Making Space for the Ghaib (Unseen)

Author: Syaheedah Iskandar，林易萱 (中譯) ／ Editor: Rikey Tenn

Quote From: Southeast of Now: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia; Vol3, No2, October 2019

Note: This paper examines the diverse ways that the unseen is articulated in modern and contemporary art practices. Focusing specifically on Malay Singaporean artists, from the late Mohammad Din Mohammad and Salleh Japar to the recent practices of Zarina Muhammad and Fyerool Darma, it attempts to understand their mediation of the unseen stemming from religious, cultural and vernacular ideologies, imbued with and shaped from their own visual realities. On top of discussing ghaib as a mode of visual analysis, the paper explores ghaib as one way of rethinking our modes of seeing—whether from reading through conflations of identity to understanding the use of ghaib in making visible the politics of representation.

1. Mohammed Din Mohammad, "Singa Kuda", 1996–1999. Skull and tail of a horse, coconut, old carvings and computer stand, 90 × 160 × 30 cm. National University of Singapore Museum Collection.

2. Mohammed Din Mohammad, "Mystical Journey 1", 2001. Deer head and tail of a horse, squatting figurine, keris handle, head figurine of Arjuna on bicycle stand. Dimensions unknown. Image courtesy of Mdm Hamidah Jalil.

3. Salleh Japar, "Axis Mundi I– IV (series)", 1995. Mixed media on canvas, 105 × 87 cm. Image courtesy of the artist.

4. Salleh Japar, "Altar/Shrine (Siri Tangkal /Amulet Series)", 1996. Collage with rust traces on paper, 24 × 32 cm. Image courtesy of the artist.

5. & 6. Zarina Muhammad, "not Terra Nullius", 2018. Mixed media participatory installation-performance. Part of Fantastic Beasts and Man-Eating Flowers, OH! Open House Emerald Hill, Singapore. Image courtesy of the artist.

7. Zarina Muhammad, "Spirit house for the comfort women". Image courtesy of the artist.

8. Zarina Muhammad, "Pragmatic Prayers for the Kala at the Threshold", 2018, mixed media. President’s Young Talents 2018, 2018–2019, Singapore Art Museum, exhibition view. Image courtesy of Singapore Art Museum.

9. Zarina Muhammad, "Tree House for Kala, Pragmatic Prayers for the Kala at the Threshold", 2018, mixed media. President’s Young Talents 2018, 2018–2019, Singapore Art Museum, installation view. Image courtesy of Singapore Art Museum.

10. Fyerool Darma, "Portrait No. 12 (The sympathiser or the most cultured who ever wrote)", of Moyang series 2017. Acrylic on canvas and burn wood, 125.5 × 140 × 5.5 cm. Photography by Matthew Teo. Image courtesy of the artist and Yeo Workshop.

11. Fyerool Darma, Monsoon Song, 2017, Yeo Workshop, installation view. Artworks on view (from left to right): "There are no names like nirvana and samsara ( terakhir)", digital print with aerosol dust, 59.2 × 40 cm. "Those who linger by the berth savour your silence (biru)", bleached canvas, 105 × 70 cm. "Our chants, they grace the skies as we wail with the monsoon (hitam)", bleached canvas, 105 × 105 cm. Those who linger by the berth savour your silence (orleng), bleached canvas, 105 × 70 cm. Those who linger by the berth savour your silence, unlimited postcards, 14.8 × 10 cm. Photography by Matthew Teo. Image courtesy of the artist and Yeo Workshop.

12. Fyerool Darma, "[prep-room] After Ballads", 6 October 2017–27 February 2019, NX2 Gallery, National University of Singapore Museum, installation view. Artworks on view (from left to right): Shredded and folded donated and artist textiles, inkjet print, synthetic quill, acrylic stand with emulsion on wall. Photography by Hoong Wei Long. Image courtesy of the artist and National University of Singapore Museum.

ISSUE 47 

             “A New World Is Being Created”: A Brief History of Malay Literature in Singapore
                
                 ， Faris Joraimi ， 盧明威Sebastian Susilo (中譯)
                 
             Queer Singapore Literature: A Brief Overview
                
                 ， Ng Yi-Sheng ， 盧明威Sebastian Susilo (中譯)
                 
             Literature Liberated From Singapore Landscape
                
                 ， K. Kangalatha ， 盧明威Sebastian Susilo (中譯)
                 
             Making Space for the Ghaib (Unseen)
                
                 ， Syaheedah Iskandar ， 林易萱 (中譯)
                 
             Creaturely Conjectures
                
                 ， Tan Zi Hao ， 鍾宜庭 (中譯)
                 
             The Strange Gestation of Gestures by ila & Syaheedah
                
                 ， ila ， Syaheedah Iskandar

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