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40 Art by TY Leong

Emerging Winners Take Flight


The second Malaysian Emerging Artists Awards (MEAA) exhibition ended recently on November 27, 2011. Co-organised by House of Matahati, Galeri Chandan and SGM with support from 30 Artfriends consisting of thirty Southeast-Asian art collectors, the event showcased 91 selected artworks submitted by 39 finalists for the award. Five artists emerged as winners. They were Muhammad Syahbandi Samat, Tan Hong Shiun (aka Siund Tan), Chong Ai Lei, Ng Swee Keat and Sun Kang Jye. This issue features the artworks of Muhammad Syahbandi Samat and Siund Tan and their comments.

Muhammad Syahbandi Samat (born 1992)


I started drawing since secondary school. At first, I drew only cartoons or anime figures as a hobby. One of the main factors that inspired me is the way Japanese artists make their works (anime or cartoon characters) come alive in games, movies, TV shows or comics. During my secondary schooling, I studied in the arts stream for two years and I was always interested in art. I derived a lot of pleasure and satisfaction when every artwork I completed received appreciation from many people. Then I started experimenting with many types of art media. One of the obstacles I encountered was that art material was very expensive especially for students like me. Furthermore, using, studying and researching some of the art media required lengthy time and practice.

I still remember a senior artist telling me not to draw with ballpoint pens as he did not find the ink suitable for art. I told myself that I wanted to prove to everyone that by using a simple pen, I could produce beautiful artworks. Hence, I started using ballpoint pens and have stuck to using them until now. Using ballpoint pens somehow gives me the satisfaction that no other medium could. Before the MEAA exhibition, Ive participated in a few exhibitions organised by House of Matahati and Pelita Hati Gallery. The theme that I choose is basically a general concept but with a different perspective. I want to work on a theme that many viewers know well and change the ending into something new. For the MEAA exhibition, the concept is a fairy tale with a twisted ending or the flip side

of the original story. Before I chose this concept, I researched on whether the fairy tale is based on a true story or not. Some of the articles that I read say that all fairy tales are modification from true stories so that happy endings can added in. Sleeping Beauty: Dear Prince, Please Hurry! Im Getting Rotten Day by Day is based on the Snow White fairy tale and what happens is when Snow White falls to sleep after eating the poison apple, Prince Charming does not come and wake her up. Hence, Snow Whites body starts to rot. In real life, sometimes we wait for something that were not sure of its appearance until the wait takes effect on us.

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Siund Tan (born 1981)
My work is to translate these stories into representational visual forms. I also try to infuse a sense of narrative into the works, instead of emphasising on the expressive or rather-sentimental-thanexperimental look and feel of the paintings. In order to captivate the viewers and set up a purely imaginative vision, I often compose my figures or subject matters into surrealistic scenes. A picture tells a thousand words and at the same time it is ambiguous. I want my paintings to project different messages or meanings to different people who have their own interpretation or imagination. I believe this is the joy of creating and enjoying art.

Two Malaysians
This painting portrays the mixed feelings, the concept of homeland mentality between the East and West Malaysians during the formation period of Malaysia from the Malaya era.

Intervention This painting depicts the scene where people in misfortune are treated as an unequal social class. Surviving in unlawful living conditions, they long for a saviour to lead them to a better future.

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