The Keris Makers of Kelantan

“Keris” is an ancient traditional Malay weapon, often although not necessarily with a wavy blade, damascened with beautiful patterns forged into the steel with a stylized, carved hilt of wood. 

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The Art Of Stone Lithography Prints

Artists are constantly inspired by not just what goes on around them, but also what is missing or absent from around them.

Recently, I had the opportunity to write about my trip to Paris where I spent some time with Malaysian artists Ahmad Zakii Anwar (Zakii) and Jalaini  (Jai) Abu Hassan. Whilst the main object of the trip was to attend an art event at the Pompidou, it turned out that the trip led me to host a full blown art show on stone lithography prints by the two artists at Cult Gallery, an art space I co-founded.

The “Stoned in Paris” show opened on the 28th of July 2018. The show displayed lithography prints created by the two Malaysian artists at Idem Paris, a workshop in Montparnasse, Paris renowned for printing stone lithographs in a traditional way from over 100 years ago. It was the first time Jai and Zakii had created artworks from the stone lithographic process. This is because Malaysia does not have the kind of facility that Idem Paris has. It was truly exciting for the two artists to find a new way to express themselves simply because there were new equipment and an environment in which to do so.

For the show, Jai produced a series of works comprising lithographic prints entitled  “Jembalang Busut Jantan” and subsequently 5 unique prints that combined lithography with drawings in bitumen and ink.  Zakii produced lithographic prints entitled “Mephisto” and subsequently 9 unique prints that combined lithography with drawings in acrylic, pastel and other media. The show was well covered by the media, and the visitors to the gallery were thrilled to learn about a new art form through these two artists’ works. It is yet another benchmark for Malaysian artists to experiment, explore and create something out of their comfort zone.

As the co-founder of Cult Gallery, I was very pleased to have hosted a show that was educational and which opened up the boundaries to collectors and artists alike. After hosting the Sisters in Islam charity art show “Hell, Heaven” late last year along with a public talk on “Gender, Art and Culture”, it is yet another benchmark for the gallery – the challenge of introducing something new to art lovers.

Read more on the art show here : The Star  and The Edge 

 

 

 

 

The Lapis Bag

I am excited to introduce to you Senijari’s latest bag – The Lapis. This innovative design is made especially with those ladies who travel or who would like to organize their multi-tasking lives better.