Dayang held her first solo show titled Curiosity at Shanghai’s Meou Art Gallery (All photos: Suhaimi Yusuf/The Edge)
The late Canadian designer and design activist Robert L Peters might have exhorted how “design creates culture” but it is also more than likely that culture creates design. The latter certainly rings true for visual artist Dayang van Wezel-Salim, whose creative journey really began when she was based in Shanghai, China. “My husband, two daughters and I lived there for eight years, since 2005. It was such an exciting time then and the city was booming. The arts and culture scene was electric and thriving.”
Married to Dutchman Gijs, a business coach and consultant, Dayang spent the early years of her marriage immersing herself in painting lessons and interior design courses while raising a family. “It was fun. I even worked at an interior design company and was commissioned to make book covers too. I enjoyed it all but never did anything on my own or on a grand scale as I was busy with the children, not to mention learning a new language.”
Once in Shanghai, though, and with more time to herself, she began to dabble in organising exhibitions. Inspired by the energy of the fabled “Paris of the East”, she helped put together small annual exhibitions as well as bring Chinese artists to present their work in Holland. “We curated a couple of interesting shows and that made me realise how much I missed exploring my own sense of creativity.”
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About 10 years after acquainting herself with China’s art scene, Dayang held her first solo show titled Curiosity at Shanghai’s Meou Art Gallery and, a year later, created the first of her now-bestselling placemat series. “I love cooking and wanted something special with which to decorate, especially when guests came over. Somehow, I couldn’t find anything I liked. I also wanted something in which I could incorporate elements of my life in Shanghai.” Charmed by Chinese history and tradition, she began using historic and cultural motifs, weaving them onto fabric and fashioning beautiful but practical items for her dining table.
Ikat fabric — a great favourite of Dayang’s — serves as a colourful canvas for depicting mahjong tiles or even the Empress Dowager Cixi herself. There are also pieces bearing city skylines juxtaposed against old maps, a haunting image of the slain spy Mata Hari, and an Indian woman wearing an electric blue lehenga and with flowers in her hair. “It is easy to be inspired in Malaysia,” she says. “I walk around Kuala Lumpur, visiting small shops, taking pictures … and I love expressing what I see. After all, my art embodies and celebrates cultural diversity. Old photographs, fabric scraps, found objects … all these are materials that form a perfect symbiosis with my ideas. Truth be told, I never intended to venture into home furnishings as I was and still am very much focused on my art. It was only after friends came over and asked if I could make more and sell to them. Somehow, people wanted to have the items, something they hadn’t seen before. It grew organically from there and I soon began to participate in bazaars as well.”
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Dayang now supplies her treasures primarily to upscale resort shops like The Datai and Bon Ton in Langkawi, the Eastern & Oriental Hotel in Penang and Club Med Cherating in Kuantan.
Having called KL home for the past six years, she is also working towards participating in more solo or group exhibitions where she can showcase her unique brand of art that melds painting, collage and embroidery. “I just enjoy creating using needle and thread,” she enthuses. “Somehow, getting creative with fabric allows me to express myself the way I like best. It is also a very meditative process. And while I undoubtedly still have a long way to go in my craft, I couldn’t love the journey more.”
She credits her Javanese mother for sowing the initial seeds. “Mum, who is 89, is one of my most important inspirations. She loved sewing and had an old Singer machine that you had to work the pedals to use it. Growing up in Singapore, we also had a neighbour who owned a fabric and textiles shop and would always kindly gift us lots of fabric scraps, knowing mum had five daughters. She always appreciated the extra cloth that could be turned into dresses or accessories for us.”
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Today, Dayang’s artistic universe spans mixed media art and home accessories like placemats, coasters and lampshades, and she is open to private commissions as well. “I have just completed a customised kerongsang set,” she shares.
If you cannot get enough of her vibrant aesthetic that is traditional yet contemporary, do know that kimonos, dresses, men’s shirts and clean white t-shirts adorned with an embroidered motif of Mahsuri, that tragic lass of Langkawi lore, will also join the line-up of offerings shortly.
“This is part of my vision: to share feminine ideals. I am not an activist but I love including women in my work. Most of them, you would see, are pictured solo. They always evoke femininity and yet I want to show how these women too have their own minds. They can stand alone on their own. That is how I want to symbolise women — feminine and beautiful, yet strong!”
This article first appeared on Oct 14, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.
