Pameran Ini Saya Punya Kerja: Manifestasi Dua Seni

Abstract

“Ini Saya Punya Kerja: Manifestasi Dua Seni” is a collaborative exhibition organised by Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, University of Malaya, and Yayasan Usman Awang. The exhibition combines academics, painters, and poets to manifest the merger of two arts, the visual arts and the literary arts. The exhibition was officiated by Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar at the University of Malaya Art Gallery on Sunday, 13 February 2020, at 10.00 am. A total of 37 painters with 74 artworks consisting of paintings, installations, sculptures, and photographs were exhibited. All works were translations of the poems written by National Laureate Usman Awang. The most dominant style was abstract expressionism characterised by free spontaneous lines accompanied by bright colours and spontaneous brush strokes. Among the painters with this style were Suzlee Ibrahim (Pahlawan, 2009), Lily Noguchi (Jentayu, 2019), Liu Cheng Hua (Anak Jiran Tionghua, 2019), Sabri Salleh (Duri dan Api, 2019), and Mustafa Salleh (Pahlawan, 2019). There were also semi-abstract works. Among the painters who adopted this style were Haron Mokhtar (Balada Terbunuhnya Beringin Tua di Pinggir Sebuah Bandaraya, 2019), Aizat Amir (Jiwa Hamba, 2019), and Abdul Raoof Ali (Keranda 152, 2019). There were also painters that produced realistic works. Among them were Md Nasir Ibrahim (Bunga Popi 1, 2019 and Bunga Popi II, 2020), and Mohamad Hassan (Tulang-tulang Berserakan: Saksi-saksi Bisu, 2019). The exhibition has achieved the goal of translating Usman Awang’s poems into visual form. Painters were able to play with the semiotic visuals that were a priority in this study.