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Malaysian arts are associated with draconian laws, conservative attitudes Art and Culture News

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George Town, Malaysia – The arrest of graphic artist and social activist Fahmi Reza has rekindled the debate over freedom of expression in the Southeast Asian nation over a satirical list of songs that amused her in a comment by the Queen of Malaysia.

Police arrested Fahmi in 2015 on an iconic caricature of clowns who celebrated Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Raza on April 23 on charges of insulting a royal queen named Dengki Ke. jealous? “) and illustrated with the image of the royal skin.

He was also accused of sharing “offensive and threatening content” for the list, which he uploaded to Spotify and Apple Music, offering songs like “Queen’s Jealousy” and Sex God Pistols’s “God Save the Queen”.

Queen Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah was on fire earlier, “Are you jealous?” For answering. he questioned the privileged access to COVID-19 vaccines in his personal Instagram account to an Instagram user.

When the hot 44-year-old Fahmi was arrested, award-winning political cartoonist Zunar he also found himself investigating – he published one of the caricatures of the prime minister in January.

Both cases have censored the freedom to be creative again as a result of restrictive laws and political, religious and cultural sensitivities.

Most people in Malaysia are ethnic Maletans who are Muslims, but there are also large ethnic communities of Chinese, Indians and indigenous people who follow other religions and beliefs.

Tracia Goh (right), accompanied by Chloe Tiffany Lee, at the Pillars of Sabah site in Kota Kinabalu. {Courtesy of Sabah]

“There’s always a limit to seeing a piece of art, whether it’s a mural, a sculpture, a performance, or an installation,” said Bibichun, a UNESCO-sponsored George Town, a leading visual artist located northwest of Penang Island.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the city iman in his crowd for tourists who came to see street art this began to spread across buildings and alleys when Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic made six murals there in 2012 and captured people’s imagination.

Before the blockade, it was expected that eight million tourists would travel to the island in 2020, providing valuable income to artists like Bibichun, who earn most of their money with custom-made murals, starting at least RM 1,000 ($ 243) per piece.

“Sexy, racial and political artwork is not allowed,” said Tan Chor, Penang of Can Art Public Art, a Penang organization that is committed to revitalizing urban spaces with street art. “If the state government supports a project there is more control over issues, while individual funders allow more freedom, but you still have to consider the comments of the authorities and the community.”

Heritage bodies and religious agencies also sometimes examine works of art.

“Simply paint them pretty, happy photos like Teletubbies, or the audience will go crazy,” Bibichun said. “Opposition propaganda would be eliminated before it even began.”

The unregulated graffiti scene is still growing underground, but the cost of painting at one’s own whim is breaking the law, and it has no income.

Conservative mentality

As murals help attract tourism and make a living on the city streets, they are in high demand even in small towns like Sasaran, a fishing village on the west coast, just over an hour from Kuala Lumpur.

Mural on a street in Kuala Lumpur. Artists have to deal with harsh laws, but also an audience that can attack quickly [File: Ahmad Yusni/EPA]

Here Bibichun and two other Penang-based artists commissioned, Sliz and his practitioner Lyana Leong, set fire to two pieces painted on the walls of Sasaran Arts Community Hall.

“Our goal is to bring art to our community so that people in rural areas can see and learn art,” said Ng Bee, president of the Sasaran Arts Association, which has organized several art festivals in recent years. .

Sliz and Leong’s mural were said to be three women holding hands, though inspired by Henri Matisse’s “Dance,” but fully clothed in vests.

But on April 19, before the two artists completed the basic skin shape of the three bodies, some Sasaran residents turned to social media, claiming that the “naked” characters insulted religious sensibilities and caused racial hatred among different ethnic groups in Malaysia. groups.

“I noticed that they were mostly ethnic Malaysians against us,” said Lyana Leong, 24, who is Chinese and Malaysian and comes from Bukit Mertajam in Penang. “They may not have learned much about the arts, and they thought it would be inappropriate for children to see our artwork.”

Malaysian artist Sliz says there may be less urban communities in Malaysia that tend to insult. He’s disappointed that those who were angry with the work didn’t even bother to talk to the artists about it.

“If you see something you feel is wrong around you, take calculated and rational actions. It’s not about writing a “activating” Facebook message of race / religion. The walkers could approach us to clear up any doubts, as they had time to take a picture and start a hate speech online. ”

The mural by Sliz features fully dressed paintings and was inspired by the work of Henri Matisse [Courtesy of Pui San]
Working with artist Bibichun on the rainbow mural, it sparked more controversy because it was believed to support the LGBTQ movement. [Courtesy of Pui San]

After Sliz and Leonge adapted the mural, Bibichun was attacked for painting rainbows at the entrance to the hall, which people criticized on social media for “helping the LGBTQ community,” a group that is still avoided and police in Malaysia.

Ng did not specify a specific ethnicity for the comments.

According to him, the citizens and the local government have always supported Sasaran’s activities, “because they have helped to promote local tourism”.

Risk interdependence

Malaysian artists also have to deal with regulation by government institutions, and often work closely with other agencies that provide funding and space.

Last month the Sabah Art Gallery received criticism in the middle of Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Borneo, after canceling 31 works of art.

Painted by various artists on the columns of a dilapidated heritage building from the 1920s, the artwork made its debut on December 20 last year as the third edition of the outdoor art installation Pillars of Sabah (POS).

In 2018 and 2019, the columns were removed with the permission of the project’s creators and participating artists to make room for new artwork.

But this year’s Sabah Art Gallery, which claims ownership of the heritage, went ahead “without giving any warning or explanation” to prepare space for an upcoming project, POS founder Jared Abdul Rahman told Al Jazeera.

The community of artists and supporters of The Pillars of Sabah 3.0 is facing a project completed in December 2020 [Courtesy of Pillars of Sabah]

“We don’t care if we want to know what’s next. Sabah owns the Art Gallery site, but gave us permission to use it for our project, which is funded by CENDANA, the national arts funding agency. It has deliverables that we can’t fully meet now. “

The issue ended after an online discussion on April 29, when the Sabah Art Gallery posted a public apology on its Instagram page.

“The art community should launch its own support system,” Jared said. “We need to stop being so dependent on the government, especially when they don’t have the interests of artists at heart.”

Gallery director Jennifer Linggi did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

Few alternatives

“Renting commercial space is also banned, and COVID didn’t help,” said Penang artist Timothy Chan, 24, who co-founded OTW with Soundhraker Studio, George Town’s only underground music, with Fakhrur Razi Maricar. is responsible for directing the small gallery. space.

OTW opened in April with a group exhibition of Faded works by artists Sliz and Bibichun. Sales can help keep them afloat, but with a limited out-of-capital market and reduced domestic tourism banned by statewide travel bans, murals remain the fastest way to make money.

“What happened in Sasaran is a matter of mentality,” Chan said. “Murals are a reflection of what artists see and what they shouldn’t see so badly. I think there is still an opportunity for Malaysian mural artists to learn and grow from experience. ”

Fahmi, meanwhile, returned to the police station on May 6 to be interrogated for two other posters he had designed – including one that mocked the health minister – and posted them on Facebook and Twitter in April.

Unlike other Malaysian artists who are willing to negotiate restrictions in favor of making art, Fahmi does not back down.

On April 30, he posted on his Facebook profile that he was “ready to face new investigations or allegations, and ready to defend all my graphic work.” As usual, I will not delete these messages. The people should not be afraid of the government, a government should be afraid of the people. […] Whatever the obstacles, I will continue to fight. ”



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