A+ Kadang Kadang Dekat Dekat Akan Datang No.4

This catalogue is published in conjunction with exhibition Kadang Kadang Dekat Dekat Akan Datang No.4: Samsudin Wahab held at A+ WORKS of ART, Kuala Lumpur from 17 January – 3 February 2018.

A+ WORKS of ART d6 - G - 8 d6 Trade Centre 801 Jalan Sentul 51000 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia +60 18 333 3399 info@aplusart.asia Editor Michael Lee Writer Nur Hanim Khairuddin Project Management Joshua Lim Nikki Ong Design nowornever.my Photography KuwaKenta

www.aplusart.asia

Opening Hours 12 pm – 7 pm, Tuesday to Saturday Closed on Sunday – Monday and public holidays Copyright © A+ WORKS of ART 2018.

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A+ WORKS of ART is proud to present Kadang Kadang Dekat Dekat Akan Datang, which is an ongoing series of preview exhibitions by artists the gallery collaborates with, and this ongoing series of previews showcases artists’ existing and/or ongoing works. The title of this series is a reference to a riddle in the famous P. Ramlee movie Nujum Pa’ Blalang (1959): Satu – Banyak-banyak Dua – Sikit-sikit Tiga – Jarang-jarang Empat – Kadang-kadang This edition of Kadang Kadang Dekat Dekat Akan Datang presents works by multi-disciplinary Malaysian artist Samsudin Wahab a.k.a. Buden (b. 1984, Perak). Buden’s multi-part installation, entitled Wira Bangsa (National Heroes), was previously shown at the 2016 edition of the Kuandu Biennale in Taipei under the curatorial theme Slaying Monsters. The work had various components: a series of light box duratrans prints; a video projection; and an installation of a bench made of and surrounded by dried paddy straws.

A+ WORKS of ART — Kadang Kadang Dekat Dekat Akan Datang Nº4

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Intallation view, Kadang Kadang Dekat Dekat Akan Datang Nº4: Samsudin Wahab at A+ WORKS of ART

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Photo by KuwaKenta

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Tambun (detail) 2018 Mud, wire mesh and steel Dimensions variable

Photo by KuwaKenta

Samsudin Wahab b. 1984, Perak, Malaysia

A+ WORKS of ART — Kadang Kadang Dekat Dekat Akan Datang Nº4

Samsudin Wahab (b. 1984, Perak; lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) obtained his Bachelor (Honours) degree in Fine Arts from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam, in 2007.

Visually powerful and aesthetically engaging, his earlier paintings were mostly awash with elements of printmaking, an approach he developed while at UiTM. His current practice includes the creation of sculpture, performance, video and installation in response to media coverage o f global political events, often mixing reported reality with his vivid imagination. He has staged various solo exhibitions including Enough! (Galeri Taksu, Kuala Lumpur, 2008); Not Enough! (Galeri Chandan, Kuala Lumpur, 2008); Self-Parody (15th Rimbun Dahan Residency Exhibition, Rimbun Dahan, Kuang, Selangor, 2010); and Propositions for the Future (Fergana Art Gallery, Penang, 2015). His works have been exhibited at major international platforms such as the Taiwan Biennale, Taipei (2011); Selasar Sunaryo Art Space, Bandung, Indonesia (2012); Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan (2013) and the Kuandu Biennale, Taipei (2016). In 2010, h e was sent to Mumbai, India, through the Khazanah Nasional Art Residency programme. During his fellowship at the Fergana Art Fellowship programme in 2015, he was coached by renowned artist-curator Wong Hoy Cheong for six months. Accolades Samsudin has received include Malaysian Emerging Artist (MEA) Award 2009, co-organised by the Kuala Lumpur-based galleries HOM Art Trans and Galeri Chandan; the Young Guns award 2013, conferred by HOM Art Trans; and Juror’s Award for Young Contemporary Artist i n 2013, conferred by National Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.

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In the present showcase, Buden has added a component of organic material in the installation: a totemic structure made of mud taken from mangrove swamp.

Having come from a background in agriculture, Buden is understandably concerned with various issues concerning farming. The rigorous challenges that come with making a living through farming and agricultural activities, and the extent of patience, grit and determination required t o survive in this industry, have had an enormous impact on Buden’s thought p rocess and creativity.

On the current work, Buden shared: “In the Wira Bangsa (National Heroes) series, I want to highlight the farmers as powerful warriors whose exploits in tending to their crops are nothing short of heroic… engaging in a fight for survival against oversized, genetically mutated and hybrid pests.”

We are reminded of environmental and ecological problems resulting from human greed and foolishness, as Buden has observed happening to a certain extent in his own village, that serve as the key inspiration and impetus for the creation of Wira Bangsa (National Heroes). Through vivid imagination and relentless humour, Buden transforms social issues into provocative allegories.

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Intallation view, Tambun 2018 Mud, wire mesh and steel Dimensions variable

Photo by KuwaKenta

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On Wira Bangsa with Buden Nur Hanim Khairuddin

Born and raised in a paddy-farming family and village, Samsudin Wahab a.k.a. Buden experienced the challenges of making a living through agricultural activities. Meanwhile, the detrimental impact of modern agriculture on nature is not new to him.

He has witnessed how his environment deteriorated when traditional agricultural practices were replaced by modern ones.

When Buden was selected to participate in an art fellowship programme arranged by Fergana Art in 2015, he took the opportunity to pursue the environmental issue in a more structured manner.

He made numerous visits to his village throughout a six-month period to meet farmer friends, old workers of a charcoal factory and people working in local cottage industries.

His intention was to gain insights into their current situations and examine the causes and effects of environmental change on their lives. The encounters with them opened his eyes to the heartbreaking trials that they face.

Nur Hanim Khairuddin (NHK): What is one memorable observation that you made during the six-month exploration in the village?

Buden (B): I observed that farmers using machines and chemical pesticides are less engaged with one another.

Previously, farmers gathered to gotong royong [cooperate] and prepare the paddy field for seeding and harvesting. With a machine, a lone farmer can do all of this on his own.

One of the outcomes from the fellowship is an art installation titled Wira Bangsa, which Buden first exhibited at the 2016 Kuandu Biennale in Taiwan.

The installation consists of three parts: a series of photographs, a video projection and a temporary component made from organic materials.

Buden wrote in his artist statement: “In the Wira Bangsa series, I highlight the farmers as powerful warriors, whose exploits in tending to their crops

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Intallation view, Wira Bangsa series 2016 Duratrans with lightbox 120 Ă— 90 cm each

Photo by KuwaKenta

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Intallation view Tambun (Day 3) 2018 Mud, wire mesh and steel Dimensions variable

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are nothing short of heroic… (They engage) in a fight for survival against oversized, genetically-mutated and hybrid pests.”

In the first part of the installation are 3’ ∑ 4’ lightboxes with four photographs showing people against rural landscape backgrounds.

Just like anglers posing with their big catch, these farmers are seen holding their “trophies” aloft. However, in this case, the vanquished are alien-looking crop pests that most likely posed a nuisance to the farmers.

NHK: The mutant pests are out of the ordinary. Yet they also look real by being part of photographs. Tell us more about them and your use of photography here.

B: The monster pests are “photographed” with the humans to signify that the scenario is real. What these pests symbolise is the monstrosity of the modern agricultural issue. The pests depict the farmers’ challenges as big and complex.

I use the lightbox as a way of framing the environmental issue and to present it like a movie advertisement — it’s a satirical approach: the environmental issue is so true and damaging that it makes for a dramatic movie with blockbuster potential. Photographs and videos are also useful formats to communicate the realness of the matter at hand.

An interesting feature is the series of titles that Buden gives to the photographs. The titles Si Pejuang Perseorangan (The Lone Ranger), Dua Dinamik (The Dynamic Duo), Tiga Gemilang (The Magnificent Three) and Empat Si Bijak (The Brilliant Four) are clearly derived from popular Western movies that deal with tales of heroism — it’s another way that the artist uses to allude to the farmers as heroic.

The video projects a series of images of paddy fields, insects and a man.

The voice of the man — Tok Chey, one of the village’s farmers — narrates his enduring struggle to protect his crops from the ravages of insects and pests.

NHK: We heard that you taught yourself videography skills.

B: Yes, I’m experimenting with video art here. I made some intentional choices, like using a skyline at dawn and dusk to start and end my narrative. I also considered the sound design and the scene transitions.

Again, I want to emphasise how real the environmental issue is for farmers, so I got Tok Chey to narrate his own On Wira Bangsa with Buden — Nur Hanim Khairuddin

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Intallation view, Tambun (detail: day 3) 2018 Mud, wire mesh and steel Dimensions variable

Intallation view, Tambun (detail: day 3) 2018 Mud, wire mesh and steel Dimensions variable

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experiences. With this storytelling format, the issue has a real face to it. Against the environmental challenges, the farmer is a hero to me; he is a Wira Bangsa.

For the last component, the artist previously placed dried paddy straws on the f loor in front of the video at the Kuandu Biennale. In the re-staging of this installation in Kuala Lumpur, he creates a tall structure covered with mud.

This new element, titled Tambun (tambun is a verb, which means to heap earth upon something; or to create a mound of earth), triggers not only the visual but also the auditory senses of the audiences. The earthy smell of the mud and the cracking sound produced as it dries add an intimacy to the audiences’ experience with nature.

NHK: What gave you the idea of using organic materials?

B: This form has to do with memory. As kids, we used to play a game of stacking the tallest paddy tower. For farmers, success is represented by the amount of paddy harvests one can accumulate. So I used paddy straws at the Kuandu Biennale.

For the use of mud, it brings me back to my teenage years, when I worked as a mangrove swamp harvester. I would dig the swamp for umpun-umpun, a type of worm used as a bait for fishing. As I dug the swamp, the action resulted in a tambun mud mount at the side.

The Tambun mound in my installation is also a reference to mankind’s fascination with the Tower of Babel, which represents power, wealth and achievement. Cities also compete with one another on engineering feats by trying to build the tallest building.

The environmental problems resulting from human greed and foolishness that Buden witnessed in his own village serve as the key inspiration for Wira Bangsa. The strange-looking hybrid insects in his photographs are part and parcel of the present biotechnological age.

They are horrific symbols of capitalist exploitation and insolence, and of lust for power and profit. The heroic farmers who struggle hard to annihilate the crop pests are seen as representing those negatively affected by rampant capitalism.

Some of the worrying developments that must be debated are: the unethical genetic engineering of crops and livestock; the use of high doses of powerful pesticides; the creation of terminator technology that eliminates replanting; the introduction of genetically modified On Wira Bangsa with Buden — Nur Hanim Khairuddin

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seeds that produce seedless fruits, leaving farmers with no choice but to purchase more seeds for replanting; and the practice of patenting or claiming exclusive rights to certain plant species, especially those with medicinal and nutritional values.

NHK: What worries you the most now that you have explored the environmental issue and its impact on farmers?

B: Today, farmers have lost their connection and sensitivity to nature. There used to be a healthier relationship — for example, farmers maintained good water irrigation systems to grow crops and allow fishes to thrive in the ecosystem.

The fishes ate pests and were a source of food to farmers.

Sadly, the irrigation system doesn’t work now due to chemical overuse that kills fishes. Farmers now buy fishes from the market and have no live ones to rely on.

Farmers with advanced methods try to control farming today by selling the idea of being “powerful” and depending less on nature. However, a ruined Mother Earth will “retaliate” with stronger defences over time, making farmers use harsher technologies and chemicals to counteract her.

I call this wicked cycle “accidental control”.

Environmental activist groups around the world have long been fighting against those responsible for damaging Mother Earth. No doubt, artists should also join the fight to protect and conserve nature and the human race. We need more artists who are willing to enter the ecological and environmental discourse.

Wira Bangsa is like a mirror that we do not dare to look at, for its ref lection reveals the terrible realities that we find difficult to accept.

Wira Bangsa ref lects our evil nature and actions that will lead to our own downfall — if we don’t address them soon.

An earlier version of the essay first appeared in the catalogue of the 2016 Kuandu Biennale.

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Intallation view, Wira Bangsa series 2016 Duratrans with lightbox 120 Ă— 90 cm each

Photo by KuwaKenta

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Wira Bangsa: The Lone Ranger 2016 Duratrans with lightbox 120 × 90 cm

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Wira Bangsa: The Brilliant Four 2016 Duratrans with lightbox 120 × 90 cm

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Wira Bangsa: The Magnificent Three 2016 Duratrans with lightbox 120 × 90 cm

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Wira Bangsa: The Dynamic Duo 2016 Duratrans with lightbox 120 × 90 cm

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Wira Bangsa: Tok Chey – Of Thoughts and Pests (video stills) 2016 Single-channel video 8’ 30”

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Wira Bangsa: Tok Chey – Of Thoughts and Pests (video stills) 2016 Single-channel video 8’ 30”

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Image courtesy of Gilang Mustofa

Wira Bangsa: Tok Chey – Of Thoughts and Pests (video stills) 2016 Single-channel video 8’ 30”

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A+ WORKS of ART is a contemporary art gallery based in Kuala Lumpur.

Founded in 2017, A+ WORKS of ART strives to engage contemporary practices and discussions in new media art, especially photography, video, installation and performance art.

While the main geographic scope of the gallery is Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia, it keeps its ears attuned to global conversations on social issues, critical imagination and material experimentation.

Collaboration is the key ethos of A+ WORKS of ART, based in the belief that wonderful things can happen when people share and exchange ideas.

Artists working with gallery are not so much represented by the gallery but engaged in an ongoing conversation and collaboration. Likewise, curators, writers, collectors and galleries are welcome to initiate conversations about potential collaborations. The main name, A+, refers then not just to the gallery’s strive for distinction and professionalism in its services and working processes, but also a sense of readiness to start a dialogue with any interested party.

Founded by Joshua Lim, who has decades of experience in the hospitality industry, A+ WORKS of ART represents a natural progression for the avid art lover. Lim has been an art supporter f or the past decade through his ongoing art acquisition and his promotion of contemporary art in his network.

COVER IMAGE: Samsudin Wahab Wira Bangsa: The Magnificent Three (detail) 2016

A+ WORKS of ART d6 - G - 8 d6 Trade Centre 801 Jalan Sentul 51000 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia +60 18 333 3399