ESSAY 1 : Adam Zainal

WOOD PANEL

This came from previous drawings of displaying work with text. I was always obsessed with using historical or mythical facts of my family with just one word in describing of what they represent. It is direct but now I think I have included the environment that I am currently living in and lived in before living in London. Using wood and porcelain to make 2 panels with different ideas on the different panels will intrigue me. I’ve worked on the wooden so far and have got what I wanted. So will try to complete by next week and install the porcelain wall with it.

Wooden Panel The idea behind this is to show the village interior of a wooden Kampung (village) house. The reason behind it is because to me it is something that only relates to my past. I myself have not lived for more than a month in one. But the only time of doing so is to celebrate the new Islamic New Year. Even now it is more of a romantic thought of living in one than actuality as we have progressed a long way especially where I live as there are only few around left in the city itself. Yet when thinking of it brings memories or symbolises the culture where I am from somehow due to the media describing where one ethnicity lives in.

Development

I would like to use carving tools but as the workshop has chisels instead I will use that. Even the wood itself, I preferred a hollow plank but as it is rare to find it I will use the aged soft wood that the wood workshop guys gave me.Now on this wooden panel, I will have inscriptions signifying one particular family member. Some will be unsystematic and others “professional” look. I have gone a step further with not just using English and Bahasa Melayu but also Arabic, Dutch, German and Sanskrit to add the mysteriousness but more importantly the hidden messages of this past that we may or may not absorb.
With the wood itself, I want to look “Malaysian” or as what I have seen what the wooden houses look like and give the push and pull effect with the porcelain wall that will beside it. The fight between one another will make it be interesting to see who will attract the viewer most. To stain the wood. I have tried using tea, coffee, ink and charcoal but nothing strong. So in the end I used a technique that has been used in Malaysia by many artist for their artworks, which is Bitumen. So there are significance not only in looks but reason as well as one of the identities of Malaysian artworks.

8.11.2013

My wood panel is nearly complete and I have changed a few things here and there for the each of the wooden panel. Firstly each panel will have one particular distinct text style. I’ve decided this decision because I felt the need of progress in the way we move from one type of medium and continue developing and using different elements in out lives. Also aesthetically looks livelier than having wood carved out on all of the panels. The last panel, which is not completed yet might just be painted white because to me white is a very neutral colour and also does not bring it out more or draws more attention to it. Secondly the tiled on the other wall will be placed differently in a form of a pattern instead of looking like the same for the wooden panel.