Wei-Ling Gallery is proud to announce their participation at Art Basel Hong Kong 2015 where they will be presenting a solo exhibition project by Anurendra Jegadeva.

Art Basel is renowned as both the largest and most highly acclaimed display of contemporary art in the world, often dubbed the Olympics of the art world. Typically holding events in both Europe and America, the Art Basel conglomerate opened its first portal within Asia in 2013, accentuating artists from Asia and the Pacific. Attended by over 60,000 people, the fair’s inaugural edition attracted directors, curators, both established and emerging art collectors, and art enthusiasts from the world over, where heavy sales were reported across all four days of the fair. On display will be the highest quality paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, photographs, videos, and editioned works from the 20th and 21st centuries, by more than 2,000 artists from Asia and around the globe. The show will also offer extensive opportunities for intellectual discovery, through discussions and presentations, creating a dynamic cross-cultural exchange and international meeting place for artists, gallerists, collectors, and visitors. This is the gallery’s third outing on this platform where they continue to be the only gallery from Malaysia to be selected for participation.

Yesterday in a Padded Room

Anurendra Jegadeva’s project entitled, Yesterday in a Padded Room – A Painted Installation by Anurendra Jegadeva is a solo installation project by Malaysian artist Anurendra Jegadeva.

The work is based loosely upon one page which has been extracted from the Malay annals (a romanticized history of the origin and evolution of the Malacca Sultanate, written between 15thand 16th century) which gives a brief description of how Islam allegedly arrived in the (South East Asian) region.

In the annals it describes how Garuda and the Archangel Gabriel fought for 200 years, to stake their claim on the region and in the process thousands were killed. Finally they sat and came to an agreement that the Garuda would head north, and take the region above the Malay kingdom (Thailand onwards) and Gabriel would stake claim of the Malay kingdom and the region beneath it.

In this work, the artist draws reference to the imagined conversation that took place between Garuda and Archangel Gabriel in their carving up of the region.

The work will be made up of a padded room, where images /portraits of characters drawn from the Ramayana (Hindu mythology), leaders in the region, and other historical figures relevant to the topic will be printed onto cushions of varying shapes and sizes, and will line three sides of the booth.

In the middle of the space will sit two chairs facing one another. One will represent the Garuda and the other the Archangel Gabriel. The artist positions them centrally, almost absurdly, as deities sitting and coming together, to create a pact and agreement with one another. Running in the background, as a sound byte, will be the artist’s imagined conversation that took place between the two.

The padded room symbolizes an asylum, in a world gone mad, where the walls are padded to keep them safe and to protect them from harming themselves. Although the work references a piece of writing that was written almost 600 years ago, the issues of the fight over territories, religion and its impact on people, and the spheres of influence are still pertinent today.? The work is reflective of the state of the world we live in today.

Anurendra Jegadeva born 1965

A Malaysian figurative artist and writer, Anurendra Jegadeva is regarded as one of Malaysia’s leading contemporary artists for his socio-political commentary on both local and current issues, and for continuously forging effective and fresh narrative approaches to contemporary and historical themes through his works.

Yesterday in a Padded Room – A Painted Installation by Anurendra Jegadeva will feature under Insights, a sharply curated section which highlights projects by artists from Asia and the Asia Pacific at Art Basel Hong Kong 2015 from March 15-17th at the HKECC.
Wei-Ling Gallery is located at booth 3D12.