Wednesday, August 26, 2009

my artworks | WORK series-digital collage | August2009

work01 negaraku | 30 cm x 23 cm | digital collage | 2009

*the regime from the past will do anything to keep staying in power. You dont know the pleasure becoz you isn't there. The buffalozation continues.. obviously there's no power without control. 

work02 panggung raya | 30 cm x 23 cm | digital collage | 2009


work03 the (other) great malaysia landscape | 30 cm x 23 cm | digital collage | 2009

work04 pecah dan perintah | 23 cm x 30 cm | digital collage | 2009

work05 love will tear us apart (again)  | 30 cm x 23 cm | digital collage | 2009

work06 menggapai bintang | 30cm x 23 cm | digital collage | 2009

These collage works were done in the same manner of doing traditional paper collage work, where images of random source were used, borrow, taken, adopt and recycle and rearranged to put a new life, meaning, purpose, context and narration. Collage technique can be traced from early history of paper making in China, but in the modern art sense it was began by the cubist. Then, by the surrealist, dada, pop, etc and develop into different type of material from paper to assemblage, photomontage and with the electronic media now become digital. Creating a collage has, for the most part, become easier with the advent of computer software.

While doing this, one of my attentions is about the copyright matters. The idea about who owned the image. The appropriation in visual culture has always been part of human history where people learn and progress by ‘appropriating’; borrowing (or resisting) image, sound, concept from the surrounding world and created art out of it. Despite the long and important history of appropriation, this artistic practice has recently resulted in contentious copyright issues which reflect more restrictive copyright legislation especially in United States, and soon everywhere. People being sued in the absurd amount for just participate in the humyn creative practices in creating new culture. So it obvious that this laws are more about control, power, money and arrogant of the past.

Can you make sense of the news reported in December 2008; Damien Hirst, the richest living artist from UK send a demand through Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) to 16 years old street artist, for appropriated the photo of his artwork into collage work?* It was the image of the diamond encrusted skull artwork by Damien Hirst, tittled For The Love of God that was sold for 100 million! (not the exact amount but around this figure, probaly more!). Now the law continues to dominate and seeking into digital age, without understand the discourse of ‘originality’ in visual culture (or with deep understanding of it).

The digital and nature of internet world seems to go oppose to ‘top-down, closed, proprietary structure’ and giving way toward more democratize, bottom-up, participatory structure to society and culture. Through the democratizing power of digital technology and the Internet, we can place the tools of creation and distribution, communication and collaboration into the hands of the common person — and with a truly active, connected, informed citizenry, hopefully the injustice and oppressive structure will slowly dying out! 

Well, my digital collage works were not powerful enough to win the continuous battle, or breaking any new bound. Despite it try to imitate to the very conventional practice of collage work; leaving the cut imperfect, no ‘wow’ tricks, minimum tool used and pretty much ‘looking into the art’. 

Am I going to be the next victim of copyright infringement of using the image of, Najib Tun Razak, Sukhoi Jet, Petronas Offshore, Giant, Tesco, KLCC, Buffalos, Ronald Mcdonald, Mickey Mouse, Hollywood Celebrities, Christina Aguilera, the U.S Army, Putrajaya, U.S Money Notes, Iraqi Kid, Dam in Pertak, Agosta Submarine, Rubber Taper, Hungry Children, Family in Poverty, Oil Palm, Padi, Measat Satellite, RazakSat Satellite, Victorian Chair, Low Cost Flats, Police Malaysia, Protester, Beaches, Skies, Mountains, Genting, Construction, Various Politicians and Leaders, Bahakula, The Devil, Proton Saga Car, Malaysia Highways, Factories, Flying Pigs, Eye-Chart, Cupids, Freyja, Baphomet, Nunu’s Eye, Illumined Eye, Clarus Camera, Stars, Squatters, Damien Hirst’s ‘In The Name of God’, Joseph Beuys, Traditional Fishing Boat and Rice? So what these ordinary everyday mediation of images mean to you? What power of the particular image could you understand? What these words of syntax above means to you? What interrelation/interconnectedness that you can feel? What this commodities means to you? Can I say something?

poodien  
August 2009

*check out for more here and here

Sunday, August 23, 2009

my artworks | CINEMARAMA exhibition | november 2008

kepong : womyn and children first | charcoal on canvas | 91.4 cm x 106.8 cm | 2008 | *sold!


kepong : the widow | charcoal and acrylic on canvas | 91.4 cm x 106.8 cm | 2008 | *still available!

potemkin: odessa step: the cry | charcoal and acrylic on canvas | 91.4 cm x 106.8 cm | 2008 |*still available!

potemkin : screaming womyn | charcoal and acrylic on canvas | 91.4 cm x 106.8 cm | 2008 |*sold!

these are my artworks, charcoal and acrylic on canvas. exhibited at 360 Studio Gallery, Desa Park City, Selangor, Malaysia  with 2 other artists under a show tittle "Cinerama". I was invited by a friend, Fathullah Luqman to join the exhibition with the theme related with movie/film. Basically my shit, i just freeze scenes in two separate propaganda movies; battleship potemkin, 1925 by Sergei Eisenstein in Russia, a pro communist and bukit kepong, 1981 by Jins Shamsuddin, the anti communist movie from Malaysia. I select two scenes from each movies, choose the higly emotional, close up scene with scenes of womyn and children.. dont ask me why.. pikir la!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Pariah Negara . Pariah Kapital . Penjara Kuasa


Ada usul terbaru mahu melaksanakan penapisan media internet di malaysial. macam celaka! Gerakan terdesak oleh kerajaan pemerintah yang makin terdedah pekungnya yang sedikit sebanyak (atau banyaknya) berpunca daripada ciri bebas/demokratik medium internet menjadi media rakyat yang terlepas daripada cengkaman kawalan pemerintah, melahirkan jalur naratif/cerita yang berbeza beza atas sesuatu subjek dan perlahan lahan membunuh "master narrative" satu jalur cerita sahaja atas apa apa realiti, tiada rasa, tiada imajinasi/khayalan.

Apa apa lah alasannya untuk kawalan: menjaga moral, menjaga keharmonian kaum, menjaga jaga, cukup untuk jadi bahan jenaka sahaja. Kalau lah tidak ada apa lagi di sekekeliling masyarakat dan kesedarannya yang mampu menggembirakan kamu mungkin ini dan apa lagilah kenyataan dan tindakan ahli politik lokal mungkin mampu jadi bahan jenaka bermutu. Cuma awas menjadi penonton persembahan mereka ini tiketnya tidaklah murah dan enteng, tiketnya jiwa jiwa manusia!

Atau juga mungkin kerajaan pemerintah terhasut dengan peniaga usahawan yang progresif maju dan pintar sekali dalam memahami "human behaviour" atau "human nature" atau "zeitgeist" zamannya, rancak mencucuk perlunya sistem penapisan ini, supaya dapatlah mereka menyediakan perisian komputernya, gajet-gajet yang perlu dipasang pada setiap komputer di tanah Malaysia ini, mengira ngira berapa banyak kertas dollar yang dapat dikumpulkan. Pasangkan pelobi - pelobi yang bijak, salam berlapik dengan rais yatim dan kuncu kuncunya, Kementerian Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan Malaysia.... Budaya apa? taik! 

Tidakkah memang jelas yang sebenarnya ia permasalahan gila kuasa? Tentang kegugupan mahu terus berada di atas dengan apa sajalah jalannya. Untuk menjaga keharmonian kaum ke, keharmonian pemerintah (dan perniagaannya)? Merekalah sang chauvinis yang mencucuk perkauman sejak dulukala. Ulang tayang permainan lama yang sudah dapat dihidu, bosan. Tidakkah sudah jelas yang umno lah yang memerintah ketika rusuhan kaum 1969 dulu? Dengan permainan yang sama juga diulang tayang apabila kuasa sudah tergugat, di tahun 2009 ini (dan sebelum sebelumnya). Tidakkah jelas coraknya?

Maka bersidanglah raja raja dan mesin mesin hantu disekelilingnya, tentang korban apa untuk kerusi emas yang sudah bersalut jiwa dan darah dan bermacam korban ini. Boneka boneka apa yang boleh bersuara dengan punggungnya, bongkak dan busuk... Macam yang bawah ni;


 

poogenda

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* ilustrasi diatas adalah karya, John Heartfield, bertajuk "The Voice of Freedom in the German Night on Radio Wave 29.8" yang bermediumkan photo montaj, satu perlawanan visual menentang kawalan media ke atas imajinasi kolektif negara di zamannya yang dicengkam fasis German.

*lihat sini, dan sini 

     

     

Friday, August 7, 2009

findars performance lab -art performance


i will do 'a not funtional body action' + manipulative objects tonite at findars space, central market annexe, with other non/artists friends, rahmat haron and Exicrot from Indonesia. come!