Bio      < Statement >      Works          Contact          Blog          Home

The visual and poetic potentials of materials have always intrigued me. Materials to me have a secret life. A material or an object are created for specific purposes such as a toothpick is designed and manufactured for the use of picking out tit-bits of meat from in between our teeth and a plastic bag is created to put objects in for logistic purposes. I am instead interested in using these manufactured objects or materials in an expressive way and taking advantage of the materials’ physical uniqueness and design for utilitarian use to convey ideas. These objects when manipulated have the power to exude languages that could communicate on relevant issues concerning the environment, philosophy, culture or existence. I tend to meddle with materials that are available in large quantities and could be found locally in a setting I’m currently residing. I scout supermarkets, warehouses and hardware stores for supplies. Therefore, by using indigenous materials, I’m also constructing visual commentaries of specific cultural and geographical identities. These materials appear stagnant or lonely solitarily but have strength and charm when complied in large numbers. I do not specifically use these materials by themselves but construct them with other craft and fine arts medium such as acrylic paint, adhesive, paper mache and paper clay to create collage-like sculptures that serve as vessels for ideas and emotions.

In my toothpicks sculptures, I strive to create optical effect onto an organic body. The prickly surfaces of the sculptures change as the viewer moves around it due to the changes of the angles of the colored points to the viewer’s point of views. The organic forms of the sculptures are contrasted with the almost superficial play of bright colors painted onto these toothpicks, exuding an uncomfortable persona, a juxtaposing schizophrenic appearance of artificiality and naturalness. The wire sculptures on the other hand are loose forms created by the concentrated quantity of the wire tentacles. I play with color, the sizes of the bands of paints on each tentacle and the difference in the degree of twisting in each work to evoke different moods or to carry different ideas. Therefore, again a duality is conserved; the collective twisting of the wire gives an organic form to the sculpture but is juxtaposed with the application of artificial colors. I use spray paint or enamel paint to gives the sculptures character and also to protect it. The wire sculptures do not only inhabit the surfaces of objects like tables or floors but some are created to be exhibited onto walls (hung like paintings) or hanging from the ceiling depending on the theme or concept of each interpreted idea. I’m still interested in playing with different materials and I do not want to constrict myself to a comfortable range.

I draw my inspiration from literature, philosophical essays, scientific illustrations and memories. Each piece is a recreation of an idea interpreted from these different sources. I started out as an artist exploring themes concerning the environment, thus some of my work exude these sensibilities. My sculptures retain an organic feel or form but are created from a mish-mash of synthetic manufactured materials and art and craft supplies. The plastic or inorganic feel of these creations are juxtaposed with the play of forms that appear natural. This duality exists in most of my sculptures.

Artists that have inspired me are Picasso, Matisse, Hans Arp, Bonnard, Ken Price, Anish Kapoor, Howard Hodgkin, Beatriz Milhanez and Franz West. Moreover, I am not solely visually influenced by Art History but find the natural environment to be a good source of ideas for shapes and colors. Natural forms such as sea creatures and botanical illustrations inspire the forms I create. Biological illustrations by Ernst Haeckel serve as a starting point for the formation of many ideas.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 2009