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Changing Phases: Relative Spaces – Visual Stories Celebrating Malaysian Modern History through the PETRONAS Art Collection is an example of the kind of art exhibition that is politically correct, pandering, lazy and downright condescending towards the Malaysian public who are a lot more mature and deserving of good art historical shows that are able to creatively reflect the aspirations and stakes in the process of our nation building.
It is teleological in how it perceives change. This means change in the exhibition is read as a smooth transition between one form to the other, one idea to the next, a linear development in which its constituent parts contributes towards some grand progressive aim. In this instance, this aim is the idea of a ‘modern’ Malaysia. The curator writes, ‘It is from this evocation of a recent past and the application of traditional values that has awakened new meanings of nationalism’.
Often it gloss over the sort of ideological struggle and contestation that accompanies a formal or stylistic upheaval, masking the kind of confrontation between different ways in which we think and articulate ideas through our practice, so what changes from one phase to another is simply a benign passage seen through a postmodern lens. Since everything is relative, since space and time itself is relative, it doesn’t matter, it all contributes to pluralism and diversity which is in and of itself, celebratory.
Example: The foldout catalogue write up about Jalaini Abu Hasasn and Zulkifli Yussof describes their departure from the Islamic abstraction of the previous decade as an expansion of Islamic symbolism to its ‘rituals and values to involve everyday life’. This sort of polite skirting around the formal rebellion against the conventionalised form of Islamic abstraction of its day disregarded the sort of ideological battle and stake that is involved in this so called ‘expansion’. Instead of communicating how growth is achieved in an artist and the arts community through the various challenges, provocation and antagonism we put ourselves through, we get this effete picture of a dilettante’s sudden urge to reflect his/her communal life and values through depicting the everyday rather than abstract transcendental forms.
This reeking kind of 1Malaysia multiculturalism is further describes late 80s and early 90s artists as choosing ‘to connect to Malaysia’s modern history while locating it within the parameters of their own ethnic and creative radius’. So that Chinese artists such as Choong Kam Kow ‘consciously’ looked back to his Chinese roots. Full stop. At what cost? For what reasons? Why was there such a powerful need to respond to non-Bumiputera socio cultural narratives at that point in time? These were not elucidated. One cannot claim to speak of Malaysia’s modernity without addressing the tension that holds this nation together.
Disappointingly, Changing Phases: Relative Spaces contemporary collection falls short of describing what an exciting time it is for contemporary art in Malaysia. It falls into the trap of trying to create a canon for the art of our time just as the country has for the first time an emerging and vibrant alternative scene (or scenes) that wants no acknowledgment from the center or its institutions. A successful institution needs to chart and recognise this independent endeavour.
So while some interesting works are available on display – i.e. Simryn Gill’s Dalam series to Yee I-Lann’s Kinabalu digital photographs to Roslisham Ismail aka Ise’s Superfiction – they are by no means exhaustive indication of the energy that drives contemporary art in Malaysia today.
Galeri PETRONAS needs to look further outside its usual sphere of acquiring artworks (mainly with commercial galleries and other established curators/authority figures, etc), towards other kinds of distribution and creative platforms, new ways of communicating art, and other ways of thinking and making art that many younger artists are engaged with. Often, ‘acquiring’ these works are more affordable than buying another conventional sort of artwork. If art has become more than that collectible object on the wall, then our institutions, lagging behind, needs to play serious catch up, understand how to creatively ‘collect’ these works, and safeguard it for posterity. Only then, perhaps, the stories we tell about ourselves would mean and reflect something.
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(SS)
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why you so anger?
bored la. so write rant lor. – simon
went to that show and was disappointed too. expected so much more. meh.
Well, the new management isn’t exactly doing a stellar job to begin with, so you can’t expect anything more than a lukewarm showing, can you?
*Sigh*
Wrong move Simon. Never say you are bashing just for fucks. Even if you are joking. Especially on a site you are managing.
Ok, lets say your criticism is in fact serious, well Simon you are essentially dissapointed that a big fat institutional exhibition was not like a nimble edgy alternative show right? History presented too smoothly, choice of artists too established, not enough of the alternative scene being explored…
W0W! You sound as naive as one of the young commentator here (sorry Dill, you are collatoral damadge).
When Balai bashing was at its heights a few years back (flux in management,lost works, leaky roofs) Petronas unoffically became the new center. A major solo exhibition there was the new stamp for being an established national artist.
Expecting Petronas to be edgy is like asking yo mama to dress for a night out at Jalan Alor. It might work but it’ll come off cheap, fake, and a little sad.
Dude, never forget that you are writing about a mall gallery that’s part of a mega freakin corporation. Misi, visi and the whole shebang. Any sign that such a system could deviate from the norm is simply PR or a temporary lapse in judgement.
Some other critique about your critique, not the exhibition
The critique on the exhibition needs to be more grounded on the works on show and less about the way things were written and displayed in the catalogue. One should not confuse vendettas against the institution and its curators with the artists.
It would have been better that you spent as much time celebrating the artists that moved you or provoked your thoughts. Saying that Ise, Simryn, and I-lann’s works were “interesting” is uh…interesting.
How many times did you walk around before you sat down with your biting conclusions? Didn’t you have time to take your own pictures instead of lifting the crappy gif files off Petronas? Isn’t that a sign of the laziness you found so awfull about the show?
If you really wanted to show how it should be done, you could have also provided your answers to the many questions you raise in the passage on Kam Kow. And try answering them not only in text but also by the choice of works and the way they were hanged.
Do you think the show would have benefitted if there had been different themes and order? I did not see the show and reading your piece didn’t give me any basic idea how things were actually organized.
The pomo relativity and its connection with the modernist goal of the exhibition..hmmm, I’m not sure but I think pretty interesting things come out from it with closer examination.
Lastly, you critique the show for skirting tensions but I sense that you are also skirting a lot by avoiding direct attacks on specific art works. Weren’t there pieces that you felt needed to be culled from the canon?
heheh just ranting too. Not bored, but taking a break from work ;) shhhh
well said boobeez.
There’s a right move? Now don’t get cocky please. I write whatever I want to write la. Do I have to start censoring myself because I manage the blog?
<>>How many times did you walk around before you sat down with your biting conclusions? Didn’t you have time to take your own pictures instead of lifting the crappy gif files off Petronas? Isn’t that a sign of the laziness you found so awfull about the show?>>>
What exactly are you ranting about? You’re just being provocative for the sake of being provocative!
>>Lastly, you critique the show for skirting tensions but I sense that you are also skirting a lot by avoiding direct attacks on specific art works. Weren’t there pieces that you felt needed to be culled from the canon?>>>
And the reason for doing this is?? So that drama ensues? Didn’t you read the title of the entry? Didn’t that indicate to you the scope of the discussion. How does canon-exclusion suddenly factor in this issue of stream-lining national history? Okay, maybe it does, but it’s secondary IMO.
enjoyed your writing simon. anger? let’s exercise our freedom of speech..whatever left. I couldn’t agree more. when this one blaming balai and self-proclaiming that they are better..think hard. 2×5 je lah!and i’m speaking through experience
wah…simon is so sexy when he’s angry
Setuju dengan pendapat boobeez…hmm mungkin citarasa atau kaca mata simon berbeza…dengan apa yang beliau fikirkan…tentang bagaimana Petronas harus berfungi,beroperasi & berpameran.
gopd job boozer! banyak sangat taik minyak depa ni…hahahaha
Wonderful reading some of your stuff. This is what I have to say…Arts in Malaysia is just beginning to see some hope. After all the silence, we are seeing a new group coming into play. THE ART INVESTORS!! They are not the old bunch of collectors or big huge companies. They are the young with limited resource but aplenty. I say it’s already good news when anyone have the guts to put on a show, write, comment or even think of arts. This is still the beginning. What you; the experts and educators of the industry say, do or guide is very important. Everyone’s watching, reading and even reacting. The secondary market is young, lacks information but I promise you is the most important segment of this industry. I am pleading with all of you. Kindly keep up the good work and fill us with knowledge. Be serious with us INVESTORS. Give us good and correct guidance. Please put all individuality aside and focus on building a concrete art market. Thanks.