Interviews: The artists of Art in the City

Jing Chung studied interior design at university, and went on to be a lecturer in China and Mongolia before realising that painting was her true calling. She is a favourite with collectors, and has received several local and international awards for her works.

Now that you are an artist, after interior design and lecturing, what do you like most about being one?
The freedom to express my creativity.

How does having an artistic family influence or encourage your work?
Since I was young, I would watch my father paint, and I’ve had the opportunity to participate in artistic activities and meet people in the art world. These experiences made an impact on my appreciation and understanding of art, and my father always gave me guidance and encouragement as I continued on this path.

What are your views on the art scene in Malaysia and do you think there's enough support for young talent?
I like the scene here because we are a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural country with rich artistic themes and a wide variety of painting styles. However, I personally think that we should have more proper arts education programmes to education and support the younger generations. In foreign countries, even primary school students have regular trips to art galleries. But when it comes to our own National Art Gallery, how many people can say that they’ve visited it?

This self-taught artist studied engineering in school. He draws inspiration from books about local folklore for his intricate pencil and pen drawings, and often incorporates Malay culture elements in his works.

What are your views on the art scene in Malaysia and do you think there’s enough support for young talent?
I don’t have much experience but I can see that the local art scene is slowly gaining momentum and being appreciated by Malaysians. More art galleries and competitions are being held to provide more opportunities and exposure, especially to emerging artists.

You incorporate familiar local elements and folklore into your work. How have the responses to that been? Especially when the audience can recognise certain details and features.
So far the feedback has been good. People love it because it represents elements inspired by Malay culture and heritage, such as traditional Malay houses, batik motifs, the songket and more.

What’s your favourite folklore?
Malay folklore, as my father bought me many books about them when I was a kid.

Nor Aziela holds a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts (Honours) from UiTM, and she received tutelage from Azian bin Hashim of AZ Fine Art. She’s currently based in Kelantan and continues to develop her skills and work.

What is art to you?
To me, art is a form of human expression that contains elements of beauty and creativity, a sharing of ideas from the artist to the public. It’s important for an artist to know and understand the basic elements of art in order to create a piece of art that is of high quality, professional, creative and interesting enough for both local and international audiences.

What inspired you to include floral patterns in your works?
I feel that flowers are a beautiful natural attraction, and I use them to create an identity through which the public can know my works. It also symbolises my passion to explore the world and my beliefs that everything in it is as beautiful as a blooming flower.

Where do you get inspiration when you need it the most?
I get most of my inspiration when I’m in the studio, where I can browse the many books there about great art and artists, or when I discuss ideas and issues for my works with Mr Azian, who is very helpful. I also visit museums and the National Art Gallery, artistic and cultural places which help with my creative thoughts.

Muhammad Najib is Art:tech – a self-taught artist, illustrator, motion graphic designer and drummer. His works marry traditional drawing and digital graphics, and are influenced by the idea of human advancement, futurism, and the aesthetic of culture and religion.

What inspired you to combine traditional art and technology?
Drawing and sci-fi has always been my interest since I was a kid. ‘Back To The Future’ is still my favourite trilogy ever. That movie, plus comics and books about future technology have always attracted me. I never thought about combining my drawing with digital art until I learnt how to use Photoshop, which is when I started to add digital graphics, manipulation and colouring to my traditional drawings – that’s one of the basis behind my artist name; Art:tech. In recent years, my works have included tech-related elements such as transhumanism, robotics, mecha, bionics, etc.

How do you overcome artist’s block when it hits?
I stop. I purposely don’t depend on my artworks to survive, so I’ve developed other skills for monetary survival. Art remains my passion. So if I don’t feel like drawing or I am not inspired, I can just stop, take a break and do it again when it feels right.

What are your views on the art scene in Malaysia and do you think there’s enough support for young talent?
This question has been asked too many times over the years. And my answer has always been the same – it’s only getting better.

More Malaysian artists are slowly getting recognised internationally, thanks to the digital era. I was lucky enough to have started my ‘professional’ art career in the early 2000s when the internet was really booming with tons of different local and international art/design community forums. And today, it’s only getting better with Instagram and Facebook pages, and real support from agencies like CENDANA, which was made possible through the internet too!