Kuala Lumpur, 20 August 2021 – More than 30 Malaysian artists will showcase their concepts of Life and the Hereafter or “Dunia Akhirat” in an exhibition to be held in collaboration with CULT Gallery Kuala Lumpur to raise funds for Sisters in Islam (SIS).
Held online from 23 to 31 August 2021, the art exhibition features an array of art works done by local homegrown artists which will be offered for sale.
The theme Dunia Akhirat is inspired by the CoVid-19 pandemic which has divided societies: marhaen or, working class citizens versus kayangan or, elites. These two societies experience two different lives or dunia where the privileged stay in their heavenly bubble of luxury and comfort while the rest of society is forced to bear the consequences of capitalism and corruption. Artists explore this theme through an array of mediums such as oil, acrylic, watercolour, charcoal, epoxy resin, ceramic sculpture, pastel, ink, etching and other creative means.
SIS art premiered in 2017 as a fundraiser with the theme Hell Heaven. In 2018, the theme Halal Haram was chosen. In 2019, it was Awan & Tanah and last year, the organisers decided on the theme Free/Bebas which garnered a whopping RM267,000. This was a significant increase from 2019, which collected RM177,283 for SIS.
Following the success of the previous four exhibitions, SIS is confident this year’s event would draw the same enthusiastic response, despite holding it online. SIS Executive Director, Rozana Isa said, “This has been a challenging year for many as we are still in a pandemic. Many lives have been affected due to CoVid-19; some struggle to survive while some, live in luxury and comfort. Through Dunia Akhirat, artists are able to explore and express themselves by highlighting this situation.
“While we still adhere to the SOPs by organising the art exhibition online, we are confident that this year’s show will be just as successful as last year. We have new artists contributing this year and we would like to thank them and the Malaysian art collectors community for the unwavering support towards our work to achieve equality and justice for Muslim women and for Malaysians overall.”
Dunia Akhirat features a diverse combination of well-established Malaysian artists involved in both the local and international art scenes. The line-up for this year includes established artists: Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Dato Sharifah Fatimah Zubair, Noor Mahnun Mohamed, Anniketyni Madian, Bayu Utomo Radjikin, Chong Siew Ying, Kow Leong Kiang. The show also showcases a line-up of up-and-coming and fresh artists such as Ranerrim, Amani Azlin, Wong Ming Hao, Trixie Tan, Poojitha Menon and Nawwar Shukriah Ali.
Established artist Ahmad Zakii Anwar explores Dunia Akhirat through his paintings, “Study for Green Legong 1” and “Study for Green Legong 2” which were painted with watercolour on paper.
Dato Sharifah Fatimah Zubair, a well-known female abstract artist explores dunia akhirat through her artwork using mixed-media on canvas entitled, “Solitude 2.”
Well-known contemporary artist, Noor Mahnun Mohamed explores dunia akhirat by featuring subjects such as the moth, orchid and goldfish with vibrating and colourful zigzag backgrounds using oil on canvas entitled, “Atlas”, “Silky Moon” and “Goldfish.”
Up-and-coming artist Trixie Tan honours her late mother whom she lost a year ago through her piece, “Mirage” which was finely made using oil on canvas.
Ranerrim, another fresh visual artist explores dunia akhirat by highlighting the different lives of every income group through the series, “The Space Between Us” with three paintings made with acrylic on canvas entitled, “B40,” “M40” and “T20.”
Poojitha Menon, also an up-and-coming artist explores the dunia akhirat through her sculptures entitled, “The Emissaries” and “Eternal Mother” made using ceramic air dry clay.
Some other art work include art works from Ahmad Shukri Mohamed, Umibaizurah Maher Ismail, Poodien, Dhavinder Singh, Chang Yoong Chia, Badruddin Wahab, Arif Fauzan, Fawwaz Sukri, Hana Zamri, Izat Arif, Amir Mansor, Haz Yusop, Lyne Ismail, Marvin Chan, Mohd Al-Khuzairie Ali, Nadia Nizamudin, Paul Nickson Atia, Sarah Radzi, Sharifah Mazwari, Sharon Chin and Zulkifli (Zul) Lee.
Dunia Akhirat is on show through PDF viewing from 23 to 31 August. Please contact Dayang Aina for the catalogue at 012-415 8031 or Aleza Othman, for media enquiries at 017-685 4269. Like last year’s show, all works are for sale and 50 percent of the proceeds will be donated to SIS. All proceeds donated are eligible for tax exemption.