WE ARE REFLECTIONS OF EACH OTHER.

 

"Sir, whats your p.o.v of sickness & healing?"

"Sickness, based on my personal experience, is rooted in the act of defying 'fitrah'. Healing is the act of returning or alligning oneself back to 'fitrah'. I also refer to it as 'balik, pulang'. Its not just a physical act limited to our material or bodily dimension. It is fundamentally an act of tuning into the frequency of love & compassion. Thats our pathway to our shared home. We do that (tuning) with our heart."

"What is 'fitrah'?"

"Fitrah is a way of live that is alligned with why we exist."

"Why we exist?"

"That is for you to discover. For me, to love & beloved, thus being in peace."

"What is love?"

"Love refers to our fundamental level of infinite & pure consciousness, in which all are inter-connected, all is One. Unconditional love is our true home that has never left us."

"What is compassion?"

"Compassion is the ability to forgive, or tune to the frequency of forgiveness. Its the root of healing."

"Who is a hero?"

"One who undergoes a painful journey of returning & finding one true self from the reflections of others."

Salam to all who stay in the path of love & compassion, no matter what life throws at you.

SEMBANG WITH PROF. AHMAD MURAD MERICAN

 

Character & value-driven narrative

1. First person (p.o.v point of view) narrative based on memory 

2. The myth of absolute objectivism, the emergence of multiple objectivities & inter-subjectivities

3. Aging society & transfer of values

4. Binary positions, clash of values across-between-within generations

5. Node, geneology & heritage

6. Family center of reference

In conjunction with #H3ROsedekad @mgtfusm

Hasnul Saidon Youtube Channel at 

PULANG & BE IN LOVE

For a father, his daughters are his little princesses, forever. For a father given a second chance in life, they are even more than just little princesses. 

They are the extentions, projections & manifestations of his unconditional love & compassion to God & to all God's creations including himself. They are the light of his eyes (cahaya mata), to witness localised & finite versions of God's infinite Love & Compassion. 

Love & compassion are projected on the screen of this father's borrowed & extended life in a form of three wonderful daughters. They are the tests, signs & lessons, manifested to remind the father to always return to his true home no matter where he is & what is happening : to always 'pulang' & 'be' in love, now.

They are his own projections, teaching him to be in charge of his own intention, to take charge of how he react mentally & emotionally to life. 

Most importantly, to be the hero of his own life, that was at one point many months ago, almost taken away. 

To all reading this, may you be the hero of your own life. Your life is worth saving. By whom? 

You. 

You are the only one you have. The rest, all projections. 

Now, beyond all projections, who is the One, the Presence, who is observing all the thoughts & feelings of this borrowed consciousness called 'you'?

ATOMIC BOMBS CAN DESTROY THINGS BUT NOT VALUES.

ATOMIC BOMBS CAN DESTROY THINGS BUT NOT VALUES.

Heroes are those who managed to defeat the demons & villians hiding in their own minds & hearts. Heroes are those who healed themselves from the tyrannies of their own total dependence on false selves, their own pains, projected as 'others'. The worst enemies hide within, most of the time undetected. They hide behind the pious act of pointing fingers at projected enemies 'outside there'. As if there is a separation between the 'I' or 'me' with whatever assumed as outside there, or 'other people'. This illusion of separation is the seed of sickness, pain & destruction. 

Here's a whacking. There is no 'outside', existing independently & objectively outside the conscious perceiver or witness or penyaksi or saksi. That separation or absolute objective world 'outside a conscious perceiver' is a so-called 'scientific' myth that those who want to control us want the whole world to believe. Its ok if you dont get this. You will, eventually. 

Heroes are those who managed to break free from such illusion. Which means breaking free from slaving themselves (their borrowed minds and feelings) to unconsciously serve their false sense of selves (egos, not our true selves) in an auto-pilot mode.

At the end of our borrowed life,  we only have ourselves to be saved. Be the hero of ourselves. Start by looking inward, not outward. Face our own pains, accept them as teachers. Within each and everyone of us, are signs. The Secret within secrets. Bombs can destroy things, but not values, not spirits, not the Secret.

AYAHKU & NELAYAN

(Selepas "Ayahku dan Angkasawan" oleh Ibrahim Hussein)

Kita singgah ke Kampung Baru, Manjung, Perak. Ini pekan nelayan. Dekat dengan laut. Seorang ayah, namanya You Ming Ong bersama dengan isterinya Ting Swee Ngok mengusahakan restoran makanan laut. Sudah 21 tahun mereka mengusahakan restoran itu, sejak Ming Ong berusia 33 tahun. Mula2 menyewa, selepas itu jadi milik sendiri. Sebelum itu, Ming Ong belajar memasak semasa merantau ke Singapura. Ming Ong asalnya dari Simpang Lima, Ayer Tawar, Perak. Dia berhijrah ke Kampung Baru tempat kelahiran isterinya setelah berkahwin. Mereka berkahwin pada tahun 1976 dan memperolehi 5 anak, semua perempuan.

Salah seorangnya You Jia Xin yg baru saja tamat belajar bidang Seni Halus di USM. 

Semasa kecil, Ming Ong dan Swee Ngok serah Jia Xin pada neneknya utk dijaga kerana mereka terlalu sibuk dgn restoran. Keadaan ekonomi menekan. Nenek menoreh di kebun getah, juga bela dan jual ayam. Jia Xin lebih rapat dgn neneknya, dipanggil Wai Po. 

Setelah kembali bersama mereka, Jia Xin tidak begitu mesra. Dia sudah pekat dimanjakan oleh neneknya. Asyik bermain. Ming Ong cuba tegas, lagilah anak dia tu marah. Garang dan rotan tak berkesan. Cuba pujuk dgn melukis kartun Hello Kitty, Tom & Jerry, tak berkesan. Jia Xin tak suka kartun, lebih2 lagi warna pink. Susah nak ambil hati dia sebab dia dah lekat pada Wai Po. Hati dia tak lekat dgn mereka, dgn rumah dan dgn restoran. Mereka bawa Jia Xin dibawa ke pasar ikan Jeti Kg.Melayu Batu 3 untuk membeli ikan terus dari nelayan, terutama ikan jenahak, senangin, siakap dan kerapu. Sekurang-kurangnya dia boleh kenal jenis2 ikan. Tapi dia tak minat pun. 

Bila Jia Xin masuk sekolah menengah di SMJC Dinding dan SMK Methodist, dia mula melawan. Bila diminta tolong di restoran, dia bertekak dgn pelanggan yg cerewet. Dengan adik beradik lain, selalu bergaduh. 

Setelah dpt peluang melanjutkan pelajaran ke USM di Pulau Pinang, Jia Xin makin jauh. Dia makin sibuk dgn tugasan sbg pelajar. Dia nak jadi pelukis, mengejar mimpi yg tak pasti. Dia 'idealist', melukis itu murni dan tinggi, bukan kerja jual-beli. Jual-beli tu 'kraf' bukan seni halus yg tinggi. Berkarya adalah luahan ekspresi peribadi yg elit bukan brg dagangan murahan. Lagilah Jia Xin jauh dari 'vibe' cari rezki di Manjung tu.

Pada tahun akhir, Jia Xin dan rakan2nya pergi ke Pulau Aman utk membuat kajian tentang lautan. Di situ, dia melihat kehidupan nelayan yg susah utk cari rezki. Dia saksikan betapa para nelayan bergantung pada pengusaha restoran sbg antara sumber pendapatan mereka. Nelayan dan pengusaha restoran saling memerlukan dlm satu sinergi dan ekosistem ekonomi. Kedua2 pihak pula bergantung pada ekosistem dan kelestarian lautan bagi meneruskan kehidupan. Lautan itu nadi. Mereka berkongsi nadi utk menjamin rezki dalam kitaran yg lestari. 

Jia Xin teringat Manjung. Dia nampak semula pasar ikan di Jeti Kg.Melayu. Terbayang perit jerih ayahnya beli ikan awal pagi, memasak, melayan pelanggan dan mengurus restoran. Dia dibesarkan dgn rezki lautan. Terasa betapa akrab hubungan antara ayahnya, ibunya, adik-beradiknya dgn nelayan, ikan dan lautan. Betapa mereka perlukan kesinambungan rezki yg berterusan dlm kitaran atau pusingan yg tak putus. 

Rezki inilah yg mengalir dlm darah dia.

TRIBUT UTK BAHA, DLM DUNIA HILANG PETA.

1989. 35 tahun yg lepas. 

Seorang pelajar Pusat Seni USM telah menghasilkan karya arca bergerak yg dipasang dgn kamera video litar tertutup dan monitor tv. Dipamerkan di Muzium & Galeri USM.

Mungkin ini babak kecil. Mungkin juga terabai, tersisih & terpinggir menempuh lupa generasi tak berpeta. Mungkin juga lupus dlm naratif seni tampak Malaysia yg makin hilang induknya. Makin diserang amnesia, tumpul ketajaman & tradisi inteleknya, pudar cahaya budinya, terputus hormat pd sanad amalannya, haus konteks sejarahnya. Mencapah bersepah dalam keriuhan dan sandiwara acara, ketepuan pasaran tanpa sanad amalan, kerencaman hikayat koleksi peribadi dan perlumbaan tunjuk menunjuk aku punya.

Ironiknya, karya ini kini sudah diperakui. Tapi bukan di negaranya sendiri. 

Ia sudah didokumentasi, dikaji, diteliti, diperi hati, diperhalusi, dibacai, ditulis, diterbit dlm publikasi dan dipamer dlm sebuah pameran antarabangsa di Singapura pd tahun 2023 lepas. Lebih ironik lagi, ia sudah dibeli menjadi koleksi milik @nationalgallerysingapore . Sudah ditakdirkan, ia kini menjadi harta khazanah negara jiran kita. 

Tapi bukan setakat karya dlm bentuk benda yg dibeli jadi koleksi. Dibina juga ilmu yg menunjangi karya yg diamali. Inilah nilai2 tak ketara yg menjadikan khazanah harta itu berharga, bukan setakat mengumpul atau melambak benda takda harga. Yg bernilai itu ilmu yg menunjang amalan seni, bukan gosip2 narsisisma sesama sendiri, tiada berpeta. 

Dimuliakan ilmu dgn penerbitan buku, diskusi dan wacana, juga partisipasi komuniti. Maka yg dibeli, dikumpul, dihimpun itu memiliki nilai pelaburan yg akan terus meningkat mengikut peredaran masa. Itulah strategi lestari jiran kita, sambil kita mungkin sibuk dgn lumba2 visibiliti acara & tunjuk-menunjuk siapa punya benda.

Terima kasih Baharudin Arus atas segala budimu. Moga kamu tenang di sana bersama roh org2 yg soleh. Moga kita bertemu kembali di syurga brader.

@sota_usm

@mgtfusm

UNDER THE SHADE OF HERSTORIES

 

A tribute to all opah (grandmothers) in today's age of hyper-art events

"Otak kau ni sibuk" (You have a busy brain)
I tried to poke Nurul Hayati Rohaiza.

She smiled. "Ya, I couldnt stay still."

Then she passed me a cup of black coffee and joined our 'sembang' circle in the studio turned gallery. She sat beside me.

I felt her energy. Rooted. Strong. Busy and flowing. At the same time, it felt rather close, relatable and familiar. Like an unspoken bond. I could sense of old loving maternal vibe too. I said to myself, 'kuat saka budak ni' (this girl has a strong invisible 'bodyguard').

"My latest artworks are out there on the open lawn," she said.

"Ya, I saw them on my way up here. 'Meriah' (merry). Brightly colored and cheerful 'payungs' (umbrellas). Where did you get those umbrellas?" I asked.

"I sourced them from a traditional market. They are 20 years old. Still sturdy though some parts were torned a bit."

"Ok. Hey Yati, are you a person who just expresses whatever you felt intuitively without any insurance. Some of your friends may like your uncensored mouth, some may turn into haters." I asked, rather intuitively.

"Ya, maybe," she replied, looking a bit surprised.

"Must be in your blood. Where are you from?"

"Manjung sir, not far from here", she answered.

"And your mom?" I tried to probe further.

"She came from Pattani."

"Haaa!!" I said to myself. Now I know why I felt a familiar vibe. I came from similar Segenting Kra lineage. Its from my mom's Balik Pulau side - Tok Taha, Tok Timah and Opah Rabeah. I have written about them in my blog here to be read later for those interested.

https://hasnulsaidon.blogspot.com/2011/04/moyang-saya-tok-timah.html?m=1

Segenting Kra is another story. How the original Malay names of many places there had been partially erased and replaced can be something to ponder about. There were many political intrigues surrounding the region. I shared about that in another blog entry here. You may read it later.
https://hasnulsaidon.blogspot.com/2018/05/segenting-kra.html?m=1

Back to Hayati and her artworks.

"Whats your mom's name?"

"Rogayah bt. Haji Ramli. My grandfather was a fisherman from Pattani too. Kampung Bandokrap. My grandmother was from Tanjong Pauh. But I never met her. She passed away before I was born. Both of them spoke Kelantanese dialect, with little Siam language. My dad was also born in Pattani. My works are based on my root in Pattani."

Awesome. Time for old school VHS rewind. I continued my probing,  "So tell me more about your childhood in Pattani."

Yati began to recall her past, excitedly,
"After my grandma passed, my grandpa got another wife. She became my step grandma, Opah Mardiah. She was originally from Yala. She took care of me since I was a baby until I was about 5 years old. My mom had to give me away because she was struggling to make a living then, running a restaurant. I had to live with Opah in Pattani until I was five. My early childhood was with her. For me then, she was my mother. So when my mother took me back to Manjung, I felt like I was taken away because I was very attached to Opah. I loved her more than my mom then. Even as I grew up in Manjung, I always stayed with Opah whenever my family 'balik kampung' to Pattani."

I said to myself, she must be 'cucu perempuan kesayangan Opah' (Opah's beloved grand-daughter). I gazed at her paintings and drawings. I saw semi-abstract and expressive depictions of traditional market scenes. There were many women figures, probably the sellers, selling vegies, fruits and fish. Rendered in vibrant and constrasting colors. Rich. Bright. The mood was cheerful and jovial. The lines and strokes were dynamic, fast, active, enegertic, driven, uplifting. The composition appeared to be intuitive. She was probably interested in capturing the essence and spirit of the market place, embodied perhaps by the women sellers - tenacity, preseverence, persistence, hardworking, total dedication in making a living. Tough living. But thats maybe me looking at 'others' from a comfortable and priviledged position.

I asked further,

"What's the connection between the tradional market with your Opah?"

"She used to bring me to the market in the morning. I was always with her. My fond memory with her has always been going to the market. I can still smell the market. The dynamic activities, the movements, speed, rhythm and tempo of people and vehicles passing by, all have been etched deeply in my heart. I enjoyed the whole vibe. I felt a warm sense of communal bonding too. So its not just my bonding with Opah, but also with her community in Pattani too. More so with Pattani women. Some of my aunties and female relatives were market sellers. I grew up watching them making a living for their families. Its their life. Its like a tradition that needed to be carried on and sustained. As I grew up, I developed a sense of respect and admiration towards them."

"Thats awesome Yati," I replied. I could easily relate 'her story' to her artworks, especially the payung series. Perhaps her artworks reflect her fond memory with her beloved Opah. The memory also has to do with the culture of strong-minded, hardworking and determined women running their own businesses. Women has always been a prominent part of the traditional market scenes in Yala, Naratiwat and Pattani.

I can relate her story to my own mother, Jamaliah Noordin. She was also a strong-minded, hardworking and determined businesswoman. Concurrently, she was a mother, opah and oyang to so many children, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren, I lost count already. She passed away just a week before I met Yati. Such a fitting timing, set in heaven hopefully.

Yati continued, " I was a 'buas' kid, like a boy. Brutally adventerous and could not stay still. I used to run everywhere, whenever I balik kampung. I climbed trees, played with mud. I ventured into jungles nearby. Opah Mardiah had to catch me around the kampung. When she caught me, she had to drag me home, using wooden stick to frighten me. It didnt work. She was too kind and I was too naughty. I was a very annoying kid. Yet, she still forgave me, and loved me dearly. After I grew up and went to UiTM, she said, 'dulu maso mu budok, naka sunggoh. Alhamdulillah doh besa jadi oghe!' (You were so menacing when you were a kid. Thank God, you have grown and turn up well.) I hope she is proud of me."

Perhaps Yati's artworks reflect her yearning to go back to her childhood with her Opah in Pattani. Opah Mardiah passed away a year ago. No wonder I felt a sense of maternal bond with Yati's energy. We both lost our maternal links, physically.

Pattani's market is Yati's home, her root, a place to return, to feel beloved and belonged. Its her essence. Opah Mardiah and the market are her embodiment of true undivided love and compassion. They are in her bloodline, her DNA. Inherited as a strong maternal linkage to her past. Projected and now embodied by her artworks. Beautiful.

We continued our sembang at a mamak restaurant near Kapallorek, after my small sharing gig. The gig was about my parents, especially my recently passed mother. Yati cried. Perhaps she could relate my story to her Opah, and her hardworking mother too.

Beautiful, again.

Both of us are the inheritors of beautiful 'amanah' or trust. It was passed to us by our opahs and mothers through undivided love and compassion. We are the trustee or 'pemegang amanah', the guardians of these priceless 'herstories'. Her stories embody intangible values that are often sidelined in our busy material race to be called 'successfull'. Blinded, veiled. Sad.

We should feel blessed to be under the shade of her stories. Their payungs or umbrellas still lovingly protect us from the scorching heat of our highly-saturated and noisy living. Even after their deaths.

Al-fatihah.

ART FOR THE COMMON RAKYAT

There are 4 important dimensions of curatorship : 

1. Curator 

2. Subject - tangible & intangible cultural heritage & knowledge (the arts & sciences)

3. Audience

4. Site/space

A curator is the 'caretaker' or custodian of both tangible (objects) and intangible (values) cultural heritage and knowledge (the arts & sciences), deploying a particular practice of curation in a particular site (normally in a museum or a gallery) to transmit such heritage and knowledge to a particular audience.

As a public museum & gallery, funded by 'duit rakyat', @mgtfusm has to be aware of the profile & demography of its audience especially in developing its exhibition program and curatorial approach. Concurrently, it also has to be able to integrate the four dimensions above into an engaging and meaningful visiting experience for its audience or targeted section of a society. In short, it has to factor in imperatives related to its immediate society in curating an exhibition. It cant ignore and exclude its immediate society by being elitist & exclusive in its service to society at large.

How to transmit the intangible values and knowledge inherent in the objects of a museum collection (be them the arts or sciences) to kids and young people between the age of 6 to 19 years old through a curated exhibition? How to curate an exhibition that will allow this particular demography to experience & embody these values and knowledge, outside the framework of formal teaching and learning setting? How to transfer the intangible values and knowledge of an object of art, culture and heritage (for example Pohon Beringin in Wayang Kulit & Chinese Landscape Painting) into a curated exhibition meant specifically for kids and young people? What models can be used in forming a curatorial framework for such exhibition? 

These are few questions asked, discussed and responded to during ART FOR COMMON RAKYAT, Beginners Curatorial Workshop at @mgtfusm which began on 27 May and ended today. It ended with a completion of a co-curated exhibition called Chi-Ngin at the staircase and mezanine sections of MGTF. 

Thank you and congrats to all the participants.

COSMOLOGY OF SUSTAINABILITY

Last year, I bought and read a book titled "Living Pathway - Meditations on sustainable cultures & cosmologies in Asia" by M.Nadarajah. It touches on the cosmology of sustainability as practiced by indigenous people and cultures around the world, especially in comparison to the SDG concept of sustainability. The word 'pathway' also catched my eyes.

For me, its senadi and sejadi. Its a form of symbiotic interconnectivity & embodiment between humans, their homes and their natural environment. Humans role and place in such 'kesenadian' relates to stewardship, custodianship, or khalifah (viceroy), penjaga amanah (trustee), not 'pemilik hakiki alam pinjam ini' (definite owner of this borrowed world). Unfortunately, we are facing a cleansing of such kesenadian or interconnectivity. The kesenadian, based on love and compassion, is being cleansed by predatorial capitalistic system based on greed. Such cleansing has been taking place all over the world under the mask of 'development' and 'globalisation'.

What happened to the Bajau Laut community in Semporna, Sabah, recently echoes similar corruption, inteference & cleansing pattern by a dominant predatorial capitalistic system that 'prasan' it is forever superior than other minority ethnic cultures, heritage & traditions that represent reciprocal and symbiotic relationship with Nature. 

I have to share following thoughts in Bahasa Melayu to avoid myself from using cursing words. 

Mereka yg sudah mabuk dan jauh disesatkan raksasa kapitalisme pemangsa, tidak lagi ada rasa kasih dan belas. Jgn fikir raksasa ini jauh di seberang benua. Raksasa ini halus, boleh menyelinap secara melata, terus masuk dlm fikiran dan perasaan manusia, tak kira apa bangsa. 

Musuh yg disangka mengganas di Gaza dan Rafah, rupa2nya boleh mengganas di mana2. Mungkin ia sudah lama meresap secara sistemik dlm sistem darah dan sistem saraf manusia sedunia. Berdoalah agar ia tidak muncul dan mengganas di kediaman & kejiranan anda.

Mungkin kini, Tuhan sedang membongkar segala yg dulunya dihijab dan dibayangi naratif2 palsu & menyesatkan manusia yg lupa mensejahterakan bumi yg dipijak dan menjunjung langitnya

RINTIS

Tahniah atas istiqamah dalam meneruskan niat untuk belajar mempersembahkan hasil karya anda semua dengan sebaik mungkin, setara dengan pameran seni visual oleh para pengkarya profesional dari dalam dan luar negara. Hasil karya anda selayaknya dipersembahkan dalam persekitaran dan suasana yang terhormat. 

Niat anda juga telah memuliakan program RINTIS itu sendiri, yang merangkumi persembahan projek tahun akhir para pelajar dari empat Bahagian di Pusat Pengajian Seni di USM kepada khalayak umum. Ia mengembalikan saya pada sekitar 2004 ketika saya sibuk menyakinkan bos (Dekan) Pusat Pengajian Seni ketika itu Dr. Najib Dawa, untuk menjenamakan persembahan projek tahun akhir dibawah payung RINTIS (Research and Innovation towards Integration and Sustainability).   

Ia juga telah menjadi jambatan yang membolehkan anda mempraktiskan segala ilmu berpameran yang telah anda kutip 

Kita ini manusia, bukan robot. Kita bukan mesin, bukan benda, bukan nombor untuk dilumba, bukan juga sistem kepintaran tiruan (artificial intelligence). Kita juga bukan kertas-kertas undi untuk dipancing. Kita ada roh, ada fikiran, ada perasaan. Ketiga-tiga ini 'intangible'. Maksudnya, tidak ketara, tidak nampak dengan mata kasar. Hal yg tidak bersifat benda ini tidak boleh dicerap oleh 5 pancaindera. Hal-hal halus seperti kasih, belas, syukur, ikhlas, memanglah sukar disukat dan dipukat. Jika sukar atau tidak boleh disukat dengan tepat, adakah ia tidak lagi penting dalam menjadi 'manusia', apatah lagi dalam 'menilai' kualiti 'kemanusiaan'?

Jantung dan kalbu kita adalah taman. Otak dan minda kita adalah taman. Manifestasi atau penzahirannya, untuk anda dan saya, adalah menerusi karya dan pameran seni. Oleh itu, karya dan pameran seni kita, juga adalah taman. Ia perlu disiram, disuburi. Ia bukan litar lumba dan gelanggang berjudi. Karya dan pameran seni, seperti juga kalbu dan minda kita, adalah tapak menanam dan mewariskan kasih, belas, kemaafan, kesyukuran, budi, kejujuran, keikhlasan, keredhoan, kesejahteraan. Ia bukan tapak menanam benci, syak-wasangka, dengki, khianat, dendam, tamak-haloba.

Karya dan pameran seni ibarat pokok. Kita 'pemegang amanah' yg menjaganya, menyiramnya, menyuburkannya, melestarikannya dengan kasih dan belas. 

Pokok dalam bahasa Arab adalah 'syajaratun'. Dari situ datangnya perkataan sejarah. Sejarah bukanlah 'linear' atau berurutan. Itu tafsir mekanikal moden yg berpaksi benda. Sejarah bersifat multi-dimensi. Ia 'non-linear' atau tidak berurutan. Setiap sejarah sedang dicipta 'sekarang', 'kini', 'saat ini'. Setiap titik sekarang itu pula sentiasa 'mencapah', berkembang, membiak, menyubur, meranting, merebak dalam ruang-masa yg multidimensi. Sejarah itu juga bersifat 'cyclical' atau kitaran/putaran. Ia saling-terkait, sulam menyulam. Renung dan peri hatilah sifat pokok (syajaratun). Renung juga corak-corak geometri sakral dalam pelbagai tradisi visual manusia. Peri hati anyaman, sulaman, ukiran, corak-corak arabesque, mandala dan lain-lain seumpamanya. Itulah contoh 'innernet' yg 'menggambarkan' saling-terkaitnya kita. Innernet ini ada dlm sistem saraf dan darah kita. Ia juga ada dalam sistem hidrologik bumi (sistem sungai contohnya). Coraknya yang fraktal itu juga fitrah, ada dalam diri manusia, alam semulajadi dan alam semesta.

Kita semua, secara batin atau kuantum, adalah saling-terkait dalam sistem fitrah ini. Bahasa canggihnya ekologi. Kita adalah satu keluarga sejagat dan semesta. Kemanusiaan itu persis pokok yang kaya dengan kepelbagaian (diversity). Sistemnya fitrah. 

Sistem fitrah bergerak dalam kitaran dan capahan (bifurcation). Yang pucuk akan terus tumbuh menggapai 'langit'. Yang muda akan segar menghijau utk berfotosintesis menukar karbon monoksid (racun) menjadi oksigen (penawar). Ia menjalankan amanah untuk mensejahterakan hingga sampai kitaran untuk tua. Yang tua akan gugur, kembali ke 'bumi' menjadi sebahagian dari tanah-air. Semua tunduk dan akur dalam satu aturan yang tersangat indah, disebut Hukum Alam yang fitrah. Kita adalah sebahagian dari Hukum Alam atau Aturan ini. Ia ibarat tarian kosmik cahaya yg melata.

Berkarya dan berpameran adalah denai ilmu. Puncak atau 'apex' kepada 'ilmu' adalah 'tunduk' (humility), bukan angkuh, sombong, bongkak. Tunduk ini hadir dari rasa kekaguman (awe) terhadap sesuatu yang lebih hebat dan besar dari kita. Kagum ini terbukti secara saintifik, menyihatkan. Ia penawar penyakit mental dan jiwa. Kagum hadir bila 'ego' atau ilusi diri itu lupus dalam penyaksian (syahadah) yang tembus - bahawa kita dan ilmu yg kita alami itu, malah segala-galanya, adalah tanda-tanda bayangan kepada adanya yg Hakiki - Adanya Maha Agung & Maha Hebat. Itulah kunci penyaksian. 

Terima kasih kerana berpameran di Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah, USM (MGTF USM). Selamat datang ke dalam keluarga MGTF USM. Keluarga juga persis pokok. Untuk pameran RINTIS ini, saya kirimkan doa yg baik-baik agar anda bersama karya-karya anda dalam pameran dapat melaksakan amanah dengan cemerlang. Saya doakan setiap anda menjadi taman yang sejahtera dan mensejahterakan seluruh umat manusia.

Tempat yang terbaik adalah dalam doa. Hadiah atau anugerah yang paling berharga adalah kasih & belas. Pencapaian dan kejayaan tertinggi manusia adalah kesejahteraan. 

Salam sejahtera, dengan pelukan kasih & belas dari saya,

PROFESOR MADYA HASNUL J SAIDON

Pengarah

Mgtf Usm

HIJAB NURBAYA DAN NARATIF JANTAN YG MENGHIJABNYA

 "Aku ikut naratif 'pembangunan' berpaksi keuntungan benda ini. Aku ikut nahu aristokrat politik dan pemodal2 lokal serta rakan2 strategik trans-nasional mereka. Aku obses membangun benda. Jiwa kosong terasa bila2 boleh runtuh. 

Ini jugalah raksasa global mata satu yg memaksa semua manusia utk tunduk mengikutnya. Kepentingannya meresap halus dlm segala saham dan tatakelalok perniagaan merata negara. Mana ada 'kedaulatan' mahupun 'kebangsaan' dlm nahu perniagaan neo-liberal.

Makanan utama raksaksa ini adalah darah hitam.  Bentuknya - minyak yg berkilat itu. Raksaksa berlaga raksaksa persis godzila bergasak dgn King Kong. Mereka berebut kawasan utk mengisi tong2 minyak sbg bayaran utk berkuasa penuh. 

Raksaksa ini prasan ia mewakili ketamadunan manusia tertinggi, walaupun sebenarnya mewakili kemusnahan, keruntuhan dan kehancuran ketamadunan dan kemanusiaan. Ia merasuk seluruh dunia. Seni rupa pun dirasuk, baik yg moden mahupun kontemporari. Kejantanan terjelma dlm perlumbaan 'passive-aggressive' siapa punya paling mahal, siapa punya paling banyak sambil mendobi.

Wanita2nya dilabel bodoh, dikongkong, dilitup, dipinggir, diketepi, diperhambai. Representasinya pekat dan sarat dgn nararif begitu. Itulah naratif tajaan raksaksa geo-politik yg berpusat di Rumah Putih Amerika Syarikat, di Rumah Kongres, di Israel dan juak2 mereka 

Ini naratif libido jantan, yg berlumba dominasi dunia, siapa punya paling panjang, paling besar, paling berkuasa. 

Naratif jantan perkasa yg telah dinormalisasikan ini buat aku dan manusia sejagat dijajah secara sistemik hingga buta mata dan hati. Makin dihijab dan ditutup dari simbahan cahaya kasih dan belas hingga kering ihsan. Hidup semata konsumer tanpa ada suara.

Makin terhijab peranan para wanita penjaga cahaya. Seperti fitrah seorang ibu, mereka pembawa amanah dan pencerah. Mereka diwakilkan oleh Tuhan utk menyuluh kita dlm kegelapan nafsu dunia. Itu naratif fitrah feminin, pengimbang maskulin. Tapi imbangan ini payah dilestari. Yg bangun, masih benda bukan jiwa.

Adakah kita mampu menyingkap hijab pekat yg selama ini menutup sisi 'feminin' dlm pembangunan jiwa dan peradaban manusia?