Pangrok Sulap's 'Falls Of The Evolution' (2019) woodcut seen at the 'Not Just In Back And White' exhibition, featuring the Steve Wong Art Collection. Photo: The Star/Low Lay Phon
Pangrok Sulap, hailing from Sabah, may not seek the spotlight, but the art collective’s dedication to community engagement and storytelling shines through its woodblock prints, which have garnered a global following.
In Malaysia, its major works from international art festivals have rarely been seen by a local audience, making the exhibition of one of its key woodcut pieces in Kuala Lumpur a significant celebration.
Pangrok Sulap’s 10m-long woodcut, Falls Of The Evolution (2019), which made waves at the Aichi Triennale 2019 in Japan, is one of the standout pieces in the Not Just In Black And White exhibition, showcasing the private collection of Malaysian art collector Steve Wong, or better known as “Dr Steve”.
The exhibition, on view at the GDP Campus in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, until Aug 11, is the ideal setting for an artwork of this large scale.
Pangrok Sulap’s The Falls Of The Evolution artwork features four large woodblock prints, each presenting a distinct worldview through insects instead of human figures. Reflecting societal systems, the prints trace the evolution from early urbanisation to financial economy, consumerism, political corruption, war, and environmental destruction, culminating in a reflection on global issues like resource preservation and human needs.
Nadiah Bamadhaj's 'Landlocked' (charcoal on paper 2008). Photo: Handout
Such an artwork is not for your typical art collector. Then again, this is no ordinary collector’s exhibition.
This Not Just In Black And White show is just a sampling of Wong’s collection that spans three decades and features over 1,300 artworks by more than 350 artists, providing insights into contemporary art across Malaysia and the region.
“Steve Wong is a collector who has always been interested in what artists are doing now, and in supporting current practice,” says Beverly Yong, the co-founder of RogueArt, an art consultancy that took three years to document Wong’s collection and curate this ambitious project.
The (free admission, walk-in) exhibition, supported by GDP Architects, presents 76 artworks from 71 artists spanning Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Visitors take a closer at Kayleigh Goh's cement-based 'Jasmine Rain', while Saiful Razman's 'Pandang Berat' work is pictured right at the 'Not Just In Back And White' exhibition at the GDP Campus in KL. Photo: The Star/Low Lay Phon
These days, with art collectors pioneering new directions by organising large collections for public viewing, a new space has opened up for Malaysians to enjoy and experience art.
A glimpse into the world of art collecting is likely to spark diverse opinions and debates. However, each collector's exhibition uniquely reflects their individual personality.
The Not Just In Black And White exhibition, with its large, bold and incisive selections by Wong, steers clear mostly of nostalgia and sentimentality. Instead, it plunges into contemporary issues with thought-provoking artworks that both challenge and engage the viewer.
The freshly unveiled GDP Campus building is showcasing this purpose-built exhibition across two floors, offering a museum-style experience with a layout that’s anything but square.In essence, visitors have a fantastic opportunity to explore works that could seamlessly complement the National Art Gallery's Nusa collection.
A visitor walks past Indonesian Erik Pauhrizi works titled 'Tinton' (left) and 'Amel' at the 'Not Just In Back And White' exhibition, featuring the Steve Wong Art Collection. Photo: The Star/Low Lay Phon
“The idea for an exhibition came about at the instigation of friends, who have accused me of hoarding my collection. Several typical ideas ran through my mind on what would make for a suitable premise or theme. Then, during the process of documenting the collection, I discovered that I had more than 200 artworks in black and white. I decided an exhibition of monochromatic works might be fresh and interesting visually, and also as a starting point for whatever might develop later on,” writes Wong, a retired plastic surgeon, in the exhibition’s catalogue.
The extensive selections in Not Just In Black And White showcase his dedication as a collector, presenting a survey of significant acquisitions from a diverse range of galleries across the Klang Valley and beyond.
Whether through regular purchases at well-established galleries or discoveries in independent art spaces featuring emerging talent, Wong’s exhibition captures the evolving journey of his collecting.
While his vision of Malaysian art collecting may diverge from the mainstream, the artists featured in this exhibition possess equally important and profound voices.
A view of the GDP Campus space, which is showcasing the 'Not Just In Back And White' exhibition, featuring the Steve Wong Art Collection. Photo: The Star/Low Lay Phon
“We would be hard-pressed to find anything clear, plain, fixed or incontrovertible in any of the works set before us. Together they present a challenge to us to see beyond the black and white, embracing, like the collection itself, the richness, ambiguity and complexity of the works they inhabit, respond to, and create,” says Yong.
For a journey back in time, Wong Hoy Cheong's charcoal-on-paper drawing from the early 1990s offers visitors a nostalgic yet sharp perspective on the issues that shaped Malaysian society and continue to resonate today.
Following the strictly black and white theme of the exhibition, you'll find an important abstract piece by Saiful Razman alongside memorable works by Tan Zi Hao, Samsudin 'Buden' Wahab, Phuan Thai Meng, Hamir Soib, and Justin Lim. Ahmad Shukri Mohamed’s Jalan Ke Putrajaya adds a blackboard-style rewind on protest vocabulary in Malaysia.
His collection also features a number of women artists, with highlights including Nadiah Bamadhaj, Yee I-Lann, Chong Siew Ying, Yim Yen Sum, Minstrel Kuik, and Cheong Kiet Cheng.
This exhibition also gives portraiture its moment in the spotlight. In the middle of the gallery, you’ll find Nadiah’s powerful self-portrait, Landlocked (wearing a songkok), facing Bayu Utomo Radjikin’s self-portrait as a warrior.
Kide Baharudin's 'Sa Hari Di Kampong' (acrylic on canvas, 2021) is a rare black and white work from the artist, who is better known for his colourful scenes of life in small town Malaysia. Photo: Handout
Several works – between 2007 and 2019 – chosen by Wong also focus explicitly on Malaysia as a nation-state, exploring its politics through the lived experiences of its people.
Sabah-based Yee's Kerbau herd captures the hopeful and defiant spirit of the civil society movement that led up to the first Bersih rally in Kuala Lumpur in late 2007, while Kuik's ghostly 2017 work Selamat Datang Ke Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur offers a shared, maybe fading, social memory of these historic street protests.
In all, Wong’s seasoned approach to art buying highlights the exceptional talent in the Malaysian contemporary art scene, inspiring both art enthusiasts and new collectors seeking impactful local works.
His expertise in the regional art scene is notable, especially for those interested in viewing paintings by Ronald Ventura, Jumaldi Alfi, Agus Suwage, Norberto Roldan, Geraldine Xavier, and Jimmy Ong.
In the foreword of the catalogue, Wong tellingly reveals: “I have no specific preference for theme or genre, no qualms, and I don’t seek professional advice.”
It just goes to show that setting a new benchmark in art exhibitions in Malaysia is all about heart, not hype.
Not Just In Black And White is showing at GDP Campus, Bukit Damansara in Kuala Lumpur until Aug 11. Free admission. Exhibition is closed on Monday and Tuesday.
