Versus Animal #1 is a group show of emerging talents on Malaysian art scene. Featuring Amy Bakar, Fadhli Ariffin, Hazul Bakar, Nik Shahfiz, Roza Khir, Safar Zin, Syahbandi Samat, Syukur Rani, and Zamzur Jalaluddin, the exhibition projects a view of the newer generation of Malaysian talents.

Among humanity’s earliest art forms is wildlife art. The form dating back to the prehistoric cave paintings such as those found at the Chauvet Cave in France, Cave of Beasts in SW Egypt Libyan Desert, and Lascaux in France. Wildlife art is widely recognized as it is the depiction of the natural world primarily animals of all cultures on all continents. Wildlife art focuses or seeks to enrich and inspire the appreciation of the relationship between nature and man.  By using this form of art, the artist raises issues or problems that are usually (but not constantly) are associated with the wildlife; extinction, oppression, and environmental degradation.

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Wildlife art may be a work of representational or it may be as a figure of speaking – metaphor or symbolism, that is used for social commentaries. Some believe that social commentaries and symbolism do walk side by side as both usually are put together in the same frame of thoughts or ideas. Good social commentaries do not need to be straight to the point but can also be a tease or just a subtle reminder – more or less like a gentle pinch to one’s hand. Hence the usage of symbolism or metaphor to describe a particular issue rose by the artist.

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This can be seen in Kalila wa Dimna; an Arabic rendered Aesop’s fable, where the animals talk, think, doing activities, and act like human beings – mimic human situations and carries explicit and implicit moral values. In recent years, a movie by Disney Animation; Zootopia caught my attention which focuses on moral issues – prejudice, race relations, discrimination, and political which help make the movie more meaningful and intangible.

In recent events happening in our country, many artists sought to use or tackle issue-based art – political, social, socio-culture, sub-culture, environment just to name a few. Expression, metaphor, and personifications are some approaches taken by the artist in providing the symbolism or meaning of their work. Artists use the animals in the art to accomplish a specific purpose and satiate a specific desire – contemplation, conveying meaning or status. Some of the Malaysian artists opt to use semiotic in the production of their works in which occurs the usage of symbolism – raven as a symbol of misery, and as a symbol of group-minded, teamwork or self-discipline or bee as the symbol of industry, community, or order.

Babak III (Tambo Keparat) and President are two new print works by the Malaysian young printmaker Hazul Bakar. Using two different techniques – silkscreen and woodcut printing on Babak III (Tambo Keparat) and President respectively. In Babak III (Tambo Keparat), Hazul successfully depicted the illusion of oppression with the usage of an anthropomorphic figure. Tambo is a Minangkabau dialect which can be defined as the origins while Keparat is heathen or the damned one and that tambo keparat in this print is the oppressor.

 

Animals have commonly been used in stories as metaphors and analogues for human experiences and emotions for ages. This can be seen in both works by Amy Bakar and Zamzur Jalaluddin. Both artists bring us 4 paintings and 3 ceramic sculptures respectively. Zamzur Jalaluddin brings us 3 ceramic works which measured at 39.37 x 39.37 x 40.64 cm each. For his ceramics, Zamzur incorporates both men and animals creating somehow a hybrid creature. For him, this act suggesting the embodiment of emotional states, experiences, and expression. While Amy Bakar brings us 4 paintings with 4 different animals – an owl, a cat, a monkey, and an ostrich – which according to Amy, each of the animals was a part of her memories during childhood.

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The usage of animals to teach morals or to typify human character is seen in both of Fadhli Ariffin’s paintings by using animal stereotypes to convey comments about the current issues – IS and political chaos. What is the contribution of graduates to society? Are our graduates only excel in an exam hall and fail as a part of society? These are among the questions raise by Safar Zin and are portrayed in 3.85, 1.0, 2.0, and Four Flat.

Nik Shahfiz’s works are inspired by the contemporary and modernist artists; Damien Hirst and Robert Rauschenberg. Both artists play a major role in Shahfiz’s art-making process especially in the context of exploitation and the subject of animals. In all three paintings, Shahfiz suggests the idea of animal exploitation and use as lab rat (pun intended). Man and animals have coexisted together and alongside each other for the longest time. We may view this relationship of two different types of being from different perspectives both positively and negatively which can be seen in Roza Khir’s paintings. She questions whether men are aware of this relationship between both men and animals. Are we conscious that we are sharing our mother earth yet we destroy nature for the sake of civilization indirectly destroying the animals’ homes?

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The rendering of the ballpoint pen by Syahbandi Samat shows the mastery in form and technicality. Using a common/mundane tool – ballpoint pen – yet he comes out with grandeur artworks that depict the issue of personalities and attitudes and how they affect oneself. Experiences help us grow and in his case, experiences help Syukur Rani in his artistic journey. For him, personalities and attitudes play a pivotal role in one’s life. He experienced firsthand being played on and from there, these artworks were born.

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Wildlife (read animals) is chosen as subject matter in art spurs the wide-ranging discussion among the art enthusiasts as well from outsider parties – zoologists, psychologists and et cetera – that center on human psychology and our often intricate and thought-provoking rapport with non-human or other-than-human beings in on the over-populated and human-dominated world.

 

Amir Amin

18th July 2016, 5:40am, Setudio Sekangkang Kera

 

 

Reference(s)

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Aloi, G. (2012). Art and Animals. London: I.B. Taurus.

Balstrup, S. K. (2011). Sentient Symbols: The Implications of Animal Cruelty Debates in Contemporary Australian Art. NS: NS.

Bekoff, M. (2011, Nov 21). Animals in Art: Nonhumans Benefit from Responsible Representation. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201111/animals-in-art-nonhumans-benefit-responsible-representation

Bulliet, R. W. (2005). Hunters, Herders, and Hamburgers: The Past and Future of Human-Animal Relationship. New York: Columbia University Press.

Malamud, R. (2000). The Culture of Using Animals in Literature and the Case of Jose Emilio Pacheco (Vol 2). Indiana: Purdue University Press.

Ns. (2016, Jul 17). Human-Animal Relationship. Retrieved from http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=41299

UKEssays. (2015, March 23). The Relationship Between Humans and Animals. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/sociology/the-relationship-between-humans-and-animals-sociology-essay.php