February Round-Up
Jumaadi, Pacita Abad and Pen Robit, etc.
By Ho See Wah
Alya Hatta, 'Shop Joy', 2019, oil and mixed media on canvas, 200 x 200cm. Image courtesy of ZHAN Art Space.
Playground
Malaysian artist Alya Hatta explores the highs and lows of entering adulthood for her second solo exhibition. The vibrant paintings form a "self-confessional discography" of the artist's life. The audience is also invited to open themselves up to the rollercoaster of emotions as they view the exhibition and contemplate their own experiences of coming of age.
ZHAN Art Space, 6 January to 9 February.
Chayanin Kwangkaew, ‘Continue No. 1’, 2019, oil on linen, 50 x 38cm. Image courtesy of Subhashok the Arts Centre.
A Symphony of Pauses
‘A Symphony of Pauses’ is an exploration of the relationships among time, objects and life at large. By focusing on the object in his paintings, Thai artist Chayanin Kwangkaew invites us to ponder the still moments in time by inhibiting the world of that item. By contrasting this stillness with energetic strokes and colours that are imitative of constant movement, the series ruminates on the various unseen moments lost in time and hence, the ephemerality of being.
Subhashok the Arts Centre, 11 January to 16 February.
Jumaadi, ‘Belantara akal’ (‘The gate to the wilderness’), 2019, acrylic on buffalo hide, 98 x 80cm. Photograph by Tim Connolly.
Jumaadi: My Love is in an Island Far Away
Currently based in Australia, Javanese-born artist Jumaadi explores the relationship between Australia and Indonesia through a shared violent history. There is a focus on Javanese detainees being relocated to Corwa, New South Wales by Dutch colonists during World War II. Through weaving traditional and contemporary practices to produce his poetic imageries, Jumaadi re-presents these stories to question what it is to be human, and to remind us of the enduring quality of hope and love.
Mosman Art Gallery, 4 December 2019 to 9 February.
Pacita Abad, ‘Sampaloc Walls’, 1985, acrylic, mirrors, buttons on stitched and padded canvas, 180.3 × 248.9cm. Image courtesy Pioneer Studios, Manila.
Life in the Margins
Curated by Pio Abad, the artist’s nephew, ‘Life in the Margins’ is the first presentation of Filipino-American artist Pacito Abad’s works in the United Kingdom. The colourful body of work includes the artist’s paintings made via trapunto, a quilting technique inspired from a range of cultures, from the Indonesian batik to the Papua New Guinean macrame. This plurality in style and technique is reflective of her interests in cross-cultural flows as a result of various migrations
Spike Island, 18 January to 5 April.
Supattanawadee Muanta, ‘Gender/Me/Mind No.5’, 2016, 89 x 65cm, digital print and lithograph. Image courtesy of ARDEL Gallery.
Gender-Less
‘Gender-Less’ is Thai artist Supattanawadee Muanta’s tribute to the LGBTQ community. Supattanawadee reflects on the struggles that members of this community face when it comes to seeking approval from their families and the society they live in. Bodies are faced away from the viewers in the melancholic images, and the audience is left questioning the inner worlds of these anonymous figures. The exhibition is at once a sombre revelation and a call for acceptance.
ARDEL Gallery, 23 January to 29 February.
Pen Robit, ‘The New Hope’, 2020, oil on canvas, 200 x 155cm. Image courtesy of Richard Koh Fine Art.
Out of This World
Armed forces are the focus of Pen Robit’s solo exhibition as he considers their heavy presence in civilisation today. While some of his surrealistic paintings are a reminder of this aspect of our society and the fatal consequences it has, others are a hopeful projection where armed forces no longer exist. Ultimately, his evocative presentation represents a yearning for a freer future.
Richard Koh Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur, 11 to 25 February.
