HUES OF HAPPINESS - Exhibition by Southest Asian Artists

As curator and one of the participating artists of this exhibition, I am grateful to have all parties involved work closely and with full commitment for the success of this international event. Here, I would like to share the words, amazing artwork and wonderful moment to all. May happiness be yours in your way always.  




https://www.instagram.com/p/B5JavNuJFQy/?igshid=18hplclige69w

 

As is known widely, art as a form of communication is able to evoke emotions and thoughts that connect people of different social and cultural backgrounds, transcending language barriers. 

 

A firm believer of art in bridging people and cultures together, Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM) is pleased joined hands with Malaysia Art Society (PSM) and Artdialogo Asia in working on a project named Art Empowerment Project 2019 to spread the positive acts of contributing and empowering people through the arts. As art has the power for deeper self-understanding, shaping ones temperament and expressing ones feelings.

 

Art Empowerment Project 2019 consists of three events commencing from February to December 2019 namely Community Development Programme, Hues of Happiness: Exhibition by Southeast Asian Artists and Artdialogo 2019.

 

This exhibition on Hues of Happiness has gathered Southeast Asian artists with a common practice in contributing to the community through arts, culture and education.

 

The colourful cultural backgrounds and diverse personal experiences of every single artist has led them in creating poetic and picturesque works brimming with a sense of happiness. They have infused their personal inspirations, perspectives, stories and acts of kindness that embody happiness, vividly in their paintings.

 

“Hues of Happiness” presents a beautiful selection of 46 artworks by 23 participating artists from seven countries— Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia and Myanmar.

 

It features a special curation showcasing the output and journey of the artists in defining happiness, together with children who participated in the community development programme that was held from February to August this year.

 

Art recharges life with positive energy and enhances our inner selves. Believing nothing is more important than pursuing self-development and a contributive life in building a better society. We look forward to see more like-minded communities joining us in the journey to spread positive act to even more people and define happiness in a different level. Creating a better world starts with us!

 

BY: SOKA GAKKAI MALAYSIA, KUALA LUMPUR

The participating artists of Hues of Happiness: Exhibition by Southeast Asian Artists

Brunei Nazurah Usop   Cambodia Sor Sophany   Indonesia Emmy Go, Ugy Sugiarto, Wiwik Oratmangun   Malaysia Ang Kooi Yong, Honey Khor, Jane Tan, Katy Yu, Khalid Othman, Pady R. Fadzilah, Shireen Lee   Myanmar Min Yin Thant   The Philippines Anna Karina Jardin, Maxi V. Ramos, Fernando B. Sena, Joemarie Sanclaria Chua, Lhean Storm, Miriam G. Daway, Pancho M. Piano   Thailand Jirawat Phirasant, Kanaid Silsat, Wattanachot Tungateja

 

Opening ceremony on 16th November 2019 by Dato Nicole Tan

 

Cultural Performance by members of Soka Gakkai Malaysia 

 

Photography session with VIPs, co-organizers and all the participating artists

 

 

 FOREWORD published in exhibition booklet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Curatorial Note by Shireen Lee

As is widely-known, art, as a form of communication, can evoke emotions and thoughts that connect people of different social and cultural backgrounds, transcending language barrier. Therefore, it would not be inappropriate to say that artists, through their artworks and creative process, are among the best ambassadors to connect with people from all walks of life via the visual language of art. Community-oriented projects are one of the channels where artists could contribute their effort and fulfil social responsibility by organising creativity-based programmes.

With the ultimate aim to empower communities as well as defining happiness through art, Malaysia Art Society, ArtDialogo Asia and Soka Gakkai Malaysia have co-organised the “Art Empowerment Project 2019” event which comprises community projects carried out earlier this year, the “Hues of Happiness” art exhibition and exchange programmes.

The Tasks commenced with apparent challenges in initial stage of selection of participating artists. As it is a specially-curated exhibition with a theme, one of the artists’ criteria is that his or her involvement in art-oriented community projects is taken as a fulfilment of requirement for participation. Generally, as creative and intuitive thinkers, artists appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature and interaction with community since witnessing others’ experiences and understanding others’ cultures, lives and values will help broaden their perspective of life. In turn, this will inspires and stimulate creativity within them to create more masterpieces. However, some prefer to work individually from studios or in isolated conditions for various reasons and they rarely connect with the community. Nevertheless, as visual arts are part of self-expressive activities, nothing can be argued on the way artists work.      

With painting styles ranging from photorealism to abstract, subjects diversified from scenery to figures, genres varied from impressionism to expressionism, participating artists converse quietly and yet powerfully their thoughts and perception of life and happiness. A total of 23 artists from seven Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Myanmar and Cambodia have been selected to take part in this exhibition.

Though art delights souls in general, not all art pieces are created to please everyone. Art, a form of expression, could either reflect the states of external world or the inner state of the artists. However, in lines with the Art Empowerment Project 2019, through hues, forms or conceptual ideas presented on canvases, the artists express their own definition of the meaning of happiness. As art influences society by changing opinions, instilling values and translating experiences across space and time, these artists define the theme in various perspectives creatively and skillfully. Perhaps, for artists, painting or the process of creating artwork itself is happiness. Art is where we have absolute freedom of expression, space for mindfulness and unleashing ideas beyond reality. Nazurah Usop from Brunei and Maxi V. Ramos from the Philippines rejoice in moments of happiness by immersing themselves in art.       

From the artist statements and experience, happiness could be as simple as having sufficient staple food for daily survival or as sophisticated as achieving calmness in spiritual growth. Every art piece is a dialogue between artist and viewers in search of different interpretations of happiness.

For Sor Sorphany from Cambodia, bringing happiness to children living in poverty by inspiring and supporting them in their creative endeavors make her days blissful. The same goes to Malaysian Honey Khor, who supports children from underprivileged families in Siem Reap, Cambodia through art for the past ten years, and derives happiness by practicing metta (benevolence). Her paintings on lotus flowers in full bloom reflect her happiness in finding inner strength and beauty to overcome obstacles.

In parallel, Anna Karina Jardin from the Philippines, who sees art as an efficient way of transforming next generation, founded ArtDialogo Asia to provide platform for artists to exchange perspective through engagement in community development besides uplifting morale of children and persons with disability through art. Her paintings possess feminine elements which executed with decorative motifs on segments of flat colours in bright tones.     

On the other hand, for Indonesian artists Ugy Sugiarto, happiness is rather less complicated. For him, happiness is when one can still be grateful for everything one has. Yet, his photorealistic painting style that requires no simple effort is contrary to his perception and belief regarding happiness as it demands perseverance, sharp observation and intense concentration. Although Ugy Sugiarto and Khalid Othman from Malaysia have the same interest in painting figures, Khalid tends to capture human forms through physical expressions of a person reflects his or her life experience and background, presenting him with the essence that attract him to produce his semi-abstract artwork with patched colours.   

Messages bought out by hues or colours applied on artworks are pertinent as well. Hues that are either planned consciously or painted intuitively by artists complement and enhance the theme in different contexts. For Indonesian Emmy Go, happiness is all about serenity and calming colours of nature that bring peacefulness to soul and mind. This is obviously noticeable in her choice of colours.

However, happy colours for every individual may differ according to one’s cultural inheritance, life experiences and personal characteristics. Wiwik Oratmangun from Indonesia, for instance, is always pleased by colourful flora. Colours make her happy and she hopes her brightly-coloured artworks will give viewers the same kind of happiness. Similarly, Katy Yu who graduated from a university in Qingdao, China, sees moods and rhythms in colours. Her expression of happiness through abstract forms contrasts with her realism style in figures painting - perhaps, happiness is abstract as well. Miriam G. Daway who was a practicing lawyer in the Philippines retired early to pursue art, believes that happiness is seen in the eyes of both artist and viewer. Her subject matters always arouse a moment of closeness.

Artists see the world differently. Every single change in atmosphere, environment and relationship around them could be the source of inspiration. For Malaysian Ang Kooi Yong, observing frangipani plants in front of her apartment brings her peace of mind and she shares this happy dialogue on canvases. Pady Fadzilah, another Malaysian artist who paints mainly landscapes, believes that living life to the fullest and passionately appreciating nature could generate happiness. However, we need to allocate time and be calm in order to get in touch with nature. It is something hard for city-dwellers to achieve as they are living in fast-paced life in the current digital age. Life has to slow down once a while to give ourselves peaceful time to contemplate life and the things we are passing by. Despite a heavy workload, Assoc Prof Dr Jirawat Phirasant from Naresuan University in Thailand always gets up early at 3:00AM to enjoy some coffee and paint for three hours before starting his lectures. It is in these three-hour periods that his inspiration flows, when his psychological time slows down and his self-meditation takes over that brings his feeling on daily life and surroundings to canvases.     

As mentioned, relationship with others is another sentiment-evoker that inspire artists. Jane Tan from Malaysia, who always spends quality time with family members, expresses her definition of happiness by painting her loved ones, to whom she shares her joys and sorrows. She wishes, through her figures in artworks, viewers will be inspired by love and thus spend precious time with their children.

Meanwhile, established Thai artist Wattanachot Tungateja, whose artwork have been selected in numerous international exhibitions, believes that there is a correlation between life and Earth. Creatures live together within the food chain of nature, either supporting or exploiting ones and others, contribute to ecological balance. He combines his various eye shapes with fundamental art principles to create and express personalised concept of nature and beauty. Differing from others, Lhean Storm from the Philippine, whose works are influenced by Psytrance, an electronic dance music genre with unique, hypnotic and transcendent energy, devises her imagined musical melodies into intuitive paintings and illustrations.

Sentimental attachment to one’s homeland and values is another essence that inspires artists. Maestro Fernando B. Sena, who is dubbed by the Philippines press as “Father of Philippines Art Workshop”, has a unique view on one of the staple foods, pandesal (bread roll) that every Filipino has for daily breakfast. To him, pandesals come in various shapes, sizes and tones represent the diverse, rich and beautiful culture of the Philippines which he is truly grateful for.

On the other hand, an artist of younger generation from the Philippines, Joemarie Sanclaria, loves the old Philippines setting under Spanish occupation. He explores the play of light and shadow to create a kind of visually fairy tale atmosphere in his artwork. For Pancho M. Piano, who is known for his murals and stained glass designs in the Philippines, Japan, Saipan and Palau, conveys happiness though painting celebrations, cultures and traditions that he observes locally and aboard. Pancho’s artworks depict his visual memoirs that he renders like a kaleidoscope of colours to intimate various emotions.     

Thailand pioneer artist Dr Kanaid Silsat, who was an associate dean at the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts in Khon Kaen University of Thailand in 1995, has attended numerous residency programmes in various countries and exhibited actively worldwide, sees positive people living in peaceful Earth without war, a form of happiness. For him, happiness is all about the needs of humanity. His abstract artwork of pleasant colours and stylized symbols give viewers sense of simplification and sophistication at the same time.

As for me, Shireen Lee, landscapes, people, memories and any single thing that exists either in concrete or abstract form could be a source of happiness, depending on my beliefs, values and desires. Through semi abstract concepts and painting styles, my artwork emphasizes a positive and harmonious relationships between mankind and environment that should be sustained on Earth. Perhaps, happiness does not exist spontaneously.

For Min Yin Thant, a Myanmar artist living in Malaysia, happiness has to be made, created and be built from ground up. Instead of searching endless for what happiness is, we should have gratitude for what we have. Figures of Burmese ethnics in his artworks reflect contentment and the state of satisfaction of people living without material comforts.

As a conclusion, art recharges life with positive energy and enhances our inner selves for a better community. Through collaboration in art activities for the good of societies and countries, we look forward to strengthen connections among artists beyond geographical boundaries besides enhancing the value of art as a catalyst for inspiring and building relationships.   

 

 

Speech by Dato Michael Chong from SGM

Speech by Mr. Michael Yee, President of Malaysia Art Society

Opening ceremony held at Wisma SGM Kuala Lumpur

Part of artowrks exhibited in exhibition venue

Artists and co-organizers posed for photography

Left to right : Cheng PS, Kanaid, Wattanachot, Shireen and Nazurah

Artwork viewing and touring

Art sharing with VIPs

Posed for phtography at the entrance of exhibition hall

Left to right: Datin Mary, artist Long Thien Shi and Pady Fadzilah

Briefing session to participating artists before opening ceremony

 Besides exhibition, there are art talk, workshop, and art activities held in conjunction with the event. Everyone has played their part to make the event a success. Support from public is overwhelming as well. 

Mural painting by students, artists and public

Mural touched up by artists and volunteers

Drawing Workshop by Maestro Fernando B. Sena

Participants attending workshop

Children visited exhibition after attending 'colours vs personality' workshop with Anna Karina (sitting with red shirt)

participants of children art workshop conducted by Anna Karina and Shireen

Event reported by local newspaper 

 

 

Happy ending - Art brings hearts closer and together we generate positive energy to society

Closing dinner at Royal Selangor Club Kuala Lumpur hosted by ArtDialogo Asia

Group photo for wonderful memory

LET'S MEET AGAIN 

SOMEWHERE

SOMEDAY