EXPLORING THE MIND OF MUSLIM PAINTERS

By Nurul Halawati Azhari

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- The backdrop was a typical room in a
village house and the Quran was resting snugly on its rehal (stand), with its
pages turned to the surah (chapter) of the al-Baqarah.

There were also a prayer cap (kopiah) and a necklace of prayer beads. To
those who appreciated this depiction of a scene, it gave them a colossal
meaning.

The attention then moved to a corner where a pair of telekung (a Muslim
woman's prayer attire) and sejadah (prayer mat) were neatly hung, to reflect the
artist's childhood era where he learnt and appreciated the basic principles of
the Islamic virtues.

His creation had also invited the society to reflect on their sense of
belonging. The backdrop of a room in a village house along with its mengkuang
mat had stressed on the aspect of culture.

A sense of peace and tranquility could be felt descending on the soul of
those who view this creation,an effort by Osman Akbar themed 'Pedoman'
(Guidance).

That could be the interpretation of the viewers but for the artist himself,
there was a message that he tried to relay in this creation.

The five window bars indicated the tenets of Islam (Rukun Islam) and the six
bands of light were that of the 'Rukun Iman' while light that shone on the Quran
was symbolic of Nur Ilahi (Divine Light).

MEANINGFUL MESSAGE
If the effort by Osman Akbar had invited the people to journey back to the
basics, another intriguing creation showed the view from the rear of a group of
Muslim , standing still in a line during a stage while performing the prayers.

Making women as the subject, the artwork from the 'Girl Power: Part of
Jemaah Series' by Badruddin Abdul Wahab conveyed a meaningful message about the
spirit of filial relationship and unity.

According to Badruddin, this piece was one of his creations from the 'Jemaah
Series' collection that he had worked on since 1998 due to his awareness on the
importance of cooperation among mankind.

"Whatever we do and fight for, we must do it together. Mankind, when they
are in a group, become sterner and stronger. The same goes for the country and
religion. However,the irony is that those in arts prefer to be alone", he said
with a chuckle.

For Badruddin, women were the objects of his works as he appreciated the
nature of a woman who was actually full of strength and perseverance, but at
times were thought to be weak and helpless.

Both 'Pedoman' and 'Girl Power: Part of Jemaah Series' were part of the
creations by Muslim artists picked for the exhibition at RA Fine Arts here, an
exclusive consultancy art gallery established to promote both the modern and
traditional visual art forms of Malaysia and the Asian region.

Apart from the two paintings, there were efforts by others like Syed
Jamal and National Laureaute A.Samad Said with the theme of 'Medan Luas Terdedah
III'. The other masterpiece that caught the attention was 'Fatihah Untuk Ibu'
(Fatihah For Mother) by Samsudin Mohamad who depicted his mother and the Surah
Fatihah on canvas.

Not to be left out is the work of Zaharudin Sarbini -- 'Sea Serpent Eagle'
which was full of the elements of nature as created by Allah The All Mighty.

Apart from the paintings, creations on exhibition were that of caligraphy by
Aris Atan (Budi Bahasa II), Abdul Wafaf Abdul Ghani (al-Basmallah II) and
Mohammed Yusof Abu Bakar (al-Basmallah) using the Thuluth scriptures. For the
'Ekspresi Artistik' (Artistic Expression) there were also the works that
amalgamated caligraphy and conventional art that depicted Islam and Malay
culture on canvas like that by Nizar Kamal Ariffin (Bismillah) as well as Ahmad
Khalil Yusof and Mohammad Din Mohammad (Kesyukuran 3).

For enthusiasts of the Chinese brush painting, they can appreciate the
creations of Sharifah Zuriah Al Jaffri (Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim) as well as
Maamor Jantan, Moonair Nazir, Md Sani Md Dom, Faizal Zainal, Kasbi Sarbini,
Nuraini Ibrahim and Rafie Abdul Rahman.

YOUNG ARTISTS
Apart from the seasoned painters, the exhibition also gave the young artists
to display their talents.

Hence the likes of Nor Suraya Johari, Zul Husni Mohd Ridzuan, Khairul Azmir
Shoib, Mohd Safwan Ahmad and Nurazlina Zulkifli had the chance of creating
wonders with their contemporary-style creations that conveyed many messages.

Nor Suraya, 24, via her acrylic medium 'broken' depicted the image of a
small child full of sadness and psychological suffering.

"The message was about the impact on child psychology due to violence in
abuse," she said.

CULTURE OF ARTS AND PHILOSOPHY
RA Fine Arts director Raja Ahmad Aminullah said by staging the exhibition,
it was hoped that the event would spark and ignite far bigger exhibitions in the
future with the participation of many more muslim artists locally and from
abroad.

"It is not only the size of the venue, but the size of participation as we
are confident that the Muslim artists have their own way in enriching the
culture and civilisation of silam', he said.

The exhibition organised by RA Fine Arts is in conjunction with the 51st
International Quranic Reciters Assembly held from Aug 6 until Aug 14.

The event received the collaboration of the Islamic Advancement Department
of Malaysia (Jakim).
-- BERNAMA