Race, we are given to believe, is a sensitive topic, a subject to be dealt with, with kid-gloves. The story of the delicate incidents of racial riots from Singapore’s 1964 past has been told and retold, as a bulwark against possible future conflict, although more as a bogeyman, with its crux generally left untouched — that of strategies for the negotiation of difference. It is clear that ethnic difference is a potent subject, as it has been the basis for hasty profiling and the rationale for violence; but it is also this same identity politics that binds communities — invigorating struggling nationalisms in the spirit of Franz Fanon, or alternatively, triggering a crippling colonial imperative, or equally incapacitating postcolonial compunction, à la Rudyard Kipling’s poem, The White Man’s Burden. The series of works presented in Khairuddin Hori’s Us and Them and You, titled after the Pink Floyd song of 1973 from their Dark Side of the Moon album, with the addition of ‘you’ (appearing to point to its public), however is less about race per se, as it is about the more general notion of difference, but a difference that is connected to the dynamics of identity production by and within a community.
Described as a series of photographs of ‘real-life characters from the Singaporean Malay-Muslim community’, according to the artist, here, ‘us’ refers to a sense of fraternity and shared identification with a majoritarian characterisation of what the self is to correspond to within the community, and where ‘them’ then refers less approvingly to those who deviate from this standard and are seen as ‘outsiders’ of the dominant identity. The coupling of ‘Malay’ and ‘Muslim’ secures both race and religion into one, and for most part within Singapore the two are conflated, seen to be interchangeable and referring to the same, with policies supporting and effecting the relationship between the two. Within the broader context of local census however, the Malay-Muslim community is in a minority, and thus Khairuddin’s interest in difference within the community may be read not only as a reflexive gesture against easy but narrow preconceptions of minorities within the minority, but an occasion for discussion and negotiation.
The characters depicted in Khairuddin’s series are real, in the sense that they are as they are portrayed in his images, their representations of themselves unaltered by the artist, other than their being selected by him. They too are members of the Malay-Muslim community, but who may not appear to conform to the relatively conservative identity and representation that is in favour. Superficially, their appearances as tattooed, pierced, heavily made-up, bearing dreadlocks or just baring themselves, may seem transgressive, but no more so than such style and fashion accoutrements, in any extreme would be within a broader contemporary social context — such as committed goth, punk and rastafarian lifestyles and appearances undertaken within communities of other ethnicity — may startle. However there arguably is a particular expectation, that is due to the coupling of race and religion, and that causes these images to appear more fraught. They represent what is usually not encountered, if for no other reason than a reduced probability as a minority, and assembled together, their presence cannot be overlooked. Yet, it would be naive and disingenuous to imagine that presenting their portraits would evince some transformative change in their status within the community. Moreover for the individuals portrayed this is who they are in their lives, and their families, friends and those in their personal spheres would already be aware and familiar with their expressions of themselves, so any disquiet would only come from a non-personal public, and even then, would it be an unanimous response?
The series of images is part of the artist’s project to document a variety of personalities from the Malay-Muslim community, and the selection presented in this exhibition are in fact of individuals who are from the more public sphere of culture, entertainment and the arts. They are performers — model and fire player; and producers — creative director, event and concert manager, DJs, record producer, tour guide, make-up artist, tattoo artist and fashion designer (with Khairuddin himself also as a curator at the Singapore Art Museum). To assume that the Malay-Muslim community is a through and through homogenous one would be somewhat unsophisticated, and the differences that these individuals draw attention to, complicate the Malay-Muslim identity, even if it is of an interruption by professional pursuit. Furthermore, these aspirations perhaps are not so different from that of more nationally recognised figures, such as Najip Ali or Anita Sarawak, and in fact one of the individuals was previously from the popular 80s and 90s Malay children’s television series Mat Yoyo (or Aksi Mat Yoyo). But more precisely, the singling out of their difference from within the community points to a negotiation not merely of appearances, but of culture, race, religion and globalised market economy, an encounter that they are evidence of, rather than cause. Their representation in the gallery space thus symbolise the various contestations and contradictions within and faced by the community, society and world they are essentially a part of.
Khairuddin’s portrayal of these figures in front-facing and larger-than-life form is intended to produce a sense of confrontation with its public, a strategy that has been used in his earlier works as well, such as Badang (2005) and K & A (2006), both produced in collaboration with artist Ahmad Abu Bakar. It is in a way inevitable that these figures appear as role-models of some sort by their presence, and by their ability to realise their chosen professions, but because they are of a minority, they also suggest further consideration of the navigation of the Malay-Muslim trope, that the artist is familiar for, in a more nuanced fashion than merely that of appearances. More importantly, and in the same vein of seeing beyond superficial impressions, Khairuddin’s work represents not merely issues of being Malay-Muslim, but also of race, religion and society at large for other ethnic communities locally. The question isn’t then of whether one stands as ‘us’ or ‘them’, but that there is the possibility of another position that would not quietly acquiesce to the simple binary, and one that here is made possible with the addition of ‘you’.
June Yap is an independent curator and art historian based in Singapore.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Khairuddin Hori: Us and Them and You, by June Yap
Saturday, November 06, 2010
US AND THEM AND YOU
Hi all,
New solo exhibition coming up soon at The Substation. Please do come for the opening on 29 Nov at 7pm if you can.
Opening on 29 Nov 2010, 7pm
Exhibition runs from 30 Nov - 19 Dec 2010
Venue is The Substation, 45 Armenian Street, Singapore
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Saturday, January 09, 2010
CONTENT: navigating a point
Curated by
Audrey Wong
Khairuddin Hori
Featuring SMU-ASEAN Artist
Residency Programme participants
Dani Iswardana (Indonesia)
Eko Nugroho (Indonesia)
Rich Streitmatter-Tran (Vietnam)
Som Sutthirat (Thailand)
Shahrul Jamili Miskon (Malaysia)
Kai Lam (Singapore)
Sookoon Ang (Singapore)
Zack Razak (Singapore)
Ming Wong (Singapore)
and SMU student artists
Joyce Koh Bao Zhu
Ooi Tong Si
Sara Ang Mei Xin
Teng Dong Hao
Ephraim Loy Suan Je
Lin Dingxiang
Daniel Yu Wenjie
SMU FLARE
Content: navigating a point is the visual arts feature for SMU's Arts Festival in 2010. Crafted in partnership with our neighbour and contemporary arts center The Substation, the exhibition highlights are artworks from a selection of nine contemporary artists from Southeast Asia. These artworks were developed after the artistsí participation in SMU's first ever residency programme, the SMU-ASEAN Artist Residency Programme.
Derived from the Latin 'navigare' meaning 'to sail', to navigate is fundamentally to locate one's own position against other known locations. In the context of the exhibition, this refers to the artists' navigation to Singapore which is commonly marked as a dot or a 'point' on world maps due to its small size. It also alludes to the artist's personal negotiations and necessary journeys in achieving various objective/s through their art.
Amongst the artists represented at the exhibition are Ming Wong, whose solo installation Life of Imitation at the 53rd Venice Biennale received a Special Mention, Rich Streitmatter-Tran, co-curator of The Mekong at Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Brisbane in 2009, and Eko Nugroho, comic book and street artist who is now amongst Indonesiaís pool of internationally prominent contemporary artists.
Exhibition opens on 15 Jan 2010, 7 pm
Venue: SMU T-Junction
Please RSVP by 11 Jan 2010 via email to visual_arts@smu.edu.sg
Exhibition continues:16 Jan - 12 Feb 2010, open daily except public holidays
Venues: SMU Gallery & SMU-ASEAN Artist Residency Studio
Time: 12pm to 8pm
Berita Harian 2, opens 12 Jan 2010
Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore (ICAS) co-presents
*Berita Harian 2 – Utusan Melayu;
the surreal
the contemporeal
the cosmoreal
12 JAN, Tuesday
7.30 – 9.30pm
ICA Gallery 2, LASALLE College of the Arts
Symposium
Malay Newspapers: Shifting Functions and Representations
The symposium that will grace the exhibition involves the meeting of minds between artists and academics – a sharing session touching on the function of Malay newspapers in pre-independence and contemporary Singapore.
Panel Exchange
Khairuddin Hori
The birth of Berita Harian 2003 and the need for a legacy of critique in redefining ‘Malay Representation’ in ‘Contemporary Art’
Dr Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied
Malay newspapers in the Life of the Singapore Malays in the pre-independence period
Gene Sha Rudyn
“Berita Harian fails Malay” – coverage of a theatre actor’s work 1998 – 2000 subsequent failure, 2001 -2010
Dr Maznah Mohamad
Malay Newspapers Today: A Misfit?
Moderator:
Adeline Kueh (Senior Lecturer of LASALLE College of the Arts)
Adeline’s previous stints include being the Director of the Intermedia Lab with the Office of Research & Creative Industries, as well as Director of Studies, Art Theory & Art History in the college.
Rooted in cultural studies, her research interests include notions of monstrosity within Southeast Asian contexts, smart fashion, architecture and the future of cinema. She has chaired and presented at a number of cultural studies conferences in UK, Australia, Finland and Hungary.
Speakers:
Zaki Razak (Curator of Berita Harian 2 – Utusan Melayu)
Originally trained in graphic design, Zaki made a switch and later graduated with BA (Hons) in Fine Arts from the University of Huddersfield, UK in 2006. To date, he has undergone residency at The Land Foundation in Chiang Mai, Thailand, curated an exhibition at the National Youth Council, Singapore and exhibited at 1a Space Gallery, Hong Kong.
He is currently completing a Master of Fine Arts programme at LASALLE College of the Arts.
Dr Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied (Co-curator of Berita Harian 2 – Utusan Melayu, Assistant Professor at Department of Malay Studies, NUS)
Much of Khairudin’s work has revolved around the history of Muslims in Southeast Asia, with a special focus on the construction of identities, native resistance to colonial rule, the impact of colonial administrative structures and policies on the lives of ethnic minorities and western perceptions of Islam in the region.
He is currently researching on the histories of minorities in Penang and the Philippines as well anti-colonial resistance in British Malaya.
Dr Maznah Mohamad (Visiting Fellow at Department of Malay Studies, NUS)
Dr Mohamad joined ARI as a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in 2006. Concurrently, she is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Southeast Asian Studies Programme, NUS.
Maznah’s publications include, The Malay Handloom Weavers: A Study of the Rise and Decline of Traditional Manufacture (ISEAS, 1996); Risking Malaysia: Culture, Politics and Identity (co-edited, Penerbit UKM, 2001) and Feminism and the Women’s Movement in Malaysia (co-authored, Routledge, 2006). She has also published articles on Malaysian politics, Islam, democracy and human rights.
Gene Sha Rudyn (Participating Artist; Theatre practitioner)
Gene Sha Rudyn began performing professionally in his late teens and joined the theatre industry in 1991, playing Tanggang in Si Tanggang at the Singapore Arts Festival Fringe and The Pauper in The Prince and The Pauper the following year.
Two landmark moments in his career were the 2007 six-state Malaysian kampung tour of Anak Bulan Di Kampong Wa’ Hassan and the 2009 mosque premiere of AL-IKHLAS (SINCERITY) – a monologue in seven acts re-introducing God, both unprecedented.
He has performed at international festivals in Australia, Hungary, Japan and New Zealand, and currently leads Keelat Theatre Ensemble.
Khairuddin Hori (Participating Artist; Curator of Berita Harian, 2003)
Khairuddin Hori graduated with a Master of Arts from LASALLE in 2006 and attained a Diploma in Fine Arts at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1998. He has since explored and presented works across various media and disciplines including theatre, painting, sculpture, installation, performance art and the curatorship of contemporary arts.
In early 2009, Khairuddin presented 'Jakarta Biennale Community College', a makeshift school of sorts at the 13th Jakarta Biennale. Meanwhile, Khairuddin's last solo exhibitionTrading Craft, where he employed six Asian curators as his art-makers was presented by Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore at The Substation Gallery (Singapore) and The Art Center, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Thailand) in 2007.
Berita Harian 2 – Utusan Melayu is part of the ICAS programme of exhibitions showcasing contemporary art practice. This exhibition is supported by National Arts Council, Lee Foundation, National University of Singapore, Abd. Gafoor Mosque and Villains.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Artwork for Berita Harian 2
Title: "Aku bukan binatang jalang yang dari kumpulannya terbuang," Nazri, b. 1982
Size: 2 x 3 meters
Medium: Photography & digital print on PVC canvas
Year: 2010
Nazri, born in 1982, is Singaporean Malay. He has five stars tattooed on his body, an embodiment of the five stars in Singapore's national flag. Nazri is a professional costume designer and make-up artist and is a fashion school graduate.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Karlheinz Stockhausen on 9/11
Well, what happened there is, of course—now all of you must adjust your brains—the biggest work of art there has ever been. The fact that spirits achieve with one act something which we in music could never dream of, that people practise ten years madly, fanatically for a concert. And then die. [Hesitantly.] And that is the greatest work of art that exists for the whole Cosmos. Just imagine what happened there. There are people who are so concentrated on this single performance, and then five thousand people are driven to Resurrection. In one moment. I couldn't do that. Compared to that, we are nothing, as composers. [...] It is a crime, you know of course, because the people did not agree to it. They did not come to the "concert". That is obvious. And nobody had told them: "You could be killed in the process."
Karlheinz Stockhausen
German composer
Born, 22 August 1928 – Died, 5 December 2007
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
You are invited!
Dear Friends,
I have been invited to share a work for Jakarta Biennale 2009 which is scheduled to take place from 06 - 27 February 2009 at the Galeri Nasional, Jakarta, Indonesia (amongst its other venues, check out www.jakartabiennale.com).
With funds allocated as my artists' per diem, I have decided to set up a 'college' of sorts, one that I am calling 'Jakarta Biennale Community College'. It is an open school by all, for all.
I would like to call upon any of you who might be interested in sharing some knowledge with the public to come forward and contribute to the college's curriculum.
Participation and facilitation of workshop/lecture/lesson/tutorial/seminar e.t.c is not limited to any specific audiences or subjects. You might want to share some secret knowledge of astronomy, maybe a traditional grandmother's recipe, a conspiracy theory, perhaps a secret martial arts system or even, a technological breakthrough. Each session provides a modest allowance of 100,000 Indonesian Rupiah for its facilitator/s.
Should you be interested in spreading some love at the Jakarta Biennale Community College, please communicate your intentions to Miss Diah Sekarwidhi through an email to JktBiennaleCommunityCollege@gmail.com.
Your participation is our treasure. :)
cheers,
Khai
