Resident Artist

Ilham Fadhli

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Ilham Fadhli

aka Kojek

Malaysian Artist for the Malaysia-Australia Visual Arts Residency 2010

Exhibition of Ilham Fadhli’s Work

The 16th Rimbun Dahan Residency Exhibition
6th to 20th March 2011 in the Underground Gallery at Rimbun Dahan

The cover of Ilham Fadhli's catalogue for his exhibition at Rimbun Dahan in March 2011, featuring Seasonal Abyss, 2010-2011, oil & collage on canvas, 229cm x 305 cm.
The cover of Ilham Fadhli’s catalogue for his exhibition at Rimbun Dahan in March 2011, featuring Seasonal Abyss, 2010-2011, oil & collage on canvas, 229cm x 305 cm.

When we look at various artworks, a certain definite chemistry sparks our senses. An artwork (should) never lie. Time spent on its surface, every moment of neglected emotions and

Ilham Fadhli Shaimy in his studio at Rimbun Dahan at work on a mixed-media on paper artwork for his contribution to Art for Nature 2010 'SURVIVAL'.
Ilham Fadhli Shaimy in his studio at Rimbun Dahan at work on a mixed-media on paper artwork for his contribution to Art for Nature 2010 ‘SURVIVAL’.

unspoken words turns into images that represent the maker’s sentiments. Again, only interesting artists produce interesting artworks. I find Ilham Fadhli a.k.a. Kojek an interesting person. From his ‘dark realms’ university days back in year 2000 up until now, he is, in my own three words – fascinating, promising and uncertain. These words describe his artworks too.

Some viewers may be interested in his landscapes, while others are more into his cynically narrated paper collages. He seldom sketches. If he did, the drawings were then overlaid with final images on the same canvas. When he starts to paint, I noticed he would almost constantly choose a central dominant image and with this, he keeps the enthusiasm or momentum going by rendering clouds and smokes. The images change so rapidly within just one day that it makes me eager for the final outcome. Small figures against vast landscapes remind one of J.W.M. Turner and Kalkitos (the 1980’s version) game. Kojek would totally immerse himself in the paintings. The artworks are visions of the things that he can never say in words directly. His “apocalypse and the end of the world whilst little people continue to survive” idea is a reflection of what we are today; whatever and however the outcome, we have to make good if not the best.

His current works is similar in concern and stylistically familiar but Kojek has started to insinuate more hope through his selection of images and colours. We can also trace these subtle transitions from the titles and the figures collaged onto his canvases. At first few glances, the viewer often thought that the small figures were painted. This approach with collages blends well with his chosen media. It has become his trademark to merge the smokes from burning buildings or fields with the clouds in the sky. He also develops a habit to watch the clouds while driving from home to Rimbun Dahan and vice versa. His favourite would be the biggest and darkest cumulonimbus against the clear blue sky. Cloud watching has become our pastime and breaks the unspoken silence between husband and wife.

He works every day, at home or at the studio, now or before this residency. Making artworks puts his mind at ease. He is definitely absorbing and benefiting from Rimbun Dahan’s positive atmosphere of fresh oxygen, loyal crew of dogs and his new circle of friends. Kojek’s debut in manipulating oil paint gave him certain pleasures. At first, his oil palette seems more vibrant. However, when the works were completed it looks almost exactly as his acrylics. Talking about such discoveries has become part of our lively discussions and dialogues in the studio at home.

A multi-faceted artist, making little trees or buildings for his (miniature world) dioramas is one of his interests. He also does stop-motion videos. In fact, he co-directed MONOPOL, my instructional video for the Fukuoka Triennale in 2005. Artists have the pleasure of creating and engrossing themselves in their own invented world. Some people may enter this realm, with open arms invitation and some with an extra effort. We can expect a more varied approach from Kojek in the future. Anyway, I saw him first.

Azliza Ayob, Equine Park, 5th January 2011

 

About Ilham Fadhli

Born in Pasir Mas, 1980. Lives and works in Selangor, Malaysia.

Kojek graduated from UiTM Shah Alam with Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts in 2003. After winning the Major Prize for Young Artist Award 2006 and Consolation Prize for Mekar Citra, Merdeka Show, Galeri Shah Alam, Selangor 2007, his paintings and dioramas were exhibited at renown galleries such as Kebun Mimpi, Pace, RA Fine Arts and Galeri Nasional, Jakarta. Most of his works deals with contemporary issues in an absurd/surrealistic setting with collages of delicate figures. He is nominated for five awards at the IMCAS Iskandar Malaysia Show, to be announced soon. He is currently having his first solo show at PACE Gallery in October 2009. He is married to installation artist Azliza Ayob and blessed with 3 children.

Art Exhibitions & Activities

2010

  • SPICE Show, PACE Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
  • MATAHATI ArtTriangle, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
  • Anniversary Show, PACE Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
  • Once Upon A Time in Malaysia, SOLARIS Kuala Lumpur
  • WWF Art For Nature – SURVIVAL, Rimbun Dahan, Selangor

2009

  • Unfolding, RA Fine Arts, Ampang, Kuala Lumpur
  • Living Room: Art Couple Project, The Annexe Central Market & Jendela KL
  • IMCAS Iskandar Malaysia Art Exhibition, Danga Mall, Johor Baharu
  • WWF Art For Nature, Rimbun Dahan, Selangor

2008

  • Force of Nature, Pace Gallery, KL
  • Palestine Fund Raising Show, The Annexe, KL & National Library KL
  • Anniversary Show, Pace Gallery, KL
  • NIKE Pop Up Space Exhibition, Pavilion, KL (Beijing Olympics)
  • Rapat Umum Merdeka Show, RA Fine Arts, Ampang, KL
  • Friction, Two-Man Show, KebunMimpi, Bangsar, KL
  • Mea Culpa, RA Fine Arts, Ampang, KL
  • BANGUN, LostGenSpace, Taman Seputeh, KL

2007

  • Mekar Citra, Merdeka Show, Galeri Shah Alam, Selangor (Consolation Prize)
  • Jejak, Galeri Nasional, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • Not That Balai Art Festival (Performance), Annexe, Central Market, KL
  • SUPERSTAR 00:15, Rimbun Dahan, Selangor
  • Exhibition of Young Artist, Jeri’s Studio, Bangsar
  • Bau-Bau Café Opening Exhibition, Annexe, CM, KL

2006

  • Young Artist Award KLPAC/Gudang/Arts&Earth (Major Prize)
  • TABIK JERI, Balai Senilukis Negara
  • Mural Relief PROJEK 49 Merdeka, Balai Senilukis Negara
  • OPEN SHOW GUDANG
  • MINIATURE SHOW, GALERI SENI MAYA, KL
  • KARNIVAL KARNIVOR Group show, GALERI SENI MAYA, KL
  • POPCULTURE show, GALERI SENI MAYA, KL
  • Video art director & technical assistant for MONOPOL interactive installation, Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, Japan

2004

  • performance & video art : DIGEST THIS, notthatbalai art festival, Taman Seputeh, KL
  • Art4All international : artist & art donation, Bangkok, Thailand
  • video art director & technical assistant for SO, WHY SO SAD? :Footsteps, NAG, KL
  • set designer : Hari Keputeraan Sultan Pahang, Dewan SUKPA, Kuantan.
  • mural artist : Sek. Men. Sains Ulu Yam, NAG outreach programme.
  • interior & logo designer : Treehouse art & craft studio, Sri Hartamas, KL.
  • Art4All special needs children : volunteer, Arab Women Association & NAG, KL.
  • facilitator assistant : Gombak district art teacher refresher course, NAG, KL.
  • set design : PAHANG TOURISM CENTRE.

2002

  • VOLUME Fine Arts Degree show, UiTM Shah Alam.
  • technical assistant for RETURN TO INNOCENCE, the young contemporaries, NAG, KL.

2001

  • IDENTITI, NAG, KL.
  • crew : SITI DI ALAM FANTASI, Istana Budaya, KL.
  • ADA LANG ADA SIPUT ADA BAKAU ADA KITA, galeri SENIKA, Pahang

2000

  • OPEN SHOW, Galeri Shah Alam.
  • KEMBARA ILHAM group show, UiTM Shah Alam.
  • UNTITLED, GALERI Shah Alam.

Felicity Fenner

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Felicity Fenner

felicityFelicity Fenner is an Australian curator of contemporary exhibitions including Primavera 2005 at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the 2008 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art and Once Removed, Australia’s group exhibition at the 2009Venice Biennale. She is a contributing editor of Art Asia Pacific and publishes regularly in a variety of journals including Art in America and Art and Australia.

Felicity is Senior Curator at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales and Deputy Director of UNSW’s Centre for Contemporary Art and Politics. She is completing a PhD on curatorial strategies in major international exhibitions. During her time at Rimbun Dahan, Felicity is continuing her ongoing research into contemporary Asian art in preparation for a major exhibition exploring how artists and designers envisage our future urban and social environments in the context of global warming and climate change.

Rochelle Haley

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Rochelle Haley drawing during a rehearsal of 'Strings' in the dance studio at Rimbun Dahan.
Rochelle Haley drawing during a rehearsal of ‘Strings’ in the dance studio at Rimbun Dahan.

Rochelle Haley was one of the Australian resident artists of the year-long Malaysia-Australia Visual Arts Residence at Rimbun Dahan in 2009. In addition to her practice creating works for the joint exhibition with Australian artist Monika Behrens and Malaysian artist Shamsudin Wahab which was presented in the Underground Gallery at Rimbun Dahan from 28 February to 14 March 2010, Rochelle also participated in the contemporary dance performance Strings at The Actors Studio Theatre in January 2010.

high_teaThe exhibition at Rimbun Dahan included the ancillary event, ‘High Tea at the Pleasure Garden’, a discussion moderated by the managing editors of online arts writing platform ARTERI (Eva McGovern, Simon Soon & Sharon Chin) based on the site-specific installation Pleasure Garden by Monika Behrens and Rochelle Haley in the newly constructed Penang House at Rimbun Dahan.

 

Bio

pendulous
‘Pendulous Heart’. 2009. Reflective film, metallic paint and etching on glass. 30 x 21 cm.

Rochelle Haley is a Sydney based artist working broadly within the fields of experimental drawing and installation. She has recently completed a PhD at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales where she also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours degree. Haley has held several solo exhibitions of her work the most recent of which in February 2009 titled Land Incorporated at the Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney. She has also shown extensively in group exhibitions in Australia and abroad including the Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship at Artspace, Sydney, CIGE, Exhibition Hall China World Trade Centre, Beijing, Fading Lines, Nomad Gallery, Islamabad and the 3rd International Triennial, Marmara University, Istanbul.

Central to Haley’s work is the exploration of the relationship between the human subject and their physical and social environment. Recently this concern has been expressed through a series of incised paper works investigating the relation between the land, the body and its representation. Imaging the landscape using unusual methods of ‘drawing’ with blades and carving into heavy white paper, Haley creates artworks that require a viewer to negotiate light and texture.  The appearance-disappearance of the landscape is dependant upon the proximity and changing position of the viewer as they attempt to achieve a clear view. The drawings create awareness in the viewer of the position and movement of their body in relation to the work. The subjects Haley primarily takes for her work are landmarks of great cultural value recognised by their inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Strings

In a collision between dance and drawing, the movements of a dancer are transformed into a series of lines drawn live by Rochelle Haley. Other dancers then use these visual cues to interpret their own movement. A unique performative process which changes every time it is performed, Strings gives us insight into new ways to produce art and movement.

Performed by Australian visual artist Rochelle Haley and dancers of Rimbun Dahan and ASWARA, at The Actors Studio Theatre at Lot 10, 23 January 2010.

Moves & Sorts is part of FUSED, a bi-monthly experimental series at The Actors Studio Lot 10, hoping to bring new audiences into theatres and to give emerging talents a chance to perform. Moves & Sorts is a joint production of The Actors Studio and MyDance Alliance.

Angela Goh

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Angela Goh

Angela

The current choreographer-in-residence at Rimbun Dahan, Australian dancer-choreographer Angela Goh graduated with a Bachelors in Fine Arts (Dance) from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2007. Since then, she has performed in Lisa Wilson’s Elbow Room and in Soft Landing directed by Solon Ulbricht. As a founding member of the independent dance collective little moving poets, Angela has choreographed and performed in three shows at The Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Art in Brisbane. She also created Like No Place for the Judith Wright Centre last year.

Angela previously performed in Kuala Lumpur with QUT at Tari! 07, and is excited to return to explore her Malaysian heritage through new choreography. She presented a site-specific solo performance entitled Octagon in the Round for ‘Dancing in Place‘ at Rimbun Dahan from 23-24 May.

After two months of physical and conceptual experimentation and investigation as resident choreographer at Rimbun Dahan, Angela presented the new works she created at Rimbun Dahan — see I’m seen it seems and filled and spilt — at a work-in-progress performance at KLPac on 11 July.

The Choreographer’s Residency at Rimbun Dahan provides accommodation, studio space and limited funding and production support for contemporary dance choreographers from Southeast Asia and Australia to live and work in Malaysia. For more about the residency, click here.

Workshop

Angela will conduct a contemporary dance workshop in the main dance studio at ASWARA on Friday 17 July from 10am to 12.30pm. During the workshop she will teach a class and excerpts of her new group work, see I’m seen it seems.For more information about the time and location of the workshop, contact Yunus 012 332 1657.

Performance

Angela will perform the solo work she created at Rimbun Dahan, filled and spilt, in a group show at ASWARA:

Lepas….tetap menari
17-19 July 2009
8.30PM
Experimental Theatre, ASWARA
Entrance free

The show will also feature work by Liu Yong Sean, Kim Jungyeon, James Kan, Wendy Rogers and Jennifer Twilley (guest lecturers at ASWARA from UC Riverside), Shafirul Azmi, Naimsyahrazad, Melinda Kwong and Fairul Zahid.

For more information, please contact Bilqis Hijjas at 017 310 3769 or bilqis@rimbundahan.org

Cathy Brooks

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Recent work draws on the ideas of both physical and metaphorical ‘interiors’. I merge the flatness of wallpaper patterns with a view of a built interior, where a door or window may offer a view into an illusory space and operate as a metaphor for perception, memory and the body. This has led to new work that is influenced by organic imperfection; warped thinking processes and the idea that pattern is just one layer in a multi-dimensional world. There is also a sense of longing, of perhaps trying to find that ‘unthought-of’ thought.

My current research is in the area of pattern, script, pseudo-script and graphic symbols in traditional and contemporary Malaysian culture. I am developing ways to incorporate printmaking into my painting and stitching work. I am also currently working on a collaborative project with Mike Ladd involving still photography, video, sound and text, drawing on the pantun form.

About the Artist

Adelaide-based visual artist Cathy Brooks graduated with a B.A. in Fine Arts from the S.A. School of Art in Photography and Sculpture, followed by a Master of Visual Art and Design in Painting at UniSA in 2007. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions, and her solo exhibitions in Adelaide include IMAGINARIUM at the Prospect Gallery in 2008, Waves at Tin Cat Gallery in 2005 and High Road at Greenhill Gallery in 2002. Her work appears in collections at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Mortlock Library in South Australia, Trades Hall in South Australia, Prospect Council, and Chroma Colour Photographics. Cathy has come to Malaysia as the recipient of a Professional Development Travel Grant from Arts SA. Her work combines media and techniques from photography, fabric design and printing, and drawing and painting.

Dan Wollmering

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Dan Wollmering

Dan Wollmering was born in St. Paul Minnesota, USA and immigrated to Australia in 1975. He is currently Senior Lecturer in the Department of Fine Arts and Sculpture Studio Coordinator, Faculty of Art and Design, Monash University.

Wollmering holds the following degrees: BA, MFA and PhD and has held 25 solo exhibitions and work included in over 40 group exhibitions internationally. Completing major public artworks in Australia, China and the USA, he was recently awarded the prestigious Contempora Sculpture Award for a socio/political work that part sculpture and part architecture. He has participated in overseas residencies including Malaysia, USA, and the Ninth Guilin International Sculpture Symposium in Southern China. A recipient of the Dame Elizabeth Murdoch Sculpture Award (CSA), he also received a Nomination Award for the Beijing Olympic Park Sculpture Design Competition. His work is represented in private, corporate and public collections including Regional Galleries and Universities in Victoria. The artist is represented by Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne and BMGArt, Adelaide.

He was one of the resident artists for Rimbun Dahan’s residency in 2009, and did a short residency in Hotel Penaga in 2014.

Rimbun Dahan Artist Statement (2009)

danLately, I have been trying to reduce the clutter that inundates our lives. Whether its junk mail, email spam or just ‘things’ that build up over time in the bottom kitchen drawer, the backyard shed or those items that suddenly make their appearance when rifling through the wardrobe, closet, bookshelves or unopened boxes − throwing out is satisfying.

As a sculptor, clutter is a constant companion in the studio. I find it difficult to depose of anything that inhabits a sense of wonder and aesthetic potential – compounded by the fact that someday, it could form the basis of a new sculpture.

For the last five years or so, much of my practice has followed suit; whereby, my aim is to reduce and crystallise the essence of the form and thus the concept. It follows in the tradition of Minimalism – perhaps less of the ‘hard edge’ and more of the ‘organic’ type.

In this manner, the work is abstract, sometimes familiar and sometimes ambiguous in their final character. Stable and unstable, expanding and contracting, the forms may also suggest references to a secret and mysterious life form; one of less perplexity and in keeping with the forces of a self-ordering system of modular construction and organic unity.

As a sculptor, I am forever cognisant of the rich and marvellous history of both eastern and western sculpture traditions, and to that end, my small gestures and contributions to an expanding and vibrant culture and arguably, one of the most challenging disciplines in the visual arts.

clutter

Penaga Residency Artist Statement (2014)

During his stay, Wollmering will be researching and documenting architectural forms from a variety of sources in George Town − as a catalyst for new abstract sculpture. Using the rich and diverse cultural make-up of Penang and the built-environment structures emanating from Malay, Chinese and Indian influences, Wollmering will be locating and referencing unique constructs as a conduit to new sculptural forms in his practice. Using mainly cardboard and low-tech construction methods, he will be creating hypothetical sculpture maquettes with a chosen few being made in steel by a local sculpture fabrication firm in Penang. These new works will then be exhibited in the Penaga Hotel and at Flinders Lane Gallery; a commercial gallery in Melbourne that he has been exhibiting with since 1990.

 

 

Samsudin Abdul Wahab

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Samsudin Abdul Wahab

DL-1029-014

Samsudin was the Malaysian resident artist for the year-long Malaysia-Australia Visual Artist Residency in 2009. His joint exhibition with Australian artists Rochelle Haley and Monika Behrens was presented in the Underground Gallery at Rimbun Dahan from 28 February to 14 March 2010.

Bio

Education
2005 –  2007 : Bachelor (Hons.) Fine Arts, Majoring in Print Making, UiTM Shah Alam.
2002 – 2005 : Diploma in Fine Arts, UiTM Seri Iskandar, Perak.

Solo Exhibition 
2008 Enough!, Taksu Gallery, Keramat, Kuala Lumpur

Selected Group Exhibitions 

2009

  • Locals Only! Taksu Gallery, Keramat, Kuala Lumpur
  • MEA Art Award 2009, Sokagakai Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
  • Peace, An International Art Exhibition, Niko Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
  • Imcas, Malaysian Contemporary Art Exhibition, Danga Mall, Johor Bahru
  • Tanah Air , Art for Nature, Rimbun Dahan, Kuang, Selangor
  • Fab 4, Taksu Gallery, Keramat, Kuala Lumpur
  • B.A.C.A, RA Fine Art Gallery, Ampangt, Kuala Lumpur
  • ART Singapore, The Contemporary Asian Art Show 2009, Santec City, Singapore

2008

  • The 70th Mokwoohoe Members Exhibition and combined with the Malaysian Figurative Artist, Korea.
  • SPACE, Emerging Young Artist, Taksu Gallery, Keramat, Kuala Lumpur
  • Peninsula & Island, Taksu Gallery, Singapore
  • Young and New, House Of Matahati Gallery, HOM, Kuala Lumpur
  • Di Dinding, PTL, Pelita Hati Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
  • Shifting Boundaries, Art for Nature, WWF Malaysia, Rimbun Dahan Gallery, Selangor
  • Peninsula & Island, Taksu Gallery, Keramat, Kuala Lumpur
  • ART Singapore, The Contemporary Asian Art Show, Santec City, Singapore
  • Exhibition X, Taksu Gallery, Keramat, Kuala Lumpur

2007

  • Print-Print, Kebun Mimpi Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
  • Mana Batik, Annext Central Market, Kuala Lumpur
  • Flora Fest Art Exhibition, Putrajaya Conference Hall, Putrajaya, Kuala lumpur
  • Mekar Citra, Shah Alam Gallery, Selanggor
  • Global Logistic Art Exhibition, Gothe Inst. KL City Library, Kuala Lumpur
  • Pack Max Art Award Exhibition, Gurney Plaza, Penang
  • Salon Meet Art, Gothe Inst. Elle Six Gallery Kuala Lumpur
  • Weird Art Exhibition, Rantai Art Evnt. Kuala Lumpur Chinese Hall, Kuala Lumpur
  • Degree Show, Segitiga, Tunku Nur Zahirah Gallery, Shah Alam, Selangor
  • The Tanjong Heritage 2005 Art competition organized by Tanjong Public Ltd. Co., Maxis Tower, Kuala Lumpur,
  • My Wildest Dream Logistic Competition, Gothe Inst. Kl City Libry, Kuala Lumpur
  • Word Aids Day ( Pepaktaklumat Art Group ), S.U.K Shah Alam, Selangor

2006

  • Open Show Shah Alam Gallery, Shah Alam, Selangor
  • Open Exhibition, Sri Pinang Gallery, Penang

2005

  • The Tanjong Heritage 2005 Art competition organized by Tanjong Public Ltd. Co. -consolation prize, Watercolour, at Saloma Teathere, Kuala Lumpur

2004

  • Metal Sculpture exhibition show – Foyer FSSR UiTM Perak, Seri Iskandar, Perak
  • USM Penang public sculpture exhibition, USM Galllery, Penang

2003

  • Open exhibition , Shah Alam Gallery Selangor
  • `Estetika Perak` exhibition – Perak Art Gallery, Perakk
  • Digital Artworks Exhibition – Foyer FSSR UiTM Perak.

Activities

  • Art Performance, SOsound, “Boneka”, Friction Show, Kebun Mimpi Gallery, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur 2008
  • Art Performance, SOsound, “Aku Adalah CCTV”, Prologue, Threesixty Art Development Studio, Desa Park City 2008
  • Art Performance, SOsound , “CCTV : Episode 1”, Telu Tau, Lookiss Gallery, Manjalara, Kuala Lumpur 2008
  • Art Performance, Pepaktaklumat, “ Mirror Mirror”, Bukak Mata, Ruang Kala Gallery, Shah Alam Selangor 2007
  • Art Performance, SOsound, “Destroy”, Pati Satu Gallery, Puncak Alam Selangor 2007
  • Caricature Demonstration, ‘Sehari Di Sini’ event, organized by the Graphic & Digital Media Department, UiTM Shah Alam, Selangor 2006
  • Printmaking Demonstration, Opening of Badan BALKIS, Shah Alam, Selangor 2006
  • Printmaking Demonstration, LACRAFT, Langkawi Art and Craft Festival, Langkawi, Kedah ( Art and Design Crew )2005
  • Printmaking demonstration, `Hari Bertemu Pelanggan`, Art & Design Faculty, Dewan Seri Budiman, UiTM Shah Alam, Selangor 2005
  • Art & Design Faculty’s stall, demonstration crew, Laman Bistari, UiTM Perak, Seri Iskandar, Perak 2004
  • Drawing demonstration, Art & Design Faculty, Foyer FSSR UiTM Perak, Seri Iskandar, Perak 2004

Awards and Achievements

Winner, Malaysian Emerging Artist ( MEA) Art Award 2009
Rimbun Dahan 15th Residency Programs, April 2009
House Of Matahati HOM Residency Programs, April- June 2008
2nd prize, Saloon Meet Art, Gothe Inst. Elle Six Gallery, Kuala Lumpur 2007
Finalist Pack Max Art Award, Gurney Plaza, Penang 2007
Consolation Prize The Tanjong Heritage 2005 Art competition organized by Tanjong Public Ltd. Co. Mixed Media 2007
2nd and 3rd prize, My Wildest Dream Global Transportation, Global Logistic Art Exhibition, Gothe Inst. KL City Library, Kuala Lumpur 2007
Consolation Prize The Tanjong Heritage 2005 Art competition organized by Tanjong Public Ltd. Co. Watercolor 2005

Monika Behrens

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Monika Behrens
'Grafted Soil', 2009. Oil on linen. 150 x 100 cm.
‘Grafted Soil’, 2009. Oil on linen. 150 x 100 cm.

Monika Behrens was one of the Australian resident artist for the year-long Malaysia-Australia Visual Artist Residency in 2009. Her joint exhibition with Australian artist Rochelle Haley and Malaysian artist Shamsudin Wahab was presented in the Underground Gallery at Rimbun Dahan from 28 February to 14 March 2010.

The exhibition included the ancillary event, ‘High Tea at the Pleasure Garden’, a discussion moderated by the managing editors of online arts writing platform ARTERI (Eva McGovern, Simon Soon & Sharon Chin) based on the site-specific installation Pleasure Garden by Monika Behrens and Rochelle Haley in the newly constructed Penang House at Rimbun Dahan.

 

 

Bio

monicaOver the past five years Monika Behrens’ career has developed rapidly.  In 2005 she was selected by Felicity Fenner to be included in the prestigious annual Primavera exhibition held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.  Since then Behrens has shown in a number of prominent group exhibitions such as the Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW, Girl Band at Deloittes, EEA21 at the Museum of Modern Art in Saitama Japan, the ABN AMRO Emerging Art Award and theHelen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship at Artspace, Sydney. In 2007 Behrens completed a Masters of Fine Art at the College of Fine Art, UNSW and exhibited the outcome, Silent Bang, at the Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney.  In 2007 Behrens travelled to Europe on an Australian Council ‘New Work’ Grant to research the historical and contemporary political art in Amsterdam, Madrid and Venice. The research focused in particular on the historical war paintings located in the National Gallery of London and resulted in two bodies of work based on the Australian History Wars exhibited at Gallerysmith in Melbourne and Firstdraft Gallery in Sydney. In 2008 Behrens undertook a year long studio residency at the National Art School resulting in a show at the NAS gallery. Behrens currently is represented by Breenspace in Sydney (www.breenspace.com) and Gallerysmith in Melbourne (www.gallerysmith.com.au).

Under the guise of still life oil paintings comprised of playful, nostalgic and seductive objects Behrens works subversively with serious and insidious ideas. Her work is based broadly on themes of loss, violence, deceit, power plays within society and the subsequent impact on the vulnerable. Behrens’ early works were provoked by her perceived manipulation of mainstream thought by the media and how this influence gives rise to fear and in turn invokes oppression.  These particular works focus on current worldwide events that often involve violence with the opinion that violence is both a barbaric way to deal with conflict and a senseless form of self-expression.  More recently Behrens’ practice has developed into well considered studies which are historically informed and concentrate on her own cultural context, including political, social, and environmental perspectives.  While on residence at Rimbun Dahan, Behrens aims to focus on contemporary political issues within Malaysia.  Local organic materials and Malaysian toys will be employed to create works that contrast perpetrators with victims, violence with peace and destruction with sustenance.

Mike Ladd

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In 2009, Australian poet Mike Ladd spent some time at Rimbun Dahan working on four-lined poems inspired by the Malaysian pantun form, as well as writing a prose fiction work about corruption and the world trade in orangutans as pets.

In July 2010 Mike Ladd launched “The Eye of the Day”, a film poem he made during his residency at Rimbun Dahan, at the Lit Up Festival in Singapore. The film features Rumah Uda Manap, the restored Perak kampung house at Rimbun Dahan. Former resident artist Tony Twigg exhibited the film at his Slot Gallery in Sydney.

In September 2010, “The Eye of the Day” won equal first prize for the best new media poem at the Overload Poetry Festival in Melbourne.

mike

Bio

Mike Ladd is currently producer and presenter of ABC Radio National’s poetry program PoeticaThis link will open in a new window..

Born in 1959, he grew up at Blackwood in the Adelaide Hills. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy at Adelaide University, he began to publish his poetry widely in Australia. He has often collaborated with musicians, including the groups The Drum Poets and newaural net. Mike has published 6 books of poetry. The latest, Transit, was published by Five Islands Press in 2007.

In 2006 he was awarded the Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship at the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature and was a guest of Venezuela’s World Poetry Festival.

Works in Progress

Here are some of the “Pantun Rimbun Dahan” in progress during Mike’s residency:

 

I start the great four-bladed ceiling fan.
Seconds later, a gecko drops to the floor,
stunned. Yes, the world’s like that.
We all hang on as long as we can.

*

From the estate’s wall grey macaques leap
into the laden mango tree.
From your side of the bed, you told me to sleep,
but the night’s so warm, and I want something juicy.

*

Oil palms, oil palms, oil palms, oil palms.
Freeways, freeways, freeways, freeways.
Oil palms, oil palms, oil palms, oil palms.
Smoke-haze, smoke-haze, smoke-haze, smoke-haze.

*

In the warm evening, smoke drifts from the end
of a sweet and unhurried clove cigarette.
Your mind has thinned, then gone, old friend.
But the sense you made, I won’t forget.

*

That cicada sounds like a dentist,
drilling all day into my eye-tooth nerve.
Shrilling on and on about Time,
everything you love,  but can’t preserve.

*

Out of the sky of luminous black
rain falls joyfully. You and I
who lived so long alone together
now walk again under one umbrella.