ESSAY 1 : Diana Baharudin

MY ART JOURNEY

As long as I remember, I have always been captivated with the subject of art although unfortunately this interest had not been nurtured and pursued passionately. It had been buried as I was eager to explore and experiment with different interest and hobbies. Nonetheless, art has been haunting and stalking me throughout my life. As I reminisce several divine encounters made me realize that it is a waste for not acknowledging how much art has contributed in the overall aspects of our lives. I see art in humanity, nature, religion, history, civilization, culture, architecture, sculpture, film, music and so on.

I recall my first exposure to art; I was about six years old, my father send me and my brother to take art lessons in one of the art centre for kids in Bintulu, Sarawak the city where we grew up. I was told by the art instructor to draw what I liked in the classroom. I looked around and there I spotted a medium size brown clay vase with a purple flower standing on the table. I was immediately drawn to it.

Two hours passed, we are asked to put down our stationery. As watercolour was the material that I chose, I put down my brush and smiled happily at my end result. I was so excited when my drawing block was marked an A with red ink. My father was proud but told me to keep my interest at heart and to not abandon other subjects in school. Thus I was just doing art on the surface in primary school as I had to focus more on other subjects that were told to me to be more important.

Then, when I was in high school and being a commerce student in a ‘soon-to-be-fully-science school’, I had no option but to do Pendidikan Seni (Art Education) for the completion of my elective subjects. I feel demotivated and outcasted as art was not something of emphasis in that school. However, I was calmed by the art activities that we did in class, trying different methods, techniques and materials. I find art to be a therapeutic subject that relaxes me and classmates while spending hours studying for an important exam. Two years later, I received the result of my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, to my surprise I scored C4 in Pendidikan Seni (Art Education) - a strong credit compared to the subject of Commerce subject that I targeted to be my weapon of success.

Now many years later, after working in different industries I am back in art world again. Meeting my husband proved a bigger influence in my life to pursue art as a passion. Art is his educational background, as a freelance artist and curator, he often brought me to attend art exhibitions around Malaysia. He helped me understand and appreciate the different criterion of art. I enjoy the learning process and I am hoping that one day I would be more than just an art enthusiasts, and able to contribute my thoughts, ideas, opinion, feeling and emotions in the field of art.

Earlier this year, I had the chance to work with my husband in organizing and curating an art exhibition at a new gallery. We featured five emerging artists in the show, where I had experience a casual interview with them and did a simple write up for the catalogue. Below is the excerpt of my amateur effort at writing;

CHEKRI MANSOR

Mohd Rizal Mansor Din or fondly known as Chekri Mansor is a self taught, free-spirited surrealist artist. His inspiration comes from the influences of his surroundings, combined with great imagination. He infused Malaysian folklores, old idioms and proverbs through the exploration of multi-cultural beauty. Painting stories with vivid colours, expressing details with the form of mixed media and creating contrast is his formula in his work. Chekri Mansor had been featured in many exhibitions and venues; among them are Pameran Palestine Program Amal 2009 held at Balai Seni Lukis Negara in 2009, International Contemporary Art Fair 2008 at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre Kuala Lumpur and 62nd Tokyo International Gift Show at Tokyo Big Sight Odaiba, Japan in 2006.

CHRISTINE DAS

Like a hidden gem from the shores of the north, Christine Das had emerged with the help from ‘mother nature’.  Her artistic journey is as colourful as her artwork, seeing her involvement in book illustrations, displays, mural painting, graphic design and animation. In 1999, she was the scenic artist on the set of Hollywood production “Anna and the King”.  Her vibrant works were shown recently in MATICS, with the theme ‘Que Sera Sera’, where Christine allowed herself to be liberated and let her brush flowed freely in creating every piece. Christine received the Woman of Style and Substance award from Marie Claire magazine (Malaysia) in 2013.

ELIAS YAMANI

Elias Yamani Ismail graduated from UiTM with a Fine Arts Degree in the year 2000 and later continued his studies in Graphic Designs and Multimedia at LIM KOK WING University College of Multimedia and Design. He began producing art actively in the late 1990’s and has undergone diverse explorations in the art making process. As a result, his body of artworks are not bound to one specific approach. His mission is to not be tied to a certain format and specific medium. He believes in many possibilities of experimentation in producing artwork.

SHALIZA JUANNA

The apple does not fall far from the tree; Shaliza’s main influence is her own father who is a lecturer in Fine Art. She receives her first exposure at a tender age through frequent visits to art exhibitions with her father. A graduate of UiTM Shah Alam, she had participated in various exhibition such as Young Malaysian Artist, Petronas Gallery KLCC and “Ilham”- Steampunk at Pelita Hati, Bangsar. Her sculpture, the “pop-eyed monster” is an intriguing piece that had many viewers stare and gaze.

SUKOR ROMAT

Muhammad Sukor Bin Romat is a full time lecturer in SOMAD (School of Media Art Design), LINTON University College in Negeri Sembilan. This young man holds a Masters of Art and Design (Fine Art and Technology) from UiTM, Selangor. His competitive nature begins in high school, collecting numerous awards from competition and recognition in his art work. His artwork had been showcased in exhibition in venue such as Balai Seni Lukis Negara, House of Matahati (HOM) and Artvillage Gallery in Bangsar. Sukor Romat is also a finalist of Young Contemporary Awards 2013 held in Nasional Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.

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Last but not least, as a newcomer I am grateful for the opportunity given by Artelier Gallery to join the team as Gallery Executive. This career development is a step further to chase my dream in the art world and I believe Artelier Gallery is the right platform for me to learn, grow and materialize my vision of becoming a contributor to the Malaysian art scene.