Pangrok Sulap Harold Reagan Eswar
Fig. 1 Pangrok Sulap currently has many ideas to work together with their surrounding rural communities, making the notion of ownership of an art piece a lot more meaningful. Above is a print for the exhibition “escape from the SEA” and a lot of artists, artisans, and art enthusiasts, were involved in making it. Another print for the exhibition was deemed controversial because of political reasons, and divided the community into opposing halves.
According to the Borneo Art Collective, Pangrok Sulap is a very successful collective on several levels. Their success stems from their extraordinary art making process, the messages they deliver, the way they engage communities, and how all this comes together to change the hearts and minds of their audience. While the collective does not have an official membership, it welcomes all people who are keen on creating art as a means of spreading clear messages on social issues, and also encourages artists to use their art to fight inequality and repression. Pangrok Sulap is part of a larger artist group k n o w n a s t h e Ta m u - Ta m u C o l l e c t i v e , a n d together, they organise cultural events and share booths in art markets, as well as run workshops across Malaysian Borneo (Fig. 1). The collective “Pangrok Sulap” was first established in Ranau, Sabah in 2010 and was originally called “V for volunteer”, which
indicates the nature of their activities. At first their ambitions were simple, they strove to motivate the youth and to help the children they visited. Through their trips to orphanages and community centres, they developed a love of community service, and began to put in efforts towards helping the marginalised people of the state of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo (Fig. 2). The core team members of the collective are made up of ordinary, yet passionate, young Sabahans, carpenters, farmers, and teachers. The collective has grown rapidly and has become well known in the local art scene for their iconic woodcut prints, which spreads social and political messages. Using a scalpel, they painstakingly chisel away at wood panels to create the intricate images that are used to stamp ink on a variety of fabrics and paper. The images must be carefully carved in reverse for the stamp to appear right side up on the surface − this is a labour-intensive 93
CHAT_1015.indd 93
2018/11/28 上午4:25
