Tradition, engraved on modern sculptures. Embark on a journey of Brunei’s heritage through art pieces with Wan Mayang, a sculptor and a metal sheet toolist. From the very same artist that brought forth “Mutiara Si Sabung” in EMERGE 4, here the artist comes again with four of her art pieces: “The Legendary Ong Sum Ping and si Naga”, “Asmara, Si Pendekar”, “ Guardian of Kumala (Si Naga)”, and “Si Sumpit-Sumpit”. Since the artist was but a young child, she was fed with great stories of Brunei’s legendary tales. The initial execution of implementing Brunei’s legends and myths in her art pieces really began back in her final year project under UBD, where she recreated Asmara, the legendary rooster which stars in one of the Syair Awang Semaun .
To the artist, folklore must not be a stagnant thing, to be forgotten or even worse, not known at all by the younger generation. “Many people said that they haven’t heard of folklore these days anymore, it’s boring now”, the artist claimed, “But that’s actually our [artists] job. But maybe in a different way. There’s so many ways, we just have to find it and do it. Like use technology to help spread the heritage and culture.” The artist also explained that when she was in Kinabalu, she observed that their youths are interested in cherishing and revitalising their heritage through modern means. The artist suggests that perhaps Bruneians can do the same thing too. True to her vision, the artist herself combines traditional (copper tooling) and modern modes (pop-art) with elements of heritage, tradition and culture in her practices.
As a copper toolist, Wan Mayang showcases her skills through her two metal sculptures, “Guardian of Kumala (Si Naga)” (to the right) and “Si Sumpit-Sumpit” (below), a skill she started developing four years ago. “The planning stage takes the longest time, then comes the testing, experimenting stage. But once the template is done, the process goes a lot easier and faster”, explains the artist. “The concept of [Guardian of Kumala] is to portray the tale with elements of modernism and industrial yet preserving the culture and the history of the fable’s origin with elements of Malay’s signatures like, Ayer Muleh patterns and Jawi transcript”, reads the artist’s statement on her blog.
While the “Guardian of Kumala” stands on a plinth, “Si Sumpit-Sumpit” hangs on a wall. The seemingly industrialised look incorporated from the use of metal and copper plates induces a steampunk feel to it. The shiny metal sheets give a futuristic feel while the copper gives off a more antique feel to it, as befitting the artist’s attempt at giving off a sense of tradition in a modern art piece. The aggression that can be felt emanating from the sculpture, from how twisted it is down to the sharpness of the teeth that can be seen from the open-mouthed fish. It is a fearsome beast from the story of Awang Semaun and his battle against this giant fish and there is no denying that image when the viewer’s eyes gaze upon it.
On the other hand, “Asmara, Si Pendekar” (above) is a personification of the same rooster that the artist created back in UBD. However, instead of it being another sculpture made of metal and copper sheets, the artist created an image of how Asmara would look like in all his arrogance and might had he been a human being. According to the artist, the most challenging part of this particular sculpture is the lack of material offered in Brunei. Instead, this clay sculpture was designed and created in Bandung, Indonesia. “The cloth around his face works as its cape to highlight a sort of dynamism and also to signify that he is a super spinning dynamo of action and movement. The cloth and the expression are the main accessories for this model”, elaborates the artist on her blog. To aid in making the head sculpture a more realistic touch to it, the artist uses an image reference of herself to help draw the expressions correctly. The result is a 37 cm tall sculptor of a head made of clay depicting how the artist imagines a personified Asmara, a legendary warrior, a result of a reminiscence of a sculptor.
The last of Wan Mayang’s artwork in the gallery is “The Legendary Ong Sum Ping and si Naga” (below). A mixed media on canvas and copper tooling, the art piece is merely a taste of the experimental method the artists adopts. Wan Mayang merges elements of heritage with futuristic elements to create strong, exceptional pieces. With the implementation of traditional modes with elements of heritage, Wan Mayang roots her artwork deeper into the legend of Ong Sum Ping and Si Naga. Following the folklore, the dragon, more commonly known as Si Naga, is the guardian of Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. In accordance to this, the artist adds to her artwork a touch of the origin of this legend by incorporating handmade charms made by Sabah’s own Sang Tukang, colouring her artwork further with the legend. The addition of the charms to represents the kumala creates this aura of Kinabalu. But the traditional essence of the artist’s artwork does not end there. Copper tooling, which is both a traditional medium of sculpting and also one that help define the mark of the artist, is used to highlight the two iconic characters of “The Legendary Ong Sum Ping and si Naga”. Despite Si Naga’s origin from Sabah, this legend becomes a part of Brunei’s folklore as Ong Sum Ping betrayed by and losing the kumala to his own men, retreated and stayed in Brunei. The two copper plates, each representing the main characters in the story, are hung over a canvas where on it is painted the place where the story took place: Mount Kinabalu.
The dusky background that lies behind the two metal sheets is made into a space where the artists experiments with the modern medium. Created with acrylic following the style of pop art and animation, it paints a scenery of the event that transpired at Kinabalu; the battle between a fierce dragon and Ong Sum Ping and his warriors. It is a playful picture that grabs the viewers’ attention as there is something cartoonish about it. It is a modern mode of displaying an old, legendary tale. The colours purple, yellow, and orange not only helps to form a picture of dusk, but are also bold colours that pops out of the painting. The use of modern modes like pop-art combined with bold colours supports Wan’s early statement about creating an art that would appeal to the younger generation and the modern world, while yet conserving the cultural heritage of the country.
An advocate of preserving the local heritage such as folklores, Wan Mayang encourages others to incorporate these elements into their own mediums be it graphics or even graffiti.
For those curious on how Wan Mayang combines the elements of heritage with modern modes, the exhibition EMERGE 5: FOLKLORE will run from the 11th of March 2018 until the 31st of May 2018. There are 9 other artists whose artworks are displayed together with Wan Mayang and members of the public are encouraged to visit to support the local art community.
The EMERGE Project is one of the Creative Space Art Gallery & Studio’s initiative to foster, contribute, facilitate, and promote sustainable practices in our local art community. The gallery places great emphasis on the enrichment, conservation, and recording of the local art culture by providing a physical and online platform for both established and young emerging artists to showcase and develop their talents.