Sometime this week, I accompanied my half N to settle his business at the Ministry of Tourism. While waiting, I chanced upon an art exhibition at the building’s lobby. The ministry is keen on integrating art with tourism, and the current display reflects that vision of theirs. The exhibition holds a modest collection produced by local fine art majors from Saito, Aswara and others. These young, budding artists are absolutely talented; I love their colorful and wholesome interpretation of Malaysia.
Since I had the entire afternoon to myself, I took time to absorb a couple of these paintings that reflect the social landscape of the country. Most are sheltered from political criticism, although some do point out the ecological dilemmas that Malaysia’s facing with all the development-in-the-making. But surely, given a different venue, I believe these talents could push the boundaries further.
Here are some of the artworks that captured my attention:
Mahathir Mohamed looks awesome in cubic fashion, don’t you think?
And of course, the late Yasmin Ahmad. She’s an inspiring icon, no less. Her films narrate the importance of unity in a multicultural setting like Malaysia. Watch
this and
this.
The exhibition runs free through December if you’d like to have a browse. Nothing beats spending an entire afternoon soaking up some artworks that tell you love stories about a beautiful country. A definite cultural fix!.
