“Lorek-Lorek” the Creation of Lines
Sabri ldrus

Sabri ldrus is one of the most profound artists Malaysia has to offer. He goes beyond the creation of art for art’s sake. His approach is an intellectual one, that combines both philosophy with symbolism, using methods that challenge boundaries .The end results are truly breathtaking.

Lorek Lorek is loosely translated as the making of marks. For Sabri Idrus, his art is based on lines, they are his mark.

After an in depth study of mathematical and scientific concepts, in relation to nature, the artist started looking at his environment from an analytical point of view. He saw that lines featured in everything that involved life, both natural and man made. From the lines created in the boost of a jet engine, lines reflected in water, shadow lines in a stream of sunrays, the horizon, outlines on a snake’s skin, to the spiral curves of sea shells and pine cones. Lines feature everywhere. Where there is life there are lines.

In nature, some lines and forms are so beautifully created, they appear mystical, almost as if they are planned. For this artist his exploration began here. From his studies of Fibonacci numbers, (where the numbers are the result of adding the two preceding numbers, e.g. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, ….j, he saw that almost everything that we see in nature is a result of repetitive number patterns. And for him repetitive forms.

Since his first solo exhibition in December 1999, where the artist worked primarily with tropical plant motives , this artist has developed his philosophy to incorporate a broader scope of images. However, he has maintained the need to achieve luminosity, in the creation of his works. This is seen in his use of shiny, smooth, surfaces as his base foundation, namely aluminium and zinc sheets, on top of which he layers fiberglass, industrial fillers, paint, oil, water and acrylic colour. All his works emanate with translucence and have an integrity that goes beyond the last layer.