New Straits Times, 4 January 2008
Three new “voices”
by Sharifah Arfah
Marvin’s Letters to My Unborn Child.
WEI-Ling Gallery kicks off the New Year with “3 New Voices”, a collection of works by three promising young artists — Marvin Chan, Hasanul Idris, and Liong Mei-Yen.
Hasanul’s Main perang perang.
Chan has an advertising background but spent the last three years working as a full-time artist.
After winning numerous awards in his role as artistic director at a leading advertising company, he decided to devote his time entirely to pursuing his career as an artist.
His works are poignant and dark, yet carry ideas of romanticism and beauty.
The title ‘Letters to my unborn child — mercurial times’, takes a look at the faces of children whom the artist imagines he will have and the thoughts and conversations he will share with them.
“I find the works to be quiet and intimate, resonating a parent and child connection with varying degrees of poignancy. It’s somewhat poetic in quality, creating feelings rather than signifying a statement,” he said about his works.
For Hasanul Idris, a graduate of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Perak, the works are less personal, but are still a message about the state of our world.
His artworks comment upon the United States’ “War on Terror” and the fact that even as the war rages on, life carries on for the rest of the world.
Hasanul’s pieces paint a rosy picture through his collage of colours and shapes.
On closer inspection, however, one sees that the picture is not what it initially seems, as the parts that make up the whole unveil the ‘truth’ behind the facade.
Having returned from pursuing her bachelor’s and masters degree in Arts in Scotland, Liong Mei Yen exhibits paintings she has worked on in both the United Kingdom and Malaysia.
An artist who has won numerous accolades, including the Royal Scottish Academy’s Painting Prize, Liong’s decidedly nostalgic works reflect upon life as seen through her eyes.
She quotes the British pop artist David Hockney, whose famous line, “Painting can change the world” as the basis for her artistic motivation.
She reinvents and recombines everyday textures, elements, shapes and objects to create something harmonious.
Life as a whole is a bittersweet experience and it is Liong’s aim to create visually exciting pieces which capture life’s pathos and delight.
“3 New Voices” will be exhibited from Monday. The exhibition will end on Jan 27.
Venue: Wei-Ling Gallery, 8 Jalan Scott, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.
Viewing hours: Noon-7pm (Mondays-Saturdays) and 10am-5pm (Saturdays).
Call 03-2260-1106/07 or 012-302-5302.