MIMIC by Hairi Hassan, 23 Oct - 7 Nov 2009
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HOM IS WHERE THE EYE AND HEART ARE
By Rachel Jenagaratnam
The third and last artist for HOM’s art residency programme this year is Hairi Hassan. The UiTM graduate has been occupying a corner of the HOM studio space since February and the result – featured in the present exhibition, Mimic – is a corpus of about thirty paintings, all portraits.
Hairi has equated his time on this residency program as a journey of sorts. “It has been about searching,” he notes, jokingly adding that the total experience has been like “a fourth semester” back in university, where he’s been able to focus on specific areas that he wasn't able to develop strongly before.
Painting techniques has been one of them. Hairi graduated majoring in printmaking and has been a backdrop and mural artist for the last few years, so this residency has been a “second chance” for him to hone his skills in this area.
And, choosing to focus on portraiture – the second-highest ranking genre of painting – has been a winning formula for the Kedah-born artist. He believes portraiture has given him the leeway to balance the minute details visible to the eye - tone, texture, colour, and depth, for example.
Fittingly, Hairi’s works are visual evidences of the artist’s development of skill. The paintings, almost exclusively close ups, are portraits of friends and studies of found images. They can be divided into three parts and audiences will note a steady progression between these sectors, therefore, grasping a sense of the practical experience of Hairi’s time on the HOM residency program.
The first group of works is smallest in size and monochromatic. The execution is simple and it foreshadows the second batch of works, which feature more colours and emotions in the faces of the subjects. The final group, consisting of Hairi’s self-portraits, can be seen as the pinnacle to the young artist’s journey, where he reaches maturity in both skill and content; facial creases are more pronounced and they are more evocative in nature.
Painted in bold, unnatural colours, the Kedah-born artist believes these self-portraits are manifestations of his journey in developing his painterly skills. They do, however, also represent another dimension to Hairi’s journey, albeit a more personal one; the studio practice has given Hairi the chance to introspect and contemplate his inner-self.
Hairi’s focus on portraits is, therefore, poignant, as portraits arguably serve as reflections of our selves and the next person. Viewing portraits is a reflective experience akin to looking into a mirror; you never merely consider the subject alone, but also relate it to yourself by questioning your own identity too.
For Hairi, these portraits have helped him discover his own identity and true calling in life: to be an artist. They are the total result of his time spent in the city, living independently, and in viewing these portraits, we are given an entry into the artist’s very soul.
The artist also believes the works in Mimic represent his emotions on this artistic journey, from the apprehension he felt before beginning the residency to the anxiety he felt at the task before him; he felt it was difficult to create art and worried about high expectations from others. At one point, Hairi even contemplated giving up. But, like his paintings, which are defined by trial and error – “it’s about getting it right,” he muses – he found the inner-strength to continue.
This might have something to do with the fact Hairi wasn’t alone on this journey. Not only did he share the studio space with the other two resident artists on the programme (Azizan Talkis and Melissa Lin), he’s also had the opportunity to learn from members of the MATAHATI art collective, who have been on hand to offer guidance and share knowledge.
Their assistance has been rewarded by imitation, one of the most sincere forms of flattery; there’s an undeniable lineage in terms of content and form between Hairi’s works in this series to that of the senior artists. The large faces looming before us are not dissimilar to Ahmad Fuad’s infamously large self-portraits, Hamir Soib’s influence can be detected in parts, and, Bayu Utomo Radjikin’s mastery of the figure hasn’t been far from Hairi’s mind either.
Ultimately, the portraits in Mimic sum up Hairi’s dual-journey into the artistic world. They are the product of his desire to hone his painterly skills and discovery his true self, and with Mimic, it can be said that Hairi has succeeded at both. And, we wait eagerly to see the products of his next artistic voyage.
Self Portrait I/2009/Acrylic on canvas/133 x 94cm/RM2,200
Self Portrait II/2009/Acrylic on canvas/133 x 94cm/RM2,200
Self Portrait III/2009/Acrylic on canvas/133 x 94cm/RM2,200
Self Portrait IV/2009/Acrylic on canvas/133 x 94cm/RM2,200
Self Portrait V/2009/Acrylic on canvas/133 x 94cm/RM2,200
Dadi Setiyadi/2009/ Acrylic on canvas/180 x 122cm/RM3,000
Buden/2009/ Acrylic on canvas/74 x 74cm/RM800
Monologue/2009/ Acrylic on canvas/64 x 132cm/RM1,200
Zul/2009/ Acrylic on canvas/74 x 74cm/RM800
Bow/2009/ Acrylic on canvas/74 x 74cm/RM800
Depression in K.L I/2009/Mixed media on canvas/59 x 59cm/RM500
Depression in K.L II/2009/ Acrylic on canvas/132 x 108cm/RM2,500
Mel/2009/ Acrylic on canvas/180x 131cm/RM3,000
Look up/2009/ Acrylic on canvas/74x 74cm/RM800
Ady/2009/ Acrylic on canvas/180 x 131cm/RM3,000
Azizan Talkis/2009/ Acrylic on canvas/180x 131cm/RM3,000
Tutup Satu/2009/ Mixed Media on canvas/59 x 59cm/RM500
Tak Tahu HalaTuju
Untitled
2009/ Acrylic on canvas/59 x 59cm/RM500
Mr. Buncit
2009/ Acrylic on canvas/59 x 59cm/RM500
Force
2009/ Acrylic on canvas/59 x 59cm/RM500
2009/ Acrylic on canvas/59 x 59cm/RM500
Blur I
Blur II
2009/ Acrylic on canvas/22x 30cm/RM200
Blur III
2009/ Acrylic on canvas/22x 30cm/RM200
Blur IV
2009/ Acrylic on canvas/22x 30cm/RM200
Blur V
2009/ Acrylic on canvas/22x 30cm/RM200
Blur VI
2009/ Acrylic on canvas/22x 30cm/200
Blur VII
2009/ Acrylic on canvas/22x 30cm/RM200
Blur VIII
2009/ Acrylic on canvas/22x 30cm/RM200
NEW MAN by Azizan Talkis, 2 - 17 Oct 2009
“ Man made ”
By Fuad Arif
“The painter’s obsession with his subject is all that he needs to drive him to work. People are driven towards making work of art, not by familiarity with the process by which this is done, but a necessity to communicate their feelings about the object of their choice with such intensity that these feeling become infectious. ”.
-Lucian Freud
Each period has its atypical image of man. It has appears in poems, novels, music, philosophy and dance and theater and it has also appears in paintings and sculptures. Whenever a new period is conceived in the womb of the preceding period, a new image of man move forward towards the surface and finally breaks through to find the artists and philosophers. We have been living for decades at a turning point and nothing is more declarative of this fact than the series of revolutionary styles in the visual arts which have followed each other since the beginning of our century. Each of these styles transformed the image of man drastically, even when compared to the changes of the past couple of centuries. Some have tried to discover the organic forms of man’s body, the human character of his face, the uniqueness of his individual person. And in our contemporary world some are asking, “what has happened to man”?
If we listen to the more profound observers of our period, we hear them speak of the danger in which modern man lives, the danger of losing his humanity; a thing amongst the things he produces. Humanity is not something man simply has. He must fight for it anew in every generation, and he may lose his fight. There have been few periods in history in which a catastrophic defeat was more threatening than in ours. For example one need only look at the dehumanizing structures of the totalitarian systems in one half of the worlds, and the dehumanizing consequences of technical mass civilization in the other half. In addition, the conflict between them may lead to the annihilation of humanity. The impact of this predicament produces on the other hand an adaptation to the necessities of present-day living and indifference to the question of the meaning of human existence and on the other, anxiety, despair and revolt against the dilemma. The first group resigns itself to becoming things amongst things, giving up its individual self. The second group tries frantically to oppose this danger.
The works of art of our century are mirrors of our predicament by some of the most sensitive minds of our time. In the light of our predicament we must look at the works of contemporary art, and conversely, in the light of contemporary works of art we must look at our predicament. The image of man became transformed, distorted, disrupted and finally disappeared. But as in the reality of our lives, so in its mirror of the visual arts, the human protest arises against the fate to become a thing.
Thus the artist who is shown in this exhibition is a harsh representative of such protest amongst many that has appeared in these recent years. He wants to regain the image of man in his works, but is too honest to turn back to earlier naturalistic or idealistic forms, and he is too conscious of the limits implied in our present situation to jump ahead into the so-called modern reality.
The artist tries to depict true representations of human predicament, as he experienced it within and outside himself. The question as to how well he succeeded artistically cannot be answered by anyone including myself as the writer. And the question as how well he succeeded in stating the ‘story’ of his works is a matter of personal and philosophical interpretation. If we trace back the development of human existence in art since the beginning of the century the negative emphasis in the expression of the fight for humanity by far prevail. This is somewhat true of the works presented in this exhibition with his distortion of man realities to become conscious towards his surroundings. His works has the trace of the battle for the human image he wants to rediscover by understanding his feeling through an unconscious dilemmatic decision. And along the way he has somewhat tried to resists temptation of tired deterioration or premature solutions within his own capacity. I believe he has fight desperately over the image of man and had tried to understand man, but in actual condition is slowly discovering him self.
By Fuad Arif
“The painter’s obsession with his subject is all that he needs to drive him to work. People are driven towards making work of art, not by familiarity with the process by which this is done, but a necessity to communicate their feelings about the object of their choice with such intensity that these feeling become infectious. ”.
-Lucian Freud
Each period has its atypical image of man. It has appears in poems, novels, music, philosophy and dance and theater and it has also appears in paintings and sculptures. Whenever a new period is conceived in the womb of the preceding period, a new image of man move forward towards the surface and finally breaks through to find the artists and philosophers. We have been living for decades at a turning point and nothing is more declarative of this fact than the series of revolutionary styles in the visual arts which have followed each other since the beginning of our century. Each of these styles transformed the image of man drastically, even when compared to the changes of the past couple of centuries. Some have tried to discover the organic forms of man’s body, the human character of his face, the uniqueness of his individual person. And in our contemporary world some are asking, “what has happened to man”?
If we listen to the more profound observers of our period, we hear them speak of the danger in which modern man lives, the danger of losing his humanity; a thing amongst the things he produces. Humanity is not something man simply has. He must fight for it anew in every generation, and he may lose his fight. There have been few periods in history in which a catastrophic defeat was more threatening than in ours. For example one need only look at the dehumanizing structures of the totalitarian systems in one half of the worlds, and the dehumanizing consequences of technical mass civilization in the other half. In addition, the conflict between them may lead to the annihilation of humanity. The impact of this predicament produces on the other hand an adaptation to the necessities of present-day living and indifference to the question of the meaning of human existence and on the other, anxiety, despair and revolt against the dilemma. The first group resigns itself to becoming things amongst things, giving up its individual self. The second group tries frantically to oppose this danger.
The works of art of our century are mirrors of our predicament by some of the most sensitive minds of our time. In the light of our predicament we must look at the works of contemporary art, and conversely, in the light of contemporary works of art we must look at our predicament. The image of man became transformed, distorted, disrupted and finally disappeared. But as in the reality of our lives, so in its mirror of the visual arts, the human protest arises against the fate to become a thing.
Thus the artist who is shown in this exhibition is a harsh representative of such protest amongst many that has appeared in these recent years. He wants to regain the image of man in his works, but is too honest to turn back to earlier naturalistic or idealistic forms, and he is too conscious of the limits implied in our present situation to jump ahead into the so-called modern reality.
The artist tries to depict true representations of human predicament, as he experienced it within and outside himself. The question as to how well he succeeded artistically cannot be answered by anyone including myself as the writer. And the question as how well he succeeded in stating the ‘story’ of his works is a matter of personal and philosophical interpretation. If we trace back the development of human existence in art since the beginning of the century the negative emphasis in the expression of the fight for humanity by far prevail. This is somewhat true of the works presented in this exhibition with his distortion of man realities to become conscious towards his surroundings. His works has the trace of the battle for the human image he wants to rediscover by understanding his feeling through an unconscious dilemmatic decision. And along the way he has somewhat tried to resists temptation of tired deterioration or premature solutions within his own capacity. I believe he has fight desperately over the image of man and had tried to understand man, but in actual condition is slowly discovering him self.
Suka Hati Janji Suka
Street Spirit
Sihir Di Bibir
Rasional Emosional IV
Rasional Emosional III
Rasional Emosional II
Rasional Emosional I
Pirate King
Pirate
Pandang Kiri
Pandang Kanan
2009 / Mixed media on canvas/175.5 x 132cm
King Lekuk
2009 / Mixed media on canvas / 78 x 73cm
Is This It
2009 / Mixed media on canvas / 60 x 60cm
Gundah
2009 / Mixed media on canvas / 65 x 120cm
Great Smile
2009 / Mixed media on canvas / 175.5 x 128cm
Berlari- berlari Mencari
2009 / Mixed media on canvas / 132 x 188cm
Aku Tahu Kau Pun Tahu
2009 / Mixed media on canvas / 175.5 x 132cm
1000 Kali Sayang I
2009 / Mixed media on canvas / 93 x 134cm
SERENDIPITY by Melissa Lin, August 14 - 31 2009
Lead by serendipity down the rabbit hole, reality is re-imagined.Threading into the domains of lost and ancient lands, and divingthrough hyperspace to explore hidden dimensions, the arcane andarchaic are discovered. Strange and familiar characters, moody and morbid angels, mercurialtricksters, shape-shifters, goddesses, lemmings and psychonauts weavethrough Chaos, celebrating anomalies, community and relationships.This body of work explores the ideas of duality, the dichotomy betweenillusion and mystery. It is also a tribute to the sacred spaces thatexists inside ourselves and in our environments.Melissa Lin was born in 1982 in the sometimes balmy city of JohorBahru. She has studied in Singapore, Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur.Her paintings have been exhibited in Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia,Singapore, Burma and Copenhagen.She enjoying being off with the fairies when they call.
Innocence, Innersense /2009/ 30x 30cm/ Acrylic on canvas
Treading with Thunder/2009/ 30x 30cm /Acrylic on canvas
Trinity and the Prism /2009 /45x 64cm /Acrylic on canvas
The Night Harbours a Secret /2009 /51x 76cm /Acrylic on canvas
The Eye of Mystery Rises Above the Field of Fiction /2009/ 47x 68cm /Acrylic on canvas
sanctuary /2009/54x 66cm/ Acrylic on canvas
curious continuum /2009 /53.5x 67cm /Acrylic on canvas
Way to Lucidity /2009 /68x89cm /Acrylic on canvas
Hollow grounds, raising the stake of a hologram /2009 /52x69cm /Acrylic on canvas
Converge /2009 /47x68cm /Acrylic on canvas
constellations at the edge of the world /2009/ 68x89cm /Acrylic on canvas
Way to the blue /2009 /18.5x16.5cm /Acrylic on canvas
Circa Skull (e) /2009 /16.5x18.5cm /Acrylic on canvas
Circa Skull (d) /2009 /16.5x18.5cm /Acrylic on canvas
Circa Skull (c) /2009 /18.5x16.5cm /Acrylic on canvas
Circa Skull (b) /2009 /16.5x18.5cm /Acrylic on canvas
Circa Skull /2009 /16.5x18.5cm /Acrylic on canvas
Breathing direction, the gaze transposes itself on the shining body2009 /43x 56cm /Acrylic on canvas
Blooms of lightning /2009 /50x 76cm/ Acrylic on canvas
From the skein of flickering shadows /2009 /20x 20cm /Acrylic on canvas
Leif /2009 /20x 20cm /Acrylic on canvas
D.M.T /2009 /20x 20cm /Acrylic on canvas
Damiana /2009/45x 47cm/ Acrylic on canvas
Mindscape /2009 /78x 67cm /Acrylic on canvas
Levitate /2009/ 120x 69cm /Acrylic on canvas
Wonder & wander /2009 /137x 130cm /Acrylic on canvas
Flow /2009 /170x 133cm /Acrylic on canvas
breaking static/ 2009 /161x 133.5cm /Acrylic on canvas
A Lucid Kind of Love /2009 /170x 133cm /Acrylic on canvas
spike and saccharine /2009 /27x 33cm/ Acrylic on canvas
phantom phase /2009/ 33x 27cm /Acrylic on canvas
patience precipitates /2009/ 33x 27cm /Acrylic on canvas
Nectar /2009 /27x 33cm/ Acrylic on canvas
It all comes Tumbling Down /2009 /33x 27cm /Acrylic on canvas
fascination /2009/33x 27cm/ Acrylic on canvas
fable /2009 /30x 30cm /Acrylic on canvas
A Fragment of Hyperspace /2009 /33x 27cm /Acrylic on canvas
Thirteen /2009 /27x 33cm /Acrylic on canvas
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