Art show highlights Malaysian mosques
KUALA LUMPUR: “Twenty-one artists. Some deeply spiritual. Some full of prose. Some complex and some simple. Interesting.”
That was how Association of Peace, Conscience and Reason (PCore) president Datuk Halimah Mohd Said described its collection of 64 pieces for the Mosques of Malaysia art exhibition at the Islamic Arts Museum Kuala Lumpur.
The event was inspired by an architectural book on the same subject by ATSA Architects, she said.
ATSA Architects was founded in 1992 by Azim A. Aziz and Zulqaisar Hamidin. In 2016, Azim wrote Masjid – Selected Mosques And Musollas in Malaysia, exploring the designs and histories of local mosques.
Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin launched the event yesterday.
“The aim of the exhibition is to lead the way for greater inter-cultural and inter-faith engagements,” said Halimah.
The exhibition features the works of artists from multi-racial and multi-religious backgrounds.
One participant, Lui Cheng Thak, used the play of light and dark shadows to lend a 3D effect to his rendition of three mosques in Melaka, Kedah and Penang.
“My goal was to capture culture, to preserve the architectural details. So if one day these houses of wor- ship are no more, my paintings will help remind people what they looked like,” said Lui.
He is one of four non-Muslims taking part in the exhibition.
Another participant is National Centre for Governance, Intergrity and Anti Corruption deputy director-general Datuk Anis Yusal Yusoff.
He showcased three pieces of acrylic on canvas, one of them depicting the Kapitan Keling Mosque in Penang against a multi-hued sky on a moonlit night.
At the event, two mosque paintings – one by Eliza Tajuddin, another by Sharifah Aziah Yahya – were presented to the Sultan and Tengku Permaisuri of Selangor.
The exhibition runs till Dec 11.