Kuala Lumpur - GALERI Petronas director Tengku Nasariah Tengku Syed Ibrahim believes that it is important for the people to come with their families to have a chat and discuss the Merdeka Mural.
“It‘s not only aesthetically beautiful, but also tells the story of our nation through art.
“Never before have we had such a huge mural like this, depicting more than 200 important leaders and people who made huge contributions to Malaysia,” she said.
She was speaking at the launch of Wallscapes: The Merdeka Painting by Wang Lan, Wang Xu and Shen Jiawei, which was launched by Barisan Nasional senator Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.
The exhibition comprises two commissioned murals: the Merdeka Mural and Third World.
Both signify a masterwork of mural con ception and design that feature important historical and contemporary personalities in the shaping of modern Malaysia and the post-colonial world.
The Merdeka Mural features the work of acclaimed Chinese history painter Shen Jiawei, whose paintings once shaped the imagery of the Cultural Revolution, together with two other artists Wang Lan and Wang Xu.
“The Merdeka painting represents an imaginative and novel way for us to explore the meaning of Independence, the various roles played by various groups and individuals, and speaks of a deeper integration between the communities,” Zaid said.
“It will urge us to explore the meaning of Independence beyond the mere rhetoric and pageantry that we are accustomed to.
“Its expansive theme and motifs assert that Malaysia possesses a history that reaches beyond mere dates and events,” he added.
“The Merdeka Mural presents a version of our nation‘s history in 12 packed panels starting from our early colonial past to the interesting times we now live in,” Tengku Nasariah said.
“The work was commissioned by Datuk Yap Lim Sen who put these prominent artists in touch with Malaysian historians, social thinkers and other prominent figures.
“In attempting to paint this epic depicting Malaysian history from every conceivable aspect €” political, social, economic, sports, entertainment, the arts €” there are inexhaustible conversations that came along with it.”
She feels that having the mural drawn by someone outside the country offered a fresh perspective based on what they were told by historians.
“This painting is tremendously important because we always think Malaysian history began in 1957, but it dates back far longer.
“But there are also interesting historical aspects to this painting, especially those who are not represented, people who have been conveniently or erroneously forgotten, like Tun Sambanthan, for example,” exibition curator Eddin Khoo said.
“This painting is also about how much we‘re trying to remember that we tend to forget what is right in front of our face.” he said.
The exhibition will be held until Oct 12 at Galeri Petronas, Level 3, Suria KLCC. For details, call 03-2051 7770. By JADE CHAN
Source: http://thestar.com.my (September 20, 2008)