Kueh’s textile-based works combine fluorescent threads with cultural narratives, inspired by his Malaysian roots and life abroad. Photo: The Star/Chan Tak Kong
Marcos Kueh, a Kuching-born artist, introduced himself as a “textile artist” at the recent walkthrough of his Kenyalang Circus exhibition at the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur.
Unlike traditional handmade textiles, his distinctive “woven posters” are created using modern industrial loom machines programmed like data on a factory line.
This is how 29-year-old Kueh defines his nine art installations, currently showcased at the entrance foyer of the National Art Gallery (NAG). Suspended from bars on wooden stands, these works might easily be mistaken for artistic interpretations of carpets.
These “woven posters,” showcased as part of NAG’s “Single” artist spotlight series, draw heavily from Kueh’s educational background in graphic design and textile manufacturing.
Pursuing a career as an artist allowed him to break free from the confines of a traditional job.
“Everything starts digitally,” explains Kueh, referring to his woven works.
“I’m a textile programmer. When I was studying in the Netherlands, I began as a graphic designer and eventually transitioned to textiles. After graduating from the textile department, I was set to work in a textile factory as a programmer – but this fine art path unexpectedly took off.”
Kueh’s 'Kenyalang Circus', featuring nine art installations, is part of NAG’s ‘Single’ exhibition series. Photo: National Art Gallery
Kueh, a graduate of The Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, is also currently based in the Netherlands.
He first unveiled his works at The Back Room gallery in Kuala Lumpur last February. Earlier this year, he was among the artists featured in the 2024 Art SG “Platform” in Singapore, a curated showcase for large-scale installations.
The textile path
Kenyalang Circus at NAG offers Malaysians an opportunity to explore Kueh’s unique artistic practice, drawing from Malaysian and Bornean imagery. The exhibition runs until March 31, 2025.
Kueh, now fully immersed in his role as a contemporary artist, continues to maintain a connection to the textile industry in an indirect way.
“Alongside creating art, I also teach industrial weaving and contribute to textile development in the Netherlands. Our work involves researching innovative weaving techniques for industrial production, which is fascinating because we weave materials for everything – from shirts and pants to curtains and car seats. There’s a whole industry dedicated to this research and development, and I’m actively involved in it as well,” he says.
He explained that his raw materials – and recycled plastics – are readily available in the factory, with the bigger challenge lying in programming the machines.
“The factory itself already has its stock of yarns. These machines can take up to eight yarns so my challenge as a programmer is how to arrange these yarns, whatever you see right here (at NAG),” he says.
Kueh’s detailed woven works go beyond tribal imagery, with the use of commercial icons, geometric patterns, alphabets, ideograms and slogans. Photo:
“I use the term ‘yarns’ because, for instance, if you want red, it could be shiny red, matte red, cotton red, or polyester red. Each of these qualities takes up one of the eight available slots. My role as a textile programmer is to figure out how to arrange those eight yarns to create the intricate designs you see here.”
Sarawakian heritage
Kueh’s woven works are rich in detail, blending deep colours with tribal imagery, commercial icons, geometric patterns, alphabets, ideograms and slogans. These pieces offer something to appreciate from both a distance and up close, revealing layers of complexity at every angle.
“The works that you see from afar, they are all colours but if you look at it closely, they are all made with patterns; these are all patterns which I programmed and there are diamond shapes for example, and lines, etc.
“The project is full of iconography and details, with complex bindings in the colours, so I invite visitors to take a closer look,” he says.
The largest piece in this collection, stands apart from the others, not as a “woven poster” but as a “woven billboard.” Titled Woven Billboard: Ibu Pertiwiku, it was crafted using a machine capable of accommodating 11 yarns, surpassing the usual eight.
“It’s one of the largest works I’ve created in my career so far – measuring 3.5m by 10m,” says Kueh, who goes on to explain the concept behind this impressive piece of art.
'The project is full of iconography and details, with complex bindings in the colours, so I invite visitors to take a closer look,' says Kueh. Photo: National Art Gallery
“In Sarawak culture, there’s a myth about our ancestors who reside in heaven and descend to Earth through the waterfalls, travelling down the Sarawak River to connect with us. For this exhibition, I designed it as if you’re hiking through these ‘posters,’ and at the end, you encounter the giant woven billboard displayed like a waterfall, bringing that myth to life,” explains Kueh.
'Orangutans in your backyard?'
Kueh, a Chinese artist from Kuching, uses his art to explore and understand the world around him, bridging his Sarawakian roots with experiences from Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia, Europe, and beyond.
“The Kenyalang Circus addresses the ‘exoticification’ of Sarawak and its people. When people think of Sarawak, they often imagine jungles and orangutans. I studied in Kuala Lumpur when I was 18, and my classmates would ask, ‘Do you live in treehouses? Do you have orangutans in your backyard?’ I found it amusing, this misunderstanding of Sarawak and its people,” says Kueh.
“In 2016 I actually started this project as a way to connect West and East Malaysia but then eight years later the project has expanded beyond that conversation because when the project went over to Europe then questions came up about what does it mean for tourists to come over to Sarawak; what does it mean for Sarawakians to live and perform for tourists and what does it mean for Sarawakians to feel special, the need to be seen, in a certain way,” he adds.
Does tradition play a significant role in shaping the perception of Sarawak and its people?
“It has a bit to do with tradition but also where does tradition fit in contemporary times with the commercialisation and commodification of identities,” says Kueh.
Kueh's 'Kenyalang Circus' is the ninth edition of the 'Single' exhibition series at NAG. Photo: Bernama
“It also explores identity, questioning how much of it is a performance and how much is authentic. In this series, it’s more evident. The text on the woven posters includes phrases like ‘money-minded,’ ‘primitive performance,’ and ‘exotic hospitality,’ highlighting the tension between stereotypes and reality.”
The title of the exhibition itself serves as a reflection of the thoughts and concerns of this young artist.
“I come from Sarawak so ‘Bumi Kenyalang’ is our kind of slogan and the kenyalang is a hornbill and is considered as one of the most powerful birds in Sarawak,” he says.
“The circus concept comes from the idea of freak shows, where unusual beings are gathered and displayed in a traveling circus. That’s the direction I was heading with because people often think, ‘Oh, Sarawak is so exotic,’ with its mysterious people from the jungle.”
The Kenyalang Circus exhibition, having travelled from New York to Paris in various iterations, now finds its home in Malaysia. For Kueh, this is not just a homecoming, but also a heartfelt tribute to his parents.
“I’m so happy to be able to showcase my work here at the National Art Gallery. It has always been my dream to bring this show to Malaysia,” says the artist.
“My parents couldn’t attend my graduation two years ago because of Covid, so bringing this exhibition to Malaysia has been a dream of mine – so they could finally see what I’ve been working on. This is the result.”
Kenyalang Circus is showing at the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur until March 31, 2025.
