By SIM PEI XUAN
On the last day of the 1,600 Pandas World Tour in Malaysia last January, a little clay tapir appeared guerrilla style amidst the papier-mâché pandas, blending into the sea of black-and-white creatures accompanied with the hashtag #tapitapir.
Such clever placement of the Malayan animal alongside its witty tagline – “what about tapirs” – managed to garner public attention and generate social media buzz to spread awareness on the conservation of wildlife in the local context.
On the last day of the 1,600 Pandas World Tour in Malaysia last January, a little clay tapir appeared guerrilla style amidst the papier-mâché pandas, blending into the sea of black-and-white creatures accompanied with the hashtag #tapitapir.
Such clever placement of the Malayan animal alongside its witty tagline – “what about tapirs” – managed to garner public attention and generate social media buzz to spread awareness on the conservation of wildlife in the local context.
The TapiTapir was one of the creative art projects exhibited at the “Picturing Change – Visual Culture and the Art of Advocacy” exhibition at the White Box, Publika from 1 to 14 April, as part of artACT!, an initiative by MAP to promote change and activism through various forms of art.
“The purpose of this exhibition is to show how visual communications and creative ideas have been used to propagate ideologies and values in society; we want to show a bigger broader picture by gathering art since the historical times before independence till today,” MAP Manager and Curator Sunitha Janamohanan said.
Exhibits comprised propaganda posters from the 1960s and 70s including pro-communist, anti-communist and nationalistic ideals, to present day street art, advertisements and campaigns which aimed to spark social consciousness or give voice to current issues.
Displayed right beside the entrance was a wall full of identical red posters bearing the face of national badminton champion Datuk Lee Chong Wei, but with alternating words “JAGUH” (champion) and “PENDATANG” (immigrant) on each poster.
The simple yet powerful visuals initiated debate on the question of citizenship rights in 21st century Malaysian society.
“The purpose of this exhibition is to show how visual communications and creative ideas have been used to propagate ideologies and values in society; we want to show a bigger broader picture by gathering art since the historical times before independence till today,” MAP Manager and Curator Sunitha Janamohanan said.
Exhibits comprised propaganda posters from the 1960s and 70s including pro-communist, anti-communist and nationalistic ideals, to present day street art, advertisements and campaigns which aimed to spark social consciousness or give voice to current issues.
Displayed right beside the entrance was a wall full of identical red posters bearing the face of national badminton champion Datuk Lee Chong Wei, but with alternating words “JAGUH” (champion) and “PENDATANG” (immigrant) on each poster.
The simple yet powerful visuals initiated debate on the question of citizenship rights in 21st century Malaysian society.
“We want to show how the bigger thinking of ordinary people can create conversation of individual voices,” Sunitha explained, saying that the recreated street art was originally seen in a Bangsar alleyway, and provoked response from the public whereby some people deliberately tore down some of the offending “PENDATANG” posters in protest.
Another memorable exhibit was a lightbox with the iconic grayscale picture of Merdeka Day 1957, but the historical moment was re-imagined with the pink collage of an ordinary woman taking the place of Tunku Abdul Rahman, demonstrating Malaysian women as unsung heroes throughout the process of nation-building.
Another memorable exhibit was a lightbox with the iconic grayscale picture of Merdeka Day 1957, but the historical moment was re-imagined with the pink collage of an ordinary woman taking the place of Tunku Abdul Rahman, demonstrating Malaysian women as unsung heroes throughout the process of nation-building.
Kew Li Wen, 22, who finds gender equality a significant issue in current society said, “I am inspired by the creativity displayed as it makes me reflect on the position of local women in our nation’s history.”
The University of Malaya International Relations student visited the exhibition on a field trip for her Gender Studies class, and found it to be an eye-opening experience.
“I never thought all these urban and pop-culture images could talk to us and make us think deeper about existing social issues,” Kew said.
Apart from local issues, the exhibition also highlighted worldwide problems by showcasing The Poverty Line, a collaborative project between Stefen Chow and Hui-Yi Lin which examines the meaning of poverty in different countries.
The campaign encouraged public participation by allowing individuals to create their own images that show the amount of food a person at the poverty line could buy within a day in Malaysia, with only RM7.
Taylor’s University Public Relations major Sharon Leow Hsin Yuek, 22, said, “I find that the exhibition truly resonates with the name ‘artACT!’. The artworks shown express voices of change and effectively portray a deeper significance about our world.”
The University of Malaya International Relations student visited the exhibition on a field trip for her Gender Studies class, and found it to be an eye-opening experience.
“I never thought all these urban and pop-culture images could talk to us and make us think deeper about existing social issues,” Kew said.
Apart from local issues, the exhibition also highlighted worldwide problems by showcasing The Poverty Line, a collaborative project between Stefen Chow and Hui-Yi Lin which examines the meaning of poverty in different countries.
The campaign encouraged public participation by allowing individuals to create their own images that show the amount of food a person at the poverty line could buy within a day in Malaysia, with only RM7.
Taylor’s University Public Relations major Sharon Leow Hsin Yuek, 22, said, “I find that the exhibition truly resonates with the name ‘artACT!’. The artworks shown express voices of change and effectively portray a deeper significance about our world.”