Young artists support each other to challenge and exchange ideas

By JAYAGANDI JAYARAJ(The star,Feb 10 2009)

NEW talents are constantly emerging on the art scene and art galleries play an important role in bringing the works of the young artists to the attention of the public.

To this end, the NN Gallery in Ampang Hilir recently held an exhibition called Smash, which featured the works of a young art collective, Warna, as well as guest artists Azizan Talkis, Adlan Aman and Angela Liu Jing.

Warna, which was formed in 2006, is a group of young artists whose unique expressions are inspired by nature, the environment and aspects of youth and popular culture. The artists – Faizal Suhif, Azli Wahid, Ali Azraie Bebit, Halim Hasan and Razlan – were students of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and represent four major disciplines in art, namely drawing, painting, print and sculpture.

Textures and markings: Works by Faizal Suhif.

They support each other conceptually and artistically to challenge and exchange ideas reflective of a new generation.

Faizal makes his prints from objects he has found, such as driftwood and cement. His piece entitled Gajah is a fine example of this.

“Using cement as a print mould gives the work textures and markings. You will notice that the elephant does not have a trunk because the mould didn’t have that shape. I create with objects which I think represent something,” he said at the exhibition.

Meanwhile, Halim paints in oil and acrylic, and is also a printmaker. He uses ants as metaphors for humans in his paintings.

“Ants and humans have so much in common. They work in teams for survival, helping each other. Ants also have a social hierarchy like humans have. That’s why I have ants in my works,” he explained.

Razlan and Ali’s works are based on their early childhood exposure to toys.

Razlan approaches toys for their inherent plastic qualities, vivid colours and smooth surfaces.

Interesting: A sculpture by Ali Azraie.

“Most of my works are inspired by Japanese cartoons, and the ideas come from the characters that I have watched; I pick the essence and put it into my sculptures,” he said.

Ali, on the other hand, picks up cartoon images such as Doraemon and Snoopy, and using metal automobile parts, constructs three-dimensional kinetic works. The metal he uses may be rough, spiked or textured.

The works that were displayed were priced between RM1,000 and RM3,000.