{"id":7634,"date":"2015-11-07T15:54:21","date_gmt":"2015-11-07T07:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weiling-gallery.com\/gallery\/?post_type=portfolio&p=7634"},"modified":"2015-11-07T15:54:21","modified_gmt":"2015-11-07T07:54:21","slug":"klang-valley-streets-18-reasons-by-loke-poh-lin","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/dev08.mm-sb.com\/web04\/portfolio-item\/klang-valley-streets-18-reasons-by-loke-poh-lin\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cKlang Valley Streets: 18 reasons\u201d by Loke Poh Lin"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

New Straits Times, 16 November 2007
\nKlang Valley Streets: 18 reasons
\nby Loke Poh Lin<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"NOT<\/a>

NOT QUITE 18: Wei-Ling with five of the 18 collaborating in 18@8 (from front to back) Ivan Lam, Wei-Ling, Anu Jegadeva, Chee Meng, Zulkifli Yusoff and Multhalib Musa.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

View the works of 18 artists, well known in the local arts scene, and whose current works is ‘telling’ on them at this stage in their creative career. LOKE POH LIN explains the scenario at the 18@8 exhibition.<\/p>\n

\"SOAK<\/a>

SOAK IT IN: Wei-Ling Gallery’s ambience is one of the reasons to visit.<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"FACES:<\/a>

FACES: You’ll get more out of this Yusof Ghani creation than usual.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

THIS year\u2019s 18@8 is the third annual collective show organised by Wei-Ling Gallery (WLG) and after visiting the exhibition, we cite 18 reasons why you should visit.<\/p>\n

First, it represents the most happening visual artists in Malaysia today. No need to visit many shows. At this one stop, you can see the works of all these cutting edge fellas, all in one place. Cool, kan?<\/p>\n

#2: Because the 18 participants were asked by Lim Wei-Ling, gallery director of WLG, to send in the work which \u201cbest represents\u201d them at this time, you can be sure of seeing the latest in the evolution of these creators. In fact, in Zulkifli Yusoff\u2019s case, you\u2019ll be getting a preview from his solo exhibition planned for next year. Talk about living on the edge.<\/p>\n

#3: If you are an artist, or an artsy fartsy person, the thrill of seeing different works of art juxtapositioned against each other will give you a buzz. Viewed in isolation or in a solo exhibition, one artist\u2019s work hits you in a concentrated way, a lone voice in the wilderness. Seen as a collective, the whole tone shifts; now you\u2019ll hear many voices congregating in a symphony or a cacophony, depending on your reaction to the pieces.<\/p>\n

#4 There are 19 pieces of work, one each from the 18 artists participating, except for Sabri Idrus, who beat the odds somehow and has two pieces on show.<\/p>\n

So you\u2019ll get a taste of Amin Gulgee, Anurendra Jegadeva, Bayu Utomo Radikin, Chan Kok Hooi, Chin Kong Yee, Choy Chun Wei, Daud Rahim, Hamidi Hadi, Ivan Lam, Juhari Said, Kim Ng, Multhalib Musa, Wong Chee Meng, Yap Sau Bin, Yau Bee Ling, Yusof Ghani, Zulkifli Yusoff and Sabri, of course.<\/p>\n

#5 Anu\u2019s provocative bride in Minding The Gap is arresting. Full of contradictory images, (a glowing pink bride against a background of burning oil fields) it will first stop you in your tracks with its sheer size (187cm x 186cm), its content, and then bug you with its visual impact.<\/p>\n

Anu tells us that it is a continuation of his love stories, starting with Astronaut. Inspired by the news and driven by contemporary Malaysian art, Mind the Gap is a huge departure for him in terms of space and scale. Which is fine as other Malaysian artists are pushing boundaries in exactly the same ways.<\/p>\n

#6 Zul\u2019s big insect is a large-scale work which grips you by the eyeballs and gives you a metaphorical hard shake. You cannot be ambivalent with this work \u2014 it\u2019s supersize, it\u2019s colourful and you\u2019ll either love it or hate it, but you will not be indifferent to it.<\/p>\n

Zul has not used oil as his medium for three years. This work marks his return to using oil and his first work for his solo exhibition next year. \u201cIt\u2019s an important piece for me; it\u2019s a reflection of myself starting something new. The piece shows his present emotions, jiwa, harapan terkini.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarang Tebuan Jangan Dijolok is part of his Amok series, harking back to the adage \u201cdo not disturb the hornets, lest you want to be stung.<\/p>\n

#7 Chee Meng\u2019s double vision and Kong Yee\u2019s fisheye vision will teach your eyes to see beyond the obvious. Chee Meng turned his visual impairment (he sees double images and cannot \u201csee\u201d 3-D images) into an advantage for himself. His work, \u201cStairway to Heaven\u201d is dreamy (some may say nightmarish) despite its soothing colours. Featuring three horsemen inspired by a Durer work, they are a symbol of Chee Meng\u2019s drive and search for a foothold after this return to Kuala Lumpur from a six-month residency in Balik Pulau.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve learned is that each audience has its own mind generator; we all come with our own interpretation of a work of art.\u201d He shared. \u201cLines, shapes, colours are my elements. So this painting is about how I look at myself in a way. Please enjoy my vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

#8 Multhalib\u2019s corrugated metal is quite unlike his former work. This new work seems more clean cut, stylised, stark. He chose to enter this piece for 18@8 simply because it is his latest creation. However, he says that \u201cit\u2019s been in my head and it\u2019s only recently that I got around to this kind of work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just back from his trip to Beijing as a pre-Olympic sortie, and his experimentation at a metal factory there, he went straight to fashioning this new work, \u201cThe Liaison\u201d – which on the surface, looks terrifically simple. And yet it is not. The two pieces meeting is intentional, their lines of corrugation correspond to each other and as Multhalib tells us, it\u2019s tricky to get the folds to do exactly that.<\/p>\n

#9 We can follow Ivan\u2019s altered vision from macro to micro in this new work with a very long title. He admits that it\u2019s easier to do something that is different from what he\u2019s known for because it\u2019s hard to benchmark new work.<\/p>\n

This work took him 11\/2 months, involved photography (took hours just to set up the shot), used a big camera and big negative and big print so that every detail can be seen – every pore, every hair.<\/p>\n

When you see your face in such dimensions, you have to surrender your ego. Ivan asked rhetorically, \u201chow many of us look, really look, at our own faces?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was technically very challenging for Ivan. It was a collaboration at the beginning, with Eiffel, the photographer. \u201cIt\u2019s also the first time I\u2019ve painted upright. All my previous work was done horizontally. As he says, \u201cA certain energy needs to be expended to paint something which is larger than you.\u201d Visit to get a zap of that energy.<\/p>\n

#10 Yusof Ghani\u2019s many faces in \u201cEntourage 1\u201d from the \u201cWajah\u201d series is an interesting piece simply in that it\u2019s a cough in between his prolific collections for the past few years, \u201cTopeng\u201d, \u201cGerak\u201d and more recently, \u201cBiring\u201d. Not his usual subjectmatter and not in his usual scale makes this an intriguing work to scrutinise and dissect.<\/p>\n

#11 Bayu\u2019s warrior is a graceful work, intricate and multi-layered, literally and metaphorical. It\u2019s one of those paintings that you can stare at for a long, long time and still find something to surprise you.<\/p>\n

#12 Amin Gulgee\u2019s \u201cI Believe I Can Fly\u201d and Juhari Said\u2019s \u201cOkir\u201d sculptures are quirky and tactile, yet are miles apart in similarity. Amin\u2019s metalwork is calligraphically disturbing while Juhari\u2019s wood sculptures look deceptively metal-based. Come figure this two out on your own. It\u2019s stimulating.<\/p>\n

#13 The nitty gritty worlds of Choy Chun Wei and Yau Bee Ling. From the broad strokes, we come to two works with lots of details. Please don\u2019t rush through these two pieces for fear of losing out on really interesting minutae. Consider them from afar, then go through them with a magnifying glass. Very satisfying.<\/p>\n

#14 Sabri\u2019s two mixed media abstracts from his Scape series are strong statements of his current state of mind. His work explores time, space and the environment, collating what he calls \u201csimple moments linked to form a memory\u201d.<\/p>\n

#15 Kok Hooi\u2019s rotund icon from MSN Messenger chat is given a sexual edge; an icon with boobs, if you like. Usually seen spinning on the computer monitor, Kok Hooi\u2019s tongue-in-cheek framing it in a vintage photograph with its signature patterned edges further fetish-ises it.<\/p>\n

#16 Daud Rahim\u2019s Tenaga Dalam Ruang & Hamidi Hadi\u2019s Element 1 are organic works would call to mind the words, innocent, naive, pure. Quite a delight to the soul and a treat for the eyes.<\/p>\n

#17 Kim Ng\u2019s modernity is expressed through shapes, colours. In a final bid to entice you to 18@8, may I just just say that you\u2019ll have to see Yap Sau Bin\u2019s work for yourself?<\/p>\n

#18 The unique ambience of the Gallery itself. If you haven\u2019t been, you should take this golden opportunity of catching exhibition and a gratifying new experience. If you have, heck, you should do it again. It\u2019s not every day that you can go back in time momentarily. For free, some more.<\/p>\n

18@8 is on till Nov 28, 2007.<\/p>\n

Wei-Ling Gallery, 8 Jalan Scott, Brickfields.<\/em>
\n Tel: 03-2260-1106.<\/em>
\n www.weiling-gallery.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[5],"class_list":["post-7634","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","hentry","portfolio_entries-news-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev08.mm-sb.com\/web04\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/7634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev08.mm-sb.com\/web04\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev08.mm-sb.com\/web04\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev08.mm-sb.com\/web04\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev08.mm-sb.com\/web04\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/7634\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev08.mm-sb.com\/web04\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev08.mm-sb.com\/web04\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7634"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev08.mm-sb.com\/web04\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=7634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}