Anas Afandi (B.1991)
Anas Afandi has always used drawings as his main practice. Most of them examined the boundaries between art and life, fact and fiction, design and function, largely based on his experience and memories. Anas believes that artworks must be closely related to its producer, i.e. very personal and exclusive. Evolving as the artist evolved as a human being through experience and emotion. By reflecting the experience of the artist to his artworks, Anas was able to question the role of art in human experience.
Much has been done of the conceptual underpinnings of his works; his close relationship with nature, a familiar surrounding from which he grew up established his interest towards the natural world, history, archaeology and botany; and these interests are often incorporated into his artworks. Hence, the role of environment in his works always become the foundation, the artist himself is merely a vessel that channel the idea derived from the foundation and the artwork — through touch and influence from both the vessel and foundation — become the being.
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Tang Tze Lye (B.1989)
Tang Tze Lye is the contemporary visual artist who deals with the digital world and gender-researching deals with insecurities. His interests had revolved from engaging visuals and music into one new concept. He was a Bachelor Alumni from MSU Baroda Fine Art School, India, Diploma holder from Sunway University College under scholarship and is currently finishing his Master Fine Art (Studio Practice) in USM and Grade 6 holder in Trinity London Vocal Exam. He is one of two Malaysian artists currently trained under the Wei-Ling Young Artist Project for a coming period starting 2020. Won awards such second runner up for Nando’s Art Competition 2010 and Finalist for Nando’s Art Competition, Finalist for Bakat Sezaman Muda 2016, Twice Finalist for Spotlight 2018/2019, Finalist for Malaysian Emerging Art Award 2019, Champion Prize for MOOD Indigo Fashion Design MIT Mumbai Competition as One of the Lead-Designer, Champion Prize for International Choir Competition (China) as associated Dithyrambic Singers (Malaysia), and sponsored by BSVN as a Malaysian Young Visual Artist for Asian Youth Camp (Vietnam) after his internship in Balai Seni Negara in 2010.
His artworks had exhibited across internationally and nationally, like 360 Exhibition Gallery, BSVN, Artemis Gallery, Publika White Box Gallery, ChinaHouse Gallery, HOM Art Trans Gallery, Chaap Print Making Gallery, Saputara Art Village (India), Goethe Institut New Delhi (India), Instagram One day Take-over Artist Campaign Art Seni, Eco Art World Gallery, Hin Bus Depot Gallery, Atria Zoo Gallery and Annexe Gallery. Besides his active exhibition nationally/internationally and performance, he is also a fundamental vocal coach with passion and songwriting for other artists and music busking.
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Mentor: Ivan Lam (B.1975)
Ivan Lam (B. 1975) has earned a reputation as one of Malaysia’s leading contemporary artists for his continuous ability to push the boundaries of his art practice. Unafraid to take risks and never content to lean on the familiar, he is constantly posing himself new challenges through experimentation with techniques and mediums, taking his art practice to the next level. In so doing he has evolved into an artist of critical acclaim who is answerable only to himself, consistently striving towards conceiving and actualizing new concepts and ideas.
Over the last 23 years he has charted new territory on the contemporary Malaysian art scene with his mastery of printmaking, his conquering of contemporary painting, through his trademark use of resin both imbuing his paintings with a technical ingenuity and transforms the narrative tone of the work – adding hyper-reality to the natural, distance to the familiar, pragmatism to pathos. Other dualities and dichotomies abound within his paintings and conceptual works, both harmoniously and in tension, underpinning his enquiries on popular culture, current affairs, art history and autobiography. His practice has recently taken on a more conceptual bias, raising questions around authorship, the role of the artist and the very nature of art itself.
He has exhibited widely in the local and international arena and has also garnered multiple awards in a career laden with solo and group exhibitions.
Ivan Lam has been recognized for his achievements and has been collected by reputed institutions in Malaysia, Europe and the USA. He was the first and only Malaysian artist selected to present a one-man project at the inaugural Art Basel Hong Kong in 2013, and was the first Malaysian artist commissioned by Louis Vuitton for their collection in 2014.
In 2017, he presented a performance work entitled ‘Curating Human Experiences: Human Experience 66:06:06’ in Kuala Lumpur, and was the only artist from Malaysia invited to create a project for the Karachi Biennale in the same year.
Ivan Lam was one of four Malaysian artists to represent Malaysia at the country’s first ever National Pavilion at the 58th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2019. The work presented, One Inch (2019) explores dualities and dichotomies which sit both harmoniously and in tension in Lam’s work, beguiling the viewer to discover the multiple meanings within.
In 2020, he launched ‘The Ivan Lam Giveaway’ an online platform where art is used as a tool to promote action.
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