BUANASENI

Title: The Sad Baby Joker
Medium: Photographic effects and Graphics
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Ian Zuhayr
Time/Date: 12:00pm; 30 Dec 2012
Venue: Kelab Shah Alam
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"... it’s about time that we have a psychologist in the family...... "

Wedding of Kusyairi Ariff & Hanee Shereen
30 December 2012, Kelab Shah Alam



 INTRO




HISTORY


Kusyairi, I would like to share with you some basic tips for a long lasting peace of mind, particularly in a marriage. I may not necessarily agree with these tips but they work nonetheless:

1. When Hanee cooks, you say “Hmm.... Sedap”.
2. When Hanee is sick, you make her hot soup, not Maggi mee.
3. When it is 22 December, pamper her with an anniversary dinner and make sure you mark your diary because if you don’t, she will mark your head.
4. When it is 19 April, get her a birthday present.
5. Always assume that she is right in any argument because she has a special lock that locks the bedroom door for which keys are not made available to you.
6. When she makes jokes, laugh as if she is the champion of Raja Lawak.
7. Always put up the toilet seats.
8. The weekend diary is managed by her. Don’t worry you’ll get the notification of weekend events weeks in advance.
9. When she cries, take her into your arms like an angel.
10. And the hardest of all, when you two have babies, stay up with her to feed milk and change diapers.

HERSTORY


What advise can I give you as a brother in-law? Well, here goes:

1. When Kush is hungry, he is not fuss. Fried Rice with Ayam Goreng and a bit of Kicap and Chilli Sauce will suffice (Note that Kicap will be known as To’Yu to you from today onwards. I think it came from a Chinese word Tau Yoo).
2. When Kush is back from work looking tired, give him a smile.
3. When Kush is sick, well, it’s your turn to do the hot soup, and not Maggi mee.

CLOSING

Before I retreat, please do allow me a short poem that I narrated at 2:00 am this morning:

Singgah di Kelang untuk Kuih Kasturi
Yang Enak Rangup Secukup Rasa
Sungguh Segak Kush dan Hanee
Mengakhiri Zaman Teruna dan Dara

Anak Bongsu Kawin Sudah
Meninggalkan Rumah Sunyi Sepi
Mak dan Bapak tak payahlah Gundah,
Nantikan saja cucu dari Kush dan Hanee

Semangkuk Selasih Semanis Puan
Segulung Popiah dari Tanjung
Terima Kasih Tuan dan Puan
Budi Dikenang Jasa Dijunjung

Terima Kasih

Title: Ang! Ang!
Medium: Photographic effects
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Time/Date: 8:00pm; 27 Dec 2012
Item: Electrified Statues of Swans
Venue: i-City
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Title: Excessive Power?
Medium: Photographic effects
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Time/Date: 8:00pm; 27 Dec 2012
Venue: i-City
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"..... and God sent me an Angel that opened my heart to a new realm of love,.. the love of a father... "

Title: Angel Daniel
Medium: Photographic Effects
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Daniel Ariff
Time/Date: 6:00pm; 28 Dec 2012
Venue: Trick Museum, i-City
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Title: Art Exchange 2012 Opening by Kakiseni
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Time/Date: 9:00pm; 6 Sept 2012
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Title: Bravura Victuals XX - The French Riviera Feast
Medium: Photographic Effects
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Time/Date: 7 Oct 2012
Items & Venues:
Continental Breakfast in Cannes
Seafood Platter Lunch in Nice
Margherita Pizza Dinner in Monte Carlo
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Title: Teh O Limau
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Items: Lemon Tea
Time/Date: Unknown
Venue: Unknown
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Title: SOLITUDE IV
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Item: Abandoned Bungalow
Time/Date: 3:00pm; 9 Nov 2012
Venue: Bangsar
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Title: Bravura Victuals XIX
Medium: Photographic Effects
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Items: Lobster, Wagyu & French Vanilla
Time/Date: 10:57pm; 9 Nov 2012
Venue: Lafite Shangri-La
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Title: Lights, Camera, Action!
Medium: Photographic Effects
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Harith Iskander
Time/Date: 8:57pm; 12 Nov 2012
Venue: The Royal Arts Gala 2012
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Title: Bravura Victuals XVIII
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Item: Roasted Lamb
Time/Date: 12:57pm; 13 Nov 2012
Venue: One World Hotel
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Title: Apple Jack-O-Lantern
Medium: Sculpture & Photography
Artist: Daniel Ariff
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Time/Date: 8:00pm; 20 November 2012
Venue: Sime Darby Medical Centre
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Title: Bravura Victuals XVII
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Item: Roasted Lamb
Time/Date: 12:57pm; 13 Nov 2012
Venue: One World Hotel
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Yusof “Gajah”, the reference many art scholars in Malaysia are familiar with in the realm of art academia. He is the epitome “naïve” art icon.

"Art must contribute to the betterment of humanity and it has to be important" quoted by Shukor Yahya, the Kufi Rhapsody

"Art is the ultimate expression of human soul. It tells the tales long past and dreams the future" quoted by Shukor Yahya, the Kufi Rhapsody

He (Shukor Yahya Kufi Rhapsody) cheekily added "Picasso, your time is out. It's Kufi's time now"

Title: Pikaboo!
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Ian Zuhayr Johan
Time/Date: 19 August 2012
Venue: Shah Alam
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TARIKAN by SUTRA DANCE THEATRE:
Sutra Foundation presents Tarikan. Redefining Contemp Modern Dance from Asian perspective. Date/Time: 29/8/2012 – 2/9/2012 8:30PM – 11PM; Venue: Pentas 2, klpac. For more information: www.sutrafoundation.org.my




Ramli Ibrahim presents Tarikan, redefining contemporary dance with traditional values. This was what went on in my mind when I attended the Tarikan dance show at KLPac yesterday. I had never experienced an Indian traditional dance show and this was my first. Wasn't sure what to expect or feel, but afterwards, it all makes sense. Being an art advocate, I was obliged to experience the different flavours artists can offer, only to discover that that obligation presented a memorable delightful experience of a First Timer! It was as if I was tasting olives for the first time - mysteriously weird with a pleasant after taste. Let me tell you why.

I love performing arts but traditional dance did not get my attention in the past. My recent encounters with Ramli Ibrahim presented me with the opportunity to understand traditional arts further. In this case, Indian dances. Ramli quoted ".... this is serious art" and I went ".... ya Michael Jackson was also serious". Little did I realise that "serious" means richness in aesthetic value. This (aesthetic value), I find in Tarikan. Ramli was kind enough to extend me an invitation for the show. I thank you (Ramli). I took it upon myself from that point that I should never assume what I'd feel before I actually give myself the chance to experience it (whatever it may be). So for those of you out there who have never experienced a traditional dance show, give yourselves the chance and go for Tarikan at KLPac.

Anyway, the lights went off and a buzzing sound (Hindu/Buddhist style) started getting louder by the second simultaneously followed by defined lighting that gets brighter every second at positions highlighting dancers. And they started to dance. Very gracefully. Moves that you don't think humans can make. It was as if an invisible giant child was playing with a doll flexing the arms and legs in unimaginable directions a human body could do. The dancers were not in traditional Hindu dresses but in contemporary costumes. This was the first departure from my perception of what this lot was all about. At this stage, the moves following the traditional Gamelan tunes were still quite within my expectations of a traditional Indian dance.

Then I realised that the series of dances performed seem to tell a story. You can almost create a story of your own by choosing the different dancers as different characters in your imaginary saga. This is possible because in the ocean of synchronised movements, ad hoc break ups by each dancers performing their unique movements gave character to each dancers. You can almost fit in a love story into the whole set. The choreography further metamorphosed from ethnic-influenced movements into a more passionate, exotic and erotic movements. A hybrid of traditional, gymnastics and contemporary dancing. This added flavour and meaning to it all. Ever watched Philadephia? The scene when Tom Hanks was appreciating the opera song while Danzel was observing him? Yeah! I was Tom Hanks practically - "appreciating".

In the midst of all that anticipated traditional Indian dance movement which was rejuvenated by the contemporary fusion of modern and sensual movements, suddenly, a rocker with an electric guitar appeared by the side! Wow! In my mind, what is going on here? Kurt Cobain just woke up from being dead? The rocker started to strum and play mini solos with distortions enough to preserve the rock elements but yet flowing nicely alongside the rhythms of the Gamelan. The dance moves seem to evolve into an interesting recipe of accommodating the influences of the battling Gamelan and electric guitar. Imagine trying to dance Salsa with a Metallica tune? It's a paradox really. It sounded impossible but hey! Indian traditional dance with electric guitar rocky music elements! It works! Fantastic!

So in conclusion, Tarikan is an eye opener. It is an evolution. An aesthetic value that truly upholds the need to move in the same wavelength with the changing environment. It epitomises the spirit of contemporary art and gives new life to ancient creation. It is simply refreshing. A surprise even. It is creative - Full Stop. Syabas! Ramli and his crew.

Title: Gunaan Ilusi
Medium: Water Base Paint Mural + Photography
Dimension: 340cm X 170cm
Artist: Johan Ishak
Models: Johan Ishak & Amirul Rizal
Time/Date: November 1992
Place of Creation: STAR, Ipoh
Current Location: Demolished
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At the dawn of Syawal, we are given the opportunity to seek forgiveness from all regardless of age, religion or ethnic origin. We are not spared from the imperfection of committing sins, even as small as atoms.

We must not forget that we are humans. For that, we err. For that, we are humbled by the mere acknowledgement of our weaknesses, as humans. With humility, comes realisation. With realisation, comes gratitude. With gratitude, comes love.

Therefore, at the dawn of Syawal, it is only appropriate that such love is epitomised through forgiveness. Let's forgive each other. Happy Syawal.

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Title: Fighting Ciggy Cravings
Medium: Photography; Photo-effects
Photographer/Artist: Johan Ishak
Time/Date: 8:50pm; 5 Jul 2012
Venue: Shah Alam
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Title: Bravura Victuals XVI
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Item: Mandi Lamb
Time/Date: 9:57 pm; 29 June 2012
Venue: Nasi Arab, Kota Damansara
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Title: Bravura Victuals XV
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Item: Banana Fritters & Vanilla Ice Cream
Time/Date: 2:00 pm; 27 June 2012
Venue: Ecoba, PJ Trade Centre
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Malaysian Contemporary Art | Aliya and Farouk Khan Collection



LIYA AND FAROUK KHAN had recently shared with me their collections of Malaysian contemporary art. It is a magnificent piece of portfolio. Amazing really. They have made a book out of the collection called Malaysian Contemporary Art | Aliya and Farouk Khan Collection. What a shame that this book cannot be procured from the book stores nor is it available from any galleries. It is a limited edition. Only those very rare few managed to buy it when it was issued. In any case, I perused through the portfolio and felt compelled to at least share a few of my favourites.... just the top few that I admire from the whole collection (I choose not to name the title of those pieces but only the artists - I have my own reasons):



SHOOSHIE SULAIMAN has a magnificent flare for figures especially the face of human beings. Not realists, but distorted with brilliant mixture of colours to blend those faces into the ambiance of a room. It radiates emotion only each individual who is viewing it are entitled to interpret. A series of such work, if arranged on a wide wall will just roast the appreciation to perfection. Mind you, she is the only Malaysian, to have brought back award from the prestigious Documenta from Germany.



DAUD RAHIM toys around with abstract. Definitely not a realist. An impressionist random in thoughts but bold in presentation, sufficiently myopic to give chance for viewers to explore their own set of storytelling (in their minds). My personal view is that, his strokes and colour combinations just makes a lot of sense. It creates the mood for you to tell your own story of the piece regardless of what Daud himself was thinking when he was painting it.



ANUAR RASHID captures my attention in a different manner. It is as if he is enlightening me with certain cosmic aura. Unlike Daud who chooses to boldly present his statements, Anuar gives a mystical sense. The sort of work that makes you think with your eyes focused to the floor rather than on the painting. This piece here is my son's favourite. He (my son) said, "the rest of the art works are full of ghosts but this one, shows heaven".


AHMAD FUAD OSMAN simply gives me the creep. I am not sure whether this feeling will manifest for his other work but for this one here, definitely. I mean, a clown! in the river reflection. How scary is that? You can choose to start telling your own stories like what Daud's work can do; or you can struggle to find that divine meaning like what you get from Anuar's work...... but you cannot escape that first impression this piece gives to your psychological reaction. It simply by-passes neuron interpretations and hits the modulla oblongata straight concluding almost instantaneously that creepy feeling. I must say that out of those hundreds of paintings in the book Malaysian Contemporary Art, this is my favourite. Vibrant colours yet not depicting a circus-like impression. A realist in its visual but abstract in its concept. Manifesting the sarcastic and fearful factor. A masterpiece that can actually pull you away from other paintings gravitating you to itself; offering you a chance to interpret; but in the end, you lose the battle - because it had you at your first glimpse.


These four pieces are just the top four that caught my attention. There are loads of others in the collection worthy of being complimented. Quality wise, fantastic. The collection showcases the level of intelligence our Malaysian contemporary artists have - which is really why the book was published.

Thank you Aliya and Farouk. It has been a pleasure joining you on this short journey down the aesthetic valley. Definitely a heartfelt gratitude that must be voiced out. I salute.

Title: Bravura Victuals XIV
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Item: Various Buffet Items
Time/Date: 2:00pm; 9 June 2012
Venue: Istana Hotel, KL
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Title: Bravura Victuals XIII
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Item: Various Buffet Items
Time/Date: 2:00pm; 9 June 2012
Venue: Istana Hotel, KL
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"..... the mass public from local (Malaysian) middle income earners are now economically capable of appreciating and acquiring the new Malaysian art, that is Malaysian Contemporary Art. It is as if they (the collectors) are panicking and running to grab hold of those visual art pieces!" quoted by a prominent Malaysian art collector

ALAYSIAN contemporary art is emerging like phoenix rising from the ashes. What is Malaysian contemporary art? All these years and decades Malaysians were only exposed to a few big names in the local art landscape. When asked, they could only only mention Ibrahim Hussein, Ismail Latiff, Jaafar Taib, Azman Yusof and the likes. If Mona Lisa and Madonna On The Rocks are the infamous pieces from the early impressionists, then for us, Malaysians, we prefer to shout out Ibrahim Hussein's Ayahku Dan Angkasawan. These names and masterpiece has now been categorised as the art of the past. Whilst they are labelled as 'Modernist', they are modern for their era.

What characterised them as a class? Well, an example would be how Ibrahim Hussein uses lines in all of his art work and another example would be how Ismail Latiff's obsession with that moon that never seems to be absence from his abstracts. This compulsion to maintain a signature is what makes them 'Modernist' Malaysian Art, an art category of the past, the past that is labelled as 'Post-Colonialisation'. So what is the new age Malaysian art? I believe, as mentioned by a prominent local art collector: "..... the mass public from local (Malaysian) middle income earners are now economically capable of appreciating and acquiring the new Malaysian art, that is Malaysian Contemporary Art. It is as if they (the collectors) are panicking and running to grab hold of those visual art pieces!"

So who are the new names in this so called Malaysian Contemporary Art category? Well, I am an art lover but I am not a connoisseur. Recently I had the privilege of being introduced to a connoisseur of Malaysian Contemporary Art, Mr Farouk Khan and his wife, Aliya Akbar Khan. Both are collectors. I perused through some of their private collections. I must say that it is an impressive collection although some (of the art work), I couldn't grasp the subliminal meanings. That is only because I am the 'new kid on the block', so to speak. Beautiful pieces by names that are already big in the local art community but perhaps, a normal Joe Bloke like me has never heard before. To name a few (that I managed to capture in my mental note from discussions): Ahmad Fuad Osman (one of his masterpiece displayed above) and Ahmad Shukri Mohamed for canvases; and Bayu Otomo and Muthalib Musa for sculptures. These are the new breed of artists. The new contributors to the Malaysian culture. The new proud of nation.

Why now, in the years 2005 and subsequent, that these art works suddenly get noticed? The art industry is a unique industry. A very high quality art work may get unnoticed for years and some may even start getting attention when the painters have long gone to the heavens (or hell), like in the case of Van Gogh. Since Merdeka (the independence of Malaysia), the art scene in this part of the world (South East Asia) has been very much influenced by 'Oriental' type work, the Nanyang Art (see example of display on the right) they call it. This is/was an influence that can be traced from China all the way down to Thailand (Although Thais have somewhat unique religious touch to art), skipped Malaysia, and gravitated towards Singapore. For years collectors have been obsessed with Nanyang Art to the point where its supply becomes abundant. The 'commonality' of the obsession has resulted in an non-uniqueness of the art itself. For those who studied economics, particularly the neo-classical Keynesian Supply and Demand mechanism, of course they'd straight away pointed out the supply has dampened the demand.

Collectors have shifted their appreciation kiblat (direction) to the Malay archipelago that consists of artists from the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Indonesian Islands and the Southern Philippines. This group of people are commonly known as the Malays, for which, the British colonial masters have irresponsibly tagged as disquiet, depression, dissatisfaction, melancholic,..... well, pretty much the opposite of optimism. After colonising, not only they have dampened the the economic well being of these people (Malays), they have also hidden their culture, particularly their artistic creativity. The Malays didn't have to work hard to get the crops out. They didn't have to worry about the 4-seasons' impact to their vegetation. They can find fishes, vegetables, fruits and live stocks available from the rivers and the jungle nearby their kampungs (villages) that they lived in. Naturally, biologically, psychologically as well as historically, these people (Malays) should have developed skills in areas other than economics. In my crude opinion, I think that that skill ought to be art and creativity. When the collectors shifted their attention to the Malaysian Contemporary Art artifacts, it only confirms my hypothesis: a hypothesis that highlights the creativity and the intelligence of the Malay race generally.

Must Malaysia be represented by culture and art that do not even originated from Malaysia? Must a foreigner equate Malaysia to a piece of water colour work that has a panda eating bamboo trees? Why mustn't it be an oil painting of a Pak Cik (an elderly Malay male) by his beca (trishaw)?

So let's get back to the colonisation story. The Malay creativity has been deprived from public appreciation for years since Merdeka - 55 years of post-colonnialism. This is merely the outcome of prioritisation by the Malays themselves. Let's just ignore Indonesia for they have managed to put their cultural and artistic heritage at a higher elevation for the world to notice. Malaysia has gone through quite a milestone. They fought for independence via political methods which went on for ages since the early 20th century until now. This is to ensure their survival in this world. Next step would be, or had been, refining their economic policies to ensure that they are on par with the rest with respect to wealth. This was quite apparent in the various Government initiatives since the 2nd Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, and was made intensified under Tun Mahathir, the 4th Prime Minister. So far the 2 equations are: Politics = Survival and Economy = Wealth. The 3rd stage would be to define or redefine their existence via culture that has art as its subset. Who are we? Who are Malaysian? Must Malaysia be represented by culture and art that do not even originated from Malaysia? Must a foreigner equate Malaysia to a piece of water colour work that has a panda eating bamboo trees? Why mustn't it be an oil painting of a Pak Cik (an elderly Malay male) by his beca (trishaw)?