The series of "camouflage", is my personal interpretation upon my observation on social happenings in our world. 'Camouflage' was done based on social issues on how people live their lives having to hide and blend in with the environment and surroundings in order to fit in. They either disguise themselves into something intriguing or grievous.
Street fighting man 2 is the last artwork for the camouflage series. It was produced in early 2008 where the world raged on the issue of justice mostly that caused the people of the world to stand up and claim their rights on the streets. This piece could never give the real picture of the true event but the artist felt it was his social responsibility to record this event.
In early 2009, the artist’s readings and research were more toward the movements of Surrealism, Neo-Dada, Pop art and Street art. These movement outbursts were more obvious in the current visual context, for an example it can be seen in the practice of current TV montage.
What is media?. According to Webster's News World Dictionary (1998) defines media as all forms of communication such as newspaper, radio and TV that provides the public with information, news, entertainment along with advertising. An Idealist, Karl Marx blatantly said, media is a tool of a ruler because it is owned by the government.
A book titled, "Culture, Society & The Media", co-written by Micheal Gurevitch, Tony Bennett, James Curran and James Woolcott in 1985, agreed that the media means having the ability to produce a mass production of viewers in a second. They also agreed that the media is fashionable and can be easily manipulated, more effected to the urban population because lack of social communication among themselves. Lastly, they agreed that mass media has been brainwashing people since the World War I due to the emergence of Science and Industrial Era in 1914.
In 2000, when the artist was still an art and design student in UiTM, Perak, the usage of non-conventional media has been the artist’s cup-of-tea. Amongst the media researched was resin. Even so, right after graduation, the artist was still uncertain in using resin as a visual communication media, reasons being the endurance and life span of the resin.
8 years later, the artwork research on resin was still strong and the artist had a calling to use this media again in his latest artwork. The substance is translucent, spontaneous and non- conventional thus making the artist stricken with his discovery. Hence, ‘Transparency’ is created, an alter ego series for the previous series, which is bolder without concealment.
In this context, media is not an idea but it is suffaced with live information that helps the society to judge wisely. Street Fighting Man’s Lullaby is an ode to the freedom fighters because almost all of the fighting songs end in a very melancholic way.
Street fighting man's lullaby / Acrylic, industrial paint, resin, handmade paper, canvas, poly plastic, charcoal & graphite / 90 cm x 190 cm / 2009
Street fighting man 2 / Acrylic, industrial paint, bitumen, charcoal & graphite on canvas / 130 cm x 108 cm / 2009
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