audience bowled over with sheer technical skill, yet the work’s emotional impact is zero. Hasanul Isyraf Idris’ all-over illustrations belong in this category, where contextual...
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Singapore Biennale 2016: An Atlas of Mirrors, Jan 2017
John McDonald writes, “(e)ven by the absurdist standards of the Biennale circuit, An Atlas of Mirrors is a phrase guaranteed to confound audiences.” The visitor is greeted by a finger to the Singapore...
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Rags to Riches: A Story of Kuala Lumpur @ RUANG by Think City
I am intrigued with photography as an art medium. I am also intrigued by art that invokes deep realisations. Some say photography is not art. Some say art only needs to be beautiful. Formal, casual,...
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Of Unlearning and Relearning @ OUR ArtProjects
The introduction to this exhibition states, (i)n recent years, art has taken a back seat as (Wong) Hoy Cheong takes on a more active role in politics and policy-making. This may well be Hoy Cheong's...
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Bakat Muda Sezaman 2016 @ NVAG
Despite lowered expectations, I remain perturbed by the disappointment felt each time, when viewing works by relatively young Malaysian artists. Typically, the lacklustre quality can be attributed to...
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Unveiling The Unseen (1937 – 1971) @ Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
Pictorialist or Modernist? An irreverent argument, as what we see is contemporary history. Raja Ihsan Shah unpacks and exhibits more material from the archives containing Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin...
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Afterwork @ ILHAM
For a curatorial premise that started as about domestic migrant workers in Hong Kong, “Afterwork” does remarkably well in its Malaysian adaptation, with the inclusion of local artists and relevant...
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Collective: Individuals @ 2 Hang Kasturi
In the art canon, artist collectives are often mentioned in reverential tones, and remembered for providing the alternative to established art. This characteristic manifests in the underground location...
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As We See It: History Through Visual Design @ National Art Gallery
After celebrating the opening of a physical space earlier this year, the enterprising Malaysia Design Archive stages an exhibition at Reka Gallery. Objects with distinct elements of graphic design are...
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