A shy introvert, Aisyah observes everything within her surroundings, and sees what majority would deem as unimportant, normal to the eyes. She sees them as something worthy of a stare.
“I don't say everything, but I paint everything.” Evidently this saying by Pablo Picasso reminds me of Aisyah. As she is known as a very shy woman, words are definitely not her forte so instead, she would spill her expressions and emotions onto paper and is directed by a brush or a pen. Everything that is on the canvas shows her sincerity of the subject of her work. With the theme of folklore, Aisyah created three artworks; ‘Kemala Pt. 1’, ‘Kemala Pt.2’ and ‘Gua Harimau’ that all explore the Story of the Kemala Stones from two different folklore. “This experimental piece involves me venturing into art techniques that is out of my comfort zone as it involves a combination of two different folklore that may not be well known to the modern society” said Aisyah. As it is an experiment of art techniques, the perspectives that she uses to visualize these two tales are captivating.
‘Kemala Pt. 1’ and ‘Kemala Pt. 2’ (above) portrays the legend of the 'Bunian' of Bukit Tempayan Pisang and their defense against the hostilities from the neighboring 'Bunian' of Kota Kinabalu for their prized possession of the seven 'Kemala’. With it, Aisyah combined another quite popular tale of Ong Sum Ping's retreat to Brunei after he was betrayed by his comrades in their quest to retrieve the 'Kemala' from the ruthless dragon nesting on Mount Kinabalu. Most people would know the story of Ong Sum Ping’s retreat as we learned them during our childhood. However, the story of the ‘Bunian’ of Bukit Tempayan Pisang might be unknown to a handful of people. Aisyah uses that to her advantage of popularizing that particular myth to the public and also to spread the moral of this myth. The experimental technique that Aisyah used in creating her artworks involves the use of different perspective and a play to the eyes. This technique applies in ‘Kemala Pt. 2’ where she uses different shapes and colours to make it look like she is portraying Mount Kinabalu when it is actually the face of Ong Sum Ping from her own interpretation.
‘Expect the unexpected’ of our own beloved country from Aisyah’s third piece titled ‘Gua Harimau’. This particular painting also has its own legend in Brunei Darussalam. Not everyone in our own country knows that we actually have two caves that is called as Gua Harimau. This particular tale is supposedly an extension of the two tales mentioned especially the tale of the ‘Bunian’ of Bukit Tempayan Pisang. The tale expressed that there were two tigers residing in it and a newly wedded couple was said to be in a journey and in it, they have to cross the Gua Harimau. Long story short, the wife was caught by the tigers and were found dead by the husband. Albeit succeeding in killing the tigers, the husband eventually committed suicide due to his shame and guilt over his wife’s death. Aisyah expressed this tale uniquely through highlighting the tiger on the canvas and only showing a small fraction of the couple. She also drew the couple inside the mouth of the tiger which also symbolizes the mouth of the cave. This experimental technique awes visitors with her unique and intricate detailing in her works.
To know more about legends and myths found in Brunei, and to see Aisyah’s artworks alongside 9 local artists', the public are most welcome to visit our gallery, to explore and fall deeply in love with the world of art. We are situated in Sengkurong Shopping Complex and the exhibition is still ongoing from 11th of March 2018 til 31st of May 2018.
EMERGE project is an initiative program by Creative Space Gallery & Studio, it began in April 2016 and is about enriching and recording the local art culture we have by enhancing the Creative Industries landscape. The project provides both physical and online platforms for FREE to Brunei’s young and emerging artists to showcase their art and further develop their talents. This project aims to foster the creative to transform their art practice into a sustainable career and more importantly to aspire to make their artwork relevant and competitive internationally.