Metro

Friday October 19, 2007

Artist lets his brushes do the talking

Story and photos by GEETHA KRISHNAN

geetha@thestar.com.my

ARTIST Hamdan Amiruddin likes painting animals because he feels they share similar traits with humans.

“An owl is a nocturnal hunter, preying on rodents. By painting owls, I depict the fight against corruption because rodents are filthy creatures and represent the ugly side of human nature,” the 35-year-old artist said.

He spoke in reference to his current solo exhibition at the MTDC Galley in Serdang, entitled Spirit of Harmony. A total of 26 works are currently on display until Oct 26.

Woman and nature: Hamdan explains that Nature's Dance shows a maiden attuned to the environment.
Herons are also the objects of Hamdan's works like Thank You, Heron where a heron is painted in flight with a tortoise holding onto its legs with a stick in its mouth.

“If the stick were to be released, the tortoise would fall to its death. Basically, the painting is about pondering on things before acting and regretting our actions later,” he said.

All the works, save for one, feature bright colours and share similar characteristics with the batik and songket motifs that are Ham-dan's speciality. He uses large and fine strokes with attention to detail.

Evocative: In The Waiting, a boat depicts travels to realms unknown.
While the outlook is bleak for Tsunami, Hamdan focuses on the embryo in a woman's stomach to portray the beginning of life after destruction. He paints that there is hope following devastation.

Embryos also feature in his other works like Life & Birth and The Cradle Illusion.

“Besides signifying the start of life, embryos are also testimony to the glory of God. The miraculous journey from a dot to a full-fledged human when drawn on canvas attains a new meaning,” he said.

“Take a woman. She is a daughter, wife and mother and her daughter will go through the same cycle to ensure the survival of the spe-cies. I have the utmost regard for women and their lives' journeys.”

Animal imagery: Hamdan says he paints owls to depict the fight against corruption.
In works like The Sea Princess, Dancing with The Dragon and Nature's Dance, Hamdan paints women through these journeys. The vibrancy of the acrylic paintings reverberates throughout the canvas.

Hamdan has a full-time job as animation director for the Multimedia Development Corporation in Cyberjaya. He is in the midst of working on a 3D animation project with 26 episodes called Saladin.

To view Hamdan's paintings, visit the MTDC Gallery at Block K, UPM-MTDC Technology Incubation Centre, Silicone Valley, Serdang, Selangor (Tel: 03-8941 4626). For more details, log on to www.multimedia-gallery.com.

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