Echoes of Resent, Reasserting the ‘Others’ and Reclaiming History
The above-mentioned
trajectories of a new generation of Malay artists have also been complimented by
a diverse range of new trajectories chartered by young non-Malay Malaysian artists
since the 1990s. Despite the diversity of their output and stance, most of
their artworks have been stereotypically placed as echoes of lingering resent
towards the so-called hegemony of Malay-Islamic nationalistic force. The resent
was indicated by the sprouting of artworks with a very strong socio-political
stance. In this regards, Michelle Antoinette writes:
“A key concern of these artists was indeed to
open a space for Malaysian artists of non-indigenous backgrounds – as evinced,
for instance, by the efforts of Wong Hoy Cheong, Tan Chin Kuan and J.Anurendra.
Alongside this objective was a need to forge an aesthetic sensibility (taken up
by indigenous and non-indigenous artists), which was different to the earlier
Malay-Islamic styles and reflective of avant-garde, postmodern orientations.”(88)
For Niranjan Rajah,
‘the expressions of identity amongst later generations of Chinese Malaysian
artists must be set within the ethnocentric anxieties of the deepening
communalism of our society’.(89) In this regards,
Piyadasa wrote:
“Given the nature of
multi-ethnic reality of the contemporary Malaysian situation, it is only to be
expected that alternative artistic perceptions and re-definitions of the issue
of national cultural identity will emerge. And these perceptions may not be in
tandem with politically dominant officially-sponsored Malay-Islamic
perceptions. They may be reactionary and in opposition to the officially prescribed
idea of cultural identity and an officially politicized version of Malaysian
history even. Marginalization will and does encourage reactions on the part of
those artists who feel ethnically marginalized. And this has happened in recent
years with the emergence of a significant number of younger non-Malay artists
who have consciously projected non-Malay themes and issues in their art works.”(90)
Piyadasa had also
credited Wong Hoy Cheong for the above-mentioned ‘impulse’ and even proposed
that ‘the presence of newly-returned U.S. trained artists, Wong Hoy Cheong, at
the MIA, during the early 1990s, as a teacher, proved consequential to the
search for a more assertive Chinese-ness’. For Piyadasa, ‘this search for a
Non-Malay point of view may be viewed as a counterpoint to the Malay-Islamic
impulses.’(91)
It is interesting to
note that in narrowing the output of young non-Malay Malaysian artists that
have emerged in the 1990s as ‘the counterpoint to the Malay-Islamic impulses’
(or in giving Wong Hoy Cheong the credit for asserting ‘Chinese-ness’),
Piyadasa might had again sidelined other possible readings on the output of
these artists. Furthermore, the role of Malaysian Institute of Art (MIA) as
well as other important individuals, events and moments (that were integral to
MIA during the late 1980s) might have been obscured.
Certainly, many other
things (or other proclivities) had transpired in MIA other than responding to
the Malay-Islamic impulses. Reducing MIA and output of non-Malay Malaysian artists
as an alternative to UiTM and the Malay-Islamic impulse is rather simplistic
and confining (to a constricting ‘binary opposition’) reading. Artists whose
artworks do not fall within such binary reading, may indirectly be sidelined. As
pointed earlier, other smaller narratives in regards to MIA in the late 1980s
and early 1990s should be further researched and forwarded.
Nevertheless, despite
recently moving to many other trajectories, the works of artists such as Wong
Hoy Cheong, J.Anu, Tan Chin Kuan, Liew Kungyu, Eng Hwe Chu, and Chuah Chong
Yong, have usually been read by many writers within the context of resent
towards ‘politically dominant officially-sponsored Malay-Islamic perceptions’, reasserting
the ‘others’ (meaning non-bumiputera/indigenous
Malaysians), and reclaiming their position and role of ethnic minorities in the
history of Malaysia.
Wong Hoy Cheong’s Migrant Series (1994) for example,
according to Michelle:
“…presents the social history
of his own family’s migration to Malaysia, but also symbolizes, more
generally, the story of the Malaysian Chinese diasporas and their role in
building the Malaysian nation. Replete with political commentary about social
displacement, class conflict and colonial influence, the charcoal drawings of
the Migrant series also illustrate
Wong’s forceful reassertion of the importance of figuration in producing
socially-relevant art.”(92)
Through his multi-dimensional
installation Re:Looking (2003), which
was shown in the 50th.venice Biennale of 2003, Hoy Cheong ‘rewrote
history, proposing that Malaysia
had conquered the Austro-Hungarian empire. To this end, he created a fictitious
historical record, doctored archival photographs and enlisted prominent
Austrian and Malaysian historians to take part in a fictitious documentary
video discussing the conquest and its implication on modern Austria and
Malaysia.’(93)
Known for his commitment in
making research-intensive and socio-politically-charged artworks, Wong Hoy
Cheong has also been tagged with many other different labels for his
multifaceted roles in the Malaysian art scene post 1990. His diverse range of
highly critical and internationally acclaimed multi-dimensional artworks have
been locally and internationally exhibited, represented and explained by many local
writers such as Laura Fan, Beverly
Yong, Adeline Ooi, and Carmen Nge.
Despite his critical stance
towards the establishment, Hoy Cheong’s artworks have ironically been included
in the Permanent Collection of the National
Art Gallery.
In fact, he had organised several important exhibitions and experimental
projects, including his own solo exhibitions in the National Art
Gallery. He was even
‘mythified’ as ‘the most interesting and innovative artist of this era’ by The Encyclopedia of Malaysia (2007).
J. Anu, since the
late 1990s, has already been known for his emphatic portrayal of Indian
clichés, sadly taken by many as ‘by-default’ setting for the daily drama of a
large majority of Malaysian Indian community. His Indian Couple (2001) and Running
Indians and the History of the Malaysian Indians in 25 clichés (2001),
provide a more ethnically, culturally, politically and locally-specific index
for his viewers to decipher. Without going into further reading of his
signifiers, Anu’s chosen subject is itself a statement of intent and reflective
of ‘insignificant’ others in the social fabric of Malaysian society.
Another artist that
has engaged with the issue of the ‘other’ identity is Liew Kungyu, a graduate
from Malaysian Institute of Art (MIA), who has been known for his inventive
visual wit in making wry socio-political comments through his intricately
elaborate kitschy artworks. Liew Kungyu’s Hungry
Ghost Festival, Penang (1995) and Cheng Beng Festival, Kedah (1996) for
examples, ‘appropriated images relating to Chinese tradition and custom and the
impact of modernity, cleverly marrying humorous kitsch excess with cultural
critique.” (94) Kungyu’s
repertoire of artworks has also been diverse and multidimensional.
Kungyu’s wearable-art
and performance piece Puteri Oriental for
example, was carefully articulated in a very cunning and witty manner, usually
defying the weightiness of the issues of tradition and consumerism at hand. Puteri Oriental features a seemingly
‘oriental’ princess dressed in what appears to be a traditional oriental
costume, walking and interacting gracefully admits shopping malls crowds. Upon
closer look, it was apparent that the costume was made of urban detritus from
the fast-food industry’s ‘throw away’ advertisings and packaging. Kungyu fondness
in making a cunning mockery and witty parody can also be traced his
installation Wadah Untuk Pemimpin (Gifts
for the Leader) (1999), in which Mahathir’s leadership is cynically
translated into ‘altars of political worship’.
The other version of
cunningness can be seen in Niranjan Rajah’s provocative and hard-hitting
digital photography Telinga Keling (Keling Ears) (2002) that touches on the
delicate inter-ethnic relationship and stereotyping in Malaysia. The
word Keling is considered as a
degrading slur towards the ethnic Indian community. By compositing his ears as
a local delicacy, Niranjan unveils a commonly veiled racial sentiment towards
the Indian community in the use of such word as a name for a local Malay delicacy.
Niranjan’s threatening facial expression with his eyes opened wide further adds
a twist to the drama, as if daring anybody to use similar term straight to his
face. Despite its serious racial and social undertones, the work is also witty
and cunning.
On the other side of
wittiness and cunningness is a dark, gloomy, dramatic and sometimes bleak
surrealistic expression of anguish and despair as epitomized by Tan Chin Kuan’s
The Soul Under Midnight (1996) and
Eng Hwe Chu’ The Great Supper (1999)
(both also graduates of MIA). These
works, as described by Michelle Antoinette, reflect their ‘sense of cultural
anxiety and alienation as a Chinese in Malaysia.’ Additionally, Hwe Chu’s
work implies another layer of feminist undertone with the inclusion of her
self–portrait in the pictorial field.(94)
Chuah Chong Yong’s Pre-War Building For Sale (1996), and his other Pre-War Building series deal with the issue of built
heritage years before the emergence of the National Heritage Act. His
installation and performance piece Pre-war
Building for Sale; Poh Tor (1999) touches on the notions of ‘loss and
preservation, permanence and ephemeral, through the reconstruction of ‘incense
houses’. His use of incense houses (which were later burnt) further signifies
the fate of the cultural site (related to the Chinese) ‘in the face of
capitalist development’.(95)
Tan Chin Kuan’s
mixture of surrealistic and social realist rendition is also apparent in Chan
Kok Hooi’s skillfully executed The Sour
Milk of the Milky Way (2005) while Hwe Chu’s feminist and home setting
undertones can also be traced in Yau Bee Ling’s Working Hard At The Kitchen (2005). Another young talented artist
who has also been known for her exceptional skill in picturing the
‘insignificant others’ (in this case, an abandoned and alienated old Chinese man)
is Wong Woan Lee, as displayed through Someone
Forgotten (My Reflection in the Mirror) (2000).
These are several
examples of contemporary artists and artworks post 1990s that have been
predominantly considered as a part of the ‘periphery’ or the ‘otherness’ of
Malaysian art. Many writers have framed their endeavors as reactions to the
so-called ‘politically dominant officially-sponsored Malay-Islamic
perceptions’. Nevertheless, most of these artists are today very much a part of
the center or mainstream contemporary art, if not ‘mythified’ and made
dominance by the level of exposures, coverage, achievement, acknowledgement and
success gained by the artists themselves, in both local and international
platforms. In fact, resents and dissents can be ‘staged as a part of dissident
politics that ironically generate heated art markets and fabricate
international brand star/cultural heroes.’(96)
Beyond Polarity
Malaysia’s
socio-cultural sphere has always been plural and diverse. With the increased intertwining
of common issues of concern, more and more Malaysian artists of the new post
2000 generation are engaging in issues beyond specific ethnic concerns. Not all
artists are preoccupied by the need to assert their ethnic identities through
their artworks. Some of the more recent trajectories of contemporary Malaysian art
today, have moved beyond the confine of ethnic proclivities, and have shifted
to common issues of local and global concerns such as education system, fate of
Malaysian diverse traditions, cultural pluralism, rapid urbanization,
intervention of institutional control, social ills, rampant consumerism, social
alienation, environmental degradation, gender, and many more. Furthermore, the
notion of the ‘other-ness’ itself is very relative, slippery and always in a
state of flux. Beyond the trappings of institutional politics and ethnic polarity,
their artworks reflect a generation in search of its voice and struggling to
adapt to the challenges of the 21st. century, impinged by the
contradictions between local and global imperatives.
Artists such as Ivan
Lam, Yap Sau Bin, Bibi Chew, Chang Fee Ming, Kow Leong Kiang, and Tan Vooi Yam,
have been known for artworks that that cut across ethnic-essentialism. Yee
I-Lan’s Through Rose-Coloured Glasses (2002)
and Symrin Gill’s Small Town at the turn
of the Century (2002) are two examples of works that engage with the notion
of identity with a more inclusive and multi-cultural approach. Artworks by
other artists that feature similar cross-cultural impulse include Kelvin Chap
Kok Leong’s Belawing, Keramen, Mamat (1995),
Shia Yih Ying’s Penghormatan Untuk Alam
Yang Kian Pupus (1997), Lee Chee Siong’s Who Are You, Where Are You From, Where Are You Going To?, (1998),
J. Anu Tribute, (2004) and Chin Kong
Yee’s Hari Kuninggan Procession,(2005).
Zanita Anuar outlines this interest as being ‘mindful of a local-regional
perspective in the strive to understand Malaysia’s post-colonial identity…’(97). She further
proposes that:
“If art is to
function as a rheostat in a way that it becomes the instrument to allow the
multiplicity of artistic current to thrive by varying the resistance of the homogenizing
global circuit, then Malaysia must maintain the rheostat well” (98)
This form of
cross-cultural eclecticism unveils an interesting postmodern paradox which in
turns, has instigated a return to what was previously tagged as ‘pre-modern’ or
‘primitive’ traditional art.
Works by women
artists that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000 such as Susyilawati
Sulaiman, Sharmiza Abu Hassan, Shia Yih Ying, Chong Siew Ying, Noor Mahnun,
Nadiah Bamadhaj’s, Hayati Mokhtar, Fariza Azlina Isahak, Fariza Idora AlHabshi,
Diffan Sina, Umi Baizurah and Ily Farhana Norhayat, have further suggested that
meaning about a particular subject or subjects can be constructed as a system
of patriarchal (man/male) and institutional thinking to a point that the
thought system be taken as natural or inevitable. They also imply that media, images and objects have become sites of
contestation in which the notions of culture, nature, lifestyle, education,
gender, ethnicity, identity and spirituality can be artificially constructed,
exploited and hyped to feed a targeted mass and market.
Even Matahati artists
who were popularly known for their Malay angst impulse in the early 1990s have
indicated a shift in their recent works. Bayu Utomo’s London-inspired paintings
in his recent solo exhibition Mind Your
Gap (2007), Ahmad Fuad Osman’s paintings based on his sojourns in Vermon
and South Korea in his solo exhibition Dislocated
(2007), and Masnoor Ramli’s expedition-inspired artworks in his Bumi Manusia exhibition (2007), can be
taken as examples of a significant shift to a more articulate, cross-cultural
and semiotic approach towards painting.(99). Moving
away from their earlier neo-expressionist impulse, paintings in these
exhibitions reflect a more temperate treatment in capturing their personal
experience of cross-cultural encounters and cultural dislocation.
Another example is
Susyilawati’s installation and performance piece Emotional Library (2008), shown in Documenta 2008. It used what she termed as an ‘intention space’ to
explore the innate power of intention and notion of energy transfer in intimate
encounters. Using her two books cum diaries on imaginary friend and botany as
catalysts, Susyi created an enclosed (yet transparent in certain parts)
circular space within the public space of the exposition to allow her visitors
to enter her space and interact with her and her books.
