16 talented artists essay their thoughts through paintings and sculptures

A Talented bunch: Some of the artists who were present at the launch at the exhibition
  (From left: Syafiq Fawwaz, Faiz Sukor, Syafiq Ali'Am, Faizal Sidik, Safwan Ahmad, 'Unfolding' di RA Gallery, 2009)

By: Priya Menon

Priya Menon, “16 Talented Artists Essay Their Thoughts  Through Painting and Sculpture”, Published by The Star, Thursday 26 February 2009, sec Star Metro ((illustrated). (PDF)

PSYCHOLOGY and freedom are some of the topics explored by 16 talented artists through their art works that are featured in an exhibition called Unfolding at the RA Fine Arts.

According to RA Fine Arts director Raja Ahmad Aminullah, the six sculptors and 10 painters came from various backgrounds.

“Each artist is inspired by personal experiences that reflected in their artwork,” he said.

One artist, Faizal Sidik, who has been in the art scene for more than eight years, drew two unique paintings with acrylic and pen on canvas based on optic illusion.

Faizal’s work is based on the writings of Edmund Burke, an English philosopher who spoke on sublime power of the colour red.

“According to him, red creates awe in the person who sees it. That is why I used the colour lines to create optical illusion,” he said.

Faizal Sidik, ‘Painting of Passion Caused by Sublime No1’,
Acrylic and pen on canvas mounted on panel, 58.5 cm diameter
2008.

Faizal Sidik, ‘Painting of Passion Caused by Sublime No3’, Acrylic and pen on canvas mounted on panel,
58.5 cm diameter,2008

Mohd Safwan Ahmad on the other hand combined maths, psychology and religious beliefs to create Alun Gabung Sembilan.

“In Islam a woman is said to have nine desires so I took the number and created three triangular shapes with square blocks,” Safwan said.

He added that the he got the idea from songket as the designs resembled his artwork.

“It’s about creating a revolution, a different form of art. It’s how one becomes a trendsetter,” he added.

Inspired by the March 2008 elections. Taufiq Mohd found life in the form of freedom fighters.

Taufiq who dabbled with abstract art in the past, decided to create something that communicates with the audience.

“The elections presented an opportunity for me to paint the political scene and talk about freedom of speech,” Taufiq said.

His painting Freedom Fighter is painted in soft pastel colours except for the human figure which is in red which symbolises the passion of the person.

“Freedom is a beautiful thing and I wanted to highlight that but at the same time I wanted to show how passionate a freedom fighter can be,” he added.

The exhibition is on at the RA Fine Arts which is located at 6, Jalan Aman off Jalan Tun Razak, 55000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


Press Coverage

Priya Menon, “16 Talented Artists Essay Their Thoughts  Through Painting and Sculpture”, Published by The Star, Thursday 26 February 2009, sec Star Metro  (From left: Syafiq Fawwaz, Faiz Sukor, Syafiq Ali'Am, Faizal Sidik, Safwan Ahmad, 'Unfolding' di RA Gallery, 2009)