Young Malaysian Artist

I dropped by Galeri Petronas this afternoon while strolling around town. It had been a while since I had a look, and today I wasn't disappointed. There was an ongoing exhibition featuring local young talents going on to mid May.

It was an eclectic mix, and the fact that the place was empty allowed me to look around unobstructed.

Inspired by the daily scene in KL, this work featured 3D mock-up of houses and windowsFast food being the inspiration hereThe work was being lit from behind, creating an interesting silhouette Polaroid collection, but interesting captures none the lessThe piece which caught my eye was a simple painting of footware done by Siti Zubaidah Penawa. There were not much info on the artist but a quick search on the net did reveal a bit more about the artist. According to the accompanying brochure, the exhibition featured the works of 39 artists. They were well curated although a bit more info on the parties would have been great.

Homage to daily gadgets. Not sure if royalty being paid to Apple.Intricate paintings inspired by her childhood memories. The colours were vivid and really stood out.A more industrial part of the exhibitionI think this was about earth and treesCards. Quite literally.Definitely worth a stop.

Slidevideo for the Lagi-Lagi Gila-Gila Exhibit

The main write-ups were down in two parts, here and here.

Lagi-Lagi Gila-Gila Part II

Last month, I learned that Galeri Petronas was preparing for an exhibition to celebrate Gila Gila. As usual, they did a great job - I'm being sarcastic here - at announcing the project. I waiting a few weeks as there no need to be heard. And finally it was launched.

Anita and I didn't wait long to join along. And it was a trip down memory lane. We thoroughly enjoyed the fare. There were many original drawing with colourful inking on display. Some of them were quite magnificent. The curation was also pretty decent although they could've done a better job in making sure that the artwork were hanged properly with more background stories to read.

The artwork could have been displayed in a better layout

The unmistakeable Ujang. The boy-next-door everybody can relate to.Lipat-lepat! Some origami skill needed!

The old coverMost of the exhibits were just practically glued to the wall of the gallery. The lighting were also pretty haphazard with too many empty spaces. I learned that in a couple of weeks, one of the former cartoonist would be present at the exhibition. But I doubt if he could offer any real I sight into the early operations of Gila Gila, something I wouldn't mind paying money for to hear. I felt that the a ole exhibition didn't receive much input from the original artists. Too many gaps in the exhibit to make the whole thing flow.

But all in all, a commandable effort from all patties involved. I highly recommend everyone to attend this exhibition and hopefully in the future, there would be many more of such shows.

Another character, Matt Romeo. Check out the hair!Tiga Dara Pingitan. Sabotaged by my boys!Those little titbits!More food for thoughts!Wise wordsAt the exit, you could put in your personal touch to the magazine coverGaleri Petronas is located on the third floor of Suria KLCC. Admission to the Lagi Lagi Gila Gila was free and photography was allowed. Patron were even encouraged to post their photos on social media. Great work!

Click here for Part I of this write-up. More information about Galeri Petronas and their other activities here. Some great commentary on GIla-GIla here at Naskah Percuma blog.The slidevideo for the visit here.

Lagi-lagi Gila-Gila Part I

I was in my formative school years in the 80s. And that was when Gila Gila become the mainstream comic at the time. At least in Malay, and one which I could read and understood. It basically served the untapped market of local satire.

With anything else in Malaysia, there were never free speech - at least until the advent of Internet. So, there were plenty of metaphors and commentary of local events which at the time was pretty radical. It was half entertaining comic, but the satirical undertone was what that caught my eyes.

If I remember correctly, this was from Perwira Mat GilaSure, we also had Lat at the time who also communicated in an almost similar vein. But Gila Gila seemed to be sharper, of course helped by the fact that is was published twice a month. I can still fondly remember the trips into Kepala Batas town, cash in hand to pick up the latest issue. Not to mention being disappointed on numerous occasions learning that it had sold out.

This first thing I asked my parents after my bersunat was for the latest copy of Gila Gila right after I got home. I loved it that much.

The famous opening commentaryMy boys sure got plenty of questions to askSome words of wisdomFrom Taiping with Love ...I lost touch with the comic when I entered MRSM Terendak in 1985, but many of the characters were still famous. I still followed Matt Romeo, From Taiping With Love and of course, my facilities the Ujang series when I returned for holidays. Often binge reading them back home - there were no bit torrent or fake DVDs back then to catch on the latest TV series.

Then I went to the UK. I lost track. An on the odd occasion a copy landed on my lap, Gila Gila never had the same appeal again. Ujang was then a separate comic having left Gila Gila, and the magic was gone.

Follow this link for Part II of this write-up. A slidevideo for the visit here.

Gila-Gila

Gila-Gila was an iconic local comic when I was growing up. They started off with some really decent satire, but somewhat lost their ways in the late 80s before enjoying a resurgence in the early 90s.

They spawned a number of other comics and publications along the way. But over the years they have lost their way again. I stopped being interested in them since.

It was still a pleasant surprise to learn that Galeri Petronas would be holding an exhibit on their works soon. I wasn't sure yet on what would be featured, but I would be willing to have a look. ‎

Update on Monday, May 18, 2015 at 12:03PM by Haris Abdul Rahman

The exhibition is now open. The write-up for the event here.