Madnycer; a Graffiti artist for more than 10 years now has decided to join our local exhibition, EMERGE. Deciding to put down his spray paints for a while, Madnycer said that he hasn't been using brushes ever since he started his journey as a Graffiti artist. However, that does not mean he just started his journey in art . He has been doing art since he was a child, took art when he was in school and even continued to pursue Fine Arts for his diploma at Birmingham City University.
“Graffiti is not just painting walls but having that same passion with people. We have our own reasons why but at the same time it connects us in a way which is, amazing”.
For EMERGE 5: FOLKLORE, instead of his usual spray paints and graffiti, Madnycer has picked up his paintbrushes and painted on a canvas. He chose to the tale of Jong Batu as his subject in this exhibition. The famous tale is about a local man, Nakhoda Manis, who moved away from home - some say for a better life, some say he wanted to travel. Over the years he achieved success and married a noblewoman. One day he travelled with his wife in his ship. His mother recognised him and paddled her small boat towards his ship. Disgusted and embarrassed of his mother's old, poverty stricken image, he pushed her boat away. The mother, hurt and in shock, cursed his son and everyone one the ship, as well as the ship itself.
For his piece, he wanted to preserve that moment when Nakhoda Manis’ ship was transformed into stone from the curse. Hence why he drew the island still with the flag on sight and the whole ship just recently turned to stone. Unlike how the landmark looks now which is just an island covered with vegetation, he pictured it more as a ship rather than a piece of land.
The background and frame for Madnycer’s Jong Batu are all in black. The colour black carries many different meanings. It could symbolize as mysterious and hidden, and give out negative connotations. Other than that, black can also be dignified and showy with sophistication. For Madnycer, he uses the colour black for two reasons. Firstly, it is to punctuate color schemes that rely on strong contrasting colors. The use of darker colour as the background and frame brought the main subject to life. As what Madnycer said, “Pop art! Where the subject literally popped out from the rest of the painting”. It is to highlight the famous landmark; Jong Batu. Despite that, his work also carries the aura of sophistication to it. The second reason highlights the theme of the exhibition. The exhibition’s theme is Folklore and it refers to the traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth. It is also a body of popular myths or beliefs relating to a particular place, activity, or group of people. Myths and legends may carry morals but there is no way for us to prove the tales that have been passed down through generations to be real or fake. It remains as a mystery up until today, and that is why the artist uses the black color scheme.
Watch this interview with the artist himself.
Interested to see Madnycer’s sophisticated piece of work? Do drop by to Creative Space Art Gallery & Studio. Situated in Sengkurong Shopping Complex, the gallery is open from Wednesday till Sunday from 10am to 4pm and Fridays from 2.30pm to 7pm. EMERGE 5: FOLKLORE exhibition is still ongoing from 11th March 2018 until 31st May 2018.
EMERGE project is an initiative program by Creative Space Art 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.