KUALA LUMPUR, MAY 2010 – Bringing together the expressive world of Art and High Fashion and Beauty, The Gardens Mall together with Wei-Ling Contemporary have collaborated on an exhibition that is a first in Malaysia entitled The Garden of Hidden Desires.

“Through the ages the dynamics between art, fashion and beauty have been a consistent theme in the creative community and the aim of the exhibition is to allow the public to understand the dynamics and the inspiration behind each creation. The Garden of Hidden Desires sees eight of Malaysia’s most promising artists coming together with eight established fashion designers and features a fantastic crossover collection of paintings, installations, sculptures and one-off couture creations that blurs the boundaries of art and fashion. The Gardens Mall is a fashion hub and keen supporter of the arts and this project with Wei-Ling Contemporary is a testament of our aim to fuse fashion and art in a form that is made accessible to the public” says The Gardens Mall Marketing Manager Joseph Teoh.

Participating fashion designers Sonny San, Michael Ong, Dato’ Tom Abang Saufi, Jonathan Cheng, Alvin Tay, Ultra by Tengku Syahmi and Jonathan Liang, Alexandria Yeo and Innai by Izrin Ismail are paired with emerging names from the art world such as Cheng Yen Pheng, Gan Tee Sheng, Justin Lim, Samsuddin Wahab, Munkao, Faisal Suhif and Dhavinder Singh.

Gallery owner Lim Wei Ling explains “hidden desires can be interpreted as repressed thoughts and actions which occur as a result of unrequited or unattainable love or attraction. The exhibition explores the idea of what lengths people would go to hide these desires or conversely when these desires are unleashed and realised, what are the repercussions of the act itself”.

Within The Garden of Hidden Desires, visitors of the exhibition will be taken to a realm of contradictions; where beauty exists next to ugliness, happiness next to sadness, the puritans and harlots and good versus evil, all of which are qualities that exemplify the realities of life. It is also provides an insightful look at the working relationship between artist and designer and through the complexity of this relationship, find common ground.

The project also sees an impressive line-up from the beauty industry such the world’s oldest cosmetic and skincare company Shiseido, makeup artist Geraldine Loy and celebrity hair stylist Ando Ho who all lend support in making the exhibition a beautiful one; all of which are documented by renowned photographer Zung of The Photoz. To commemorate the project, special limited edition makeup palettes by Shiseido inspired by the fashion designers will be auctioned off and sold in selected counters across Malaysia with proceeds from both the gown and makeup made to Red Cross Japan in aid of victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami. Avid supporter of the arts, ABSOLUT Vodka will also be showcasing installations made out of bottles at the event designed and created by some of the artists involved.

About Wei-Ling Contemporary
Wei-Ling Contemporary is Wei-Ling Gallery’s new space at The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur.
Opened in April 2011, the gallery has already been busy with an exhibition calendar that has seen solo exhibitions like Ivan Lam’s Together Alone, Stewart MacFarlane’s Inheritance, and The Garden of Hidden Desires.
Wei-Ling Contemporary enriches the main gallery’s committed goal of reaching a wider public with contemporary art.

About Wei-Ling Gallery
Wei-Ling Gallery is housed in an award-winning building in the historic area of Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur. Formerly known as Townhouse Gallery, it was set up by Lim Wei-Ling and Yohan Rajan in 2002 to showcase the best of contemporary Malaysian art.
Since its inception, the gallery has mounted exciting exhibitions including solos by Malaysia’s leading contemporary artists and the gallery’s steadfast commitment to promoting contemporary Malaysia art to the wider public is shown in the numerous publications it has produced, as well as its participation in international art events such as Art Stage Singapore and the China International Gallery Exposition (CIGE).

About The Gardens Mall
The Gardens is developed by Mid Valley City Gardens Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IGB Corporation Berhad, a property and investment holding company listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad Exchange.
The Gardens, a RM1.5 billion development, is the five-star component of Mid Valley City, comprising a five-story shopping gallery, two landmark office towers and the five-star Gardens Hotel and Residences.
Anchor tenants for The Gardens Mall are – Isetan of Japan, Robinsons of Singapore, and Golden Screen Cinemas Signature.
For all media inquires and interviews please contact Nigel Gan at nigel@midvallyegardens.com.my or call 03 2287 1181

The Garden of Hidden Desires will be a first exhibition of its kind that sees a direct referencing between Art, Fashion and Beauty in Malaysia and runs from 6th June 2011 to 30th June 2011 at Wei-Ling Contemporary in The Gardens Mall. The exhibition unveils for members of the media at a private showcasing on the June 7th 2011 followed by a gala party on June 17th 2011 with a guest list that includes members of society, industry leaders and celebrities in celebration of Art, Fashion and Beauty.

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