A Period Piece for the Times we are in (2020) by Nicholas Choong is featured in Mending Fence: Tales from an Isolation (Photo: G13 Gallery)
The culture and arts industry in Malaysia is reinventing its ways and exploring different digital mediums to carry on with planned programmes and projects. Visual and performing artists are taking their shows online to entertain home-bound fans as well as present what they have created during the MCO. Here are five local shows to catch this month.
Musang’s Words
Sweeping and meditative landscapes are what artist Chen Wei Meng is perhaps most well known for. Three years after his Sekinchan: Lang of Fertility showcase — detailed and realistic landscapes of paddy fields — Chen’s new solo exhibition features a collection of ink drawings inspired by the mountain structure of Gua Musang. Presented by Wei-Ling Gallery until April 26, Chen’s works can be viewed in a video exhibition, detailing his artistic departure from colour to black and white, his chase for the concept of ‘flow’, his experimentation of different mediums — choosing Chinese ink on Xuan paper in the end — and how he achieved a sense of clarity after watching a Bruce Lee interview.
Sherlock Holmes in Ripper Street
British expat Scott McQuaid has spent 10 years in KL working as the Cempaka Performing Arts Company’s resident artistic director. Determined to keep performing arts alive during the MCO, McQuaid has produced his first audio play, which features various actors from the UK, USA, Malaysia, Turkey and Australia. The play focuses on the real crime murders of London's infamous Jack the Ripper — all evidence and theories are genuine — and is delivered from the world's famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. The social distancing theatre project is free to listen on Youtube.
Mending Fence: Tales from an Isolation
G13 Gallery has brought together 30 artists from Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand for a virtual group exhibition that showcases artworks created during the social distancing, quarantine and lockdown period of the artists in their respective countries. Mending Fence is an attempt to display the artists’ reactions towards the on-going pandemic as well as to document the current situation in an artistic manner. The artworks can be enjoyed until April 30 via G13 Gallery’s Viewing Room, initially designed to offer online visitors a virtual experience of small curated exhibitions.
#MuzikDariRumah
Newly launched by the Communications and Multimedia Ministry, Muzik Dari Rumah is a digital concert that features musical performances by local artists and musicians. Some 300 artists, musicians and buskers are involved in producing 130 scheduled programmes, which will be available on Muzik Malaysia’s website and Youtube channel. Among those involved in the project are Zee Avi, Dato’ Jamal Abdillah, DJ Fuzz, Soo Wincci, Dasha Logan and Faizal Tahir.
Monochrome
In collaboration with Indonesian gallery Art Serpong Gallery, Artemis Art Gallery presents Monochrome, a group exhibition featuring six visual artists, namely Afdhal, Ajim Juxta, Danni Febriana, Dedy Sufriadi, M. Yakin, and Syahbandi Samat. As both Indonesia and Malaysia are facing the Covid-19 crisis, a virtual exhibition walkthrough video for Monochrome has been designed to allow viewers to explore the space. The walkthrough comes with a guided tour function, but viewers may also point and click on any of the artwork images to view its details. The virtual exhibition is best viewed on a desktop browser of via the Artsteps mobile app, which is available for Android and iOS.
