We need more sculptors! One local artist who has won international fame shares his thoughts about this burgeoning area of the arts.
OUR athletes haven’t left the country yet but we’ve already won recognition in Beijing, city of the Summer Olympics: a Malaysian was chosen to contribute a work of art that is on display at the Beijing Olympic Park City.
Abdul Multhalib Musa feels there’s a demand for sculpture in Malaysia that is not being met by supply. – VICTOR K.K. NG / The Star
Abdul Multhalib Musa’s sculpture, Two Sides, was selected from among a pool of 2,700 entries from across the globe to join the works of 99 other sculptors in the park.
As he’s only 32, some may feel this honour is a little premature, but he is, in fact – as many have described – one of Malaysia’s leading contemporary sculptors. His works are housed in private and public collections, including the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, and the KL Hilton. He has also participated in a noteworthy selection of group exhibitions both at home and abroad.
His latest series, Twist, is currently on display at Wei-Ling Gallery in Kuala Lumpur.
The artist focuses on one aspect of design for each series, says artist, and for this one, the reigning concept is the physical act of twisting, especially evident in his standing mild-steel sculptures that display minute variations in the arrangements of central fins (think of an intricate spiralling staircase).
The works in Twist were conceived as long as two to three years ago; it takes that long to make his art, Abdul Multhalib explains, because it involves a laborious process defined by trial and error – “They don’t just come out perfect; sometimes, it doesn’t work and you throw it away.”
While Abdul Multhalib confesses to having a rather creative childhood, it is his training in architecture that exerts the strongest influence on his sculptures: “I could not have done this if I had studied fine art,” he says, listing the products of his education that help him create his works.
Twist 3.2 has a distinct architectural look to it, a testament to the artist’s training in that field. – Wei-Ling Gallery
These include mastery of computer-aided design, or CAD, which is often used in tandem with computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) in precision manufacturing.
What’s also come in handy is the skill of working with suppliers to coordinate work, something on which his architectural practice was “very much dependent”. It seems it isn’t simply a matter of sending out a design and waiting for it to come back fully formed; negotiation and persuasion are the order of the day. Manufacturers have to be persuaded to explore and convinced that it’s financially viable.
“Malaysia has all the technology, but they (manufacturers) don’t want to take on small scale and creative works. So it takes time to develop all these relationships.”
He points out the granite bases that hold the standing sculptures in Twist: “Even those took time to source.”
Ultimately, Abdul Multhalib feels his sculptural practice is no different to the practice of architecture, except the former isn’t restrained by a client’s requirements: “I am the client, unless it’s a commission, where I deal with briefs, proposals, and budgets.”
This freedom is a bonus for the creative process. Unmarred by the limitations of a client breathing down his neck, Abdul Multhalib, as he rightly puts, has the “option of being more critical”. Malaysia’s sculptural dilemma lies in the lack of numbers; there is only a handful sculptors actively producing works today: “When I meet collectors and ask why they don’t buy other sculptures, they say there aren’t that many around.”
It appears it all boils down to the basic economic principle of demand and supply; but what are his suggestions to overcome this?
A step in the right direction, says Abdul Multhalib, would be to “keep up with the times”. He muses on the universities in Australia and Beijing that he has visited that feature well-equipped IT departments for fine art schools, advanced enough to rival the best of their architectural counterparts.
Also, it is a growing field, says Abdul Multhalib, so more arts students should be encouraged to get into it: “There’s a lot of demand, especially for public works, and corporate clients have high demand for sculptures outside their buildings. The situation needs to be sustainable, so corporations continue to be patrons, and on the supply-side, artists are able to work too.”
But does the general public have a taste for sculpture? Is it difficult to appreciate?
Not so, says the artist, pointing out that, “In Malaysia, there’s already a history of craft products. It’s always been there, inherent in our culture.”
Abdul Multhalib cites the example of relief works present in temple facades: “These are more difficult to understand, more complex.”
He feels the most important quality a sculptor needs is sensitivity to the surrounding environment. And it is this sensitivity that defines Abdul Multhalib’s works: they possess an acute sensibility for form and spatial qualities, much like the curvaceous folds of a building designed by Frank Gehry, the renowned Canadian architect frequently quoted in relation to Abdul Multhalib’s work.
The artist says he is informed by the school of International Abstraction, which means that his sculptures – like Gehry’s buildings – possess a vernacular that could easily be appreciated by anyone. In short, none of his sculptures contain any one dominant national identity.
Abdul Multhalib’s public sculpture in Beijing, Two Sides, is a fine example of this, and evidence that art can, indeed, overcome cultural barriers and the divisions wrought by language.
The Summer Olympics may not have commenced, but it’s safe to say we already have a winner right here.
Abdul Multhalib Musa’s solo exhibition, ‘Twist’, is on at Wei-Ling Gallery (No. 8, Jalan Scott, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur) until July 10. For inquiries, call 03-2260 1106 or e-mail weiling@weiling-gallery.com.