WLG Incubator Young Artists Show 2021
Wei-Ling Gallery is pleased to announce the second installation of the WLG Incubator Young Artists Show, featuring Alya Hatta, Anwar Suhaimi, and Shika. As part of the mentorship this year, these three emerging Malaysian artists dedicated their time to exchange, explore, and create new possibilities to extend their practices, with Anurendra Jegadeva as their mentor. The WLG Incubator is an initiative by Wei-Ling Galleries that was launched as a platform to highlight and collaborate on projects with emerging Malaysian artists. It is dedicated to help artists create a sustainable art practice, which allows them to develop their confidence towards making art that is authentic, experimental and progressive. Through this Incubator, we hope to discover and nurture artists and projects, which are critical towards shaping the voice of the next generation.
Kicking off in 2020, the WLG Young Artists Collaborative Mentorship Program is an extension of the incubator program, which provides the opportunity for emerging artists to be advised and guided by an established artist. Every year, research is conducted to identify the next generation of young progressive artists from Malaysia. The identified group of artists are invited to submit their portfolios for consideration and selection. The shortlisted candidates are then involved in a two-tier interview process, whereupon 2 to 3 artists are selected for participation. Over a six-month program, these selected artists work with an established artist as their mentor to discuss, research, explore, experiment, and develop new concepts. This platform aims to provide a safe space for these artists to express the challenges they face in their professional and artistic practices, as well as to support them in the aspects that they choose to develop further. The results are presented through the WLG Incubator Young Artists Show at Wei-Ling Galleries, serving as a channel to introduce their work of art to a wider audience.
With the artists and their mentor based in different parts of the globe (Malaysia, the UK, Japan, and Australia) in the midst of the pandemic, this year’s program saw them stepping into the new realities of our era. What does it mean to connect in times of isolation? What new methods of working must an artist adapt to? These questions informed the artists’ points of consideration when experimenting with new mediums, formats, and approaches. The outcomes of this mentorship are presented through this collective exhibition, which displays the results of their multidisciplinary techniques and thought-provoking ideas. Dealing with personal memories, questions of identity and perception, their works of art challenge the views that we are surrounded with in the present-day society.
On the first floor of the gallery, Alya Hatta’s multicoloured paintings, monochromatic drawings and soft sculpture take us to moments that are personal to her, while addressing her feelings towards stereotypes. On the second floor, visitors are invited to witness Shika’s internet culture-inspired pixel art, which she uses as a powerful tool of activism against injustices, especially in the context of Malaysia. Lastly, the exhibition takes us to Anwar’s commentary on the ambiguity of a water tank as a utilitarian object; his minimalistic drawings were executed by a robot instructed by the artist – result of his experiment using physical computing technology. Akin to a journey, walking through these three different spaces offer us new ways of seeing, forcing us to rethink the values, beliefs, and presumptions that we might have been holding onto, all these times.
‘WLG Incubator Young Artists Show 2021’ is featured at Wei-Ling Gallery from 12 October – 13 November 2021.
Wei-Ling Gallery is located 8, Jalan Scott, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Admission hours are Tuesday – Friday 10am – 6pm, Saturday 10am – 5pm.
Exhibition is open by appointment only. For appointments and further assistance, please contact +60322601106 or e-mail siewboon@weiling-gallery.com
