A part / Apart
The artist is enthused on exploring the problematic relationship of mainstream media and societal archetypes upon sifting through the content posted within his virtual network, thereafter the larger sphere of the Internet. He feels that the media augments these overwhelming streams of noise, aggravating into a dangerous place that fester information that are largely inaccurate and invasive. Mainstream media, especially social media has allowed for no rationale and reasoning, what with the surface level of unfiltered connections and discoveries. Social media gives netizens pseudo-veneer of power. They feel that they are part of the larger scheme of things, exalting them into an army of ‘keyboard warriors’. Social media networks namely Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, expose anyone to a great distraction and influence, inevitably exposing the society to this quagmire;
Exist / Exit
The next portion of the project, Exit/Exist was manifested through the artist desire to have a more intimate, emotional variant to the installation, to thread all the strings together. As the title suggests, the series speaks of that ambiguity between leaving and living. The artist want this section to be an externalization of the disquietude stirring within him.
One where there is a struggle in reclaiming his identity. He holds the belief that the Self is dissipating, hence the 6 image piece, follows a narrative of losing the face.
Aside from putting forth this feeling of decadence, it crosses a dangerous supposition on the turbulence of finding faith. In today’s age, the artist posited that the distortion and fabrication of truths creates a perplexity in the spirituality of oneself. He feels that there is always that transition phase where the real does not seem as it is and the Self gets trapped in that in-between territory.
Noor stems from the artist’s observation of how overtly amplified noises are in today’s spaces; be it in physical or virtual ones. The notion of how much this distraction shroud the voice of the Self triggered the artist’s passion to offer points of negotiations. Noor manifests itself as a two-part image-based installation, in the form of an emotional as well as a critical response to this crisis of identity.
The artist feels that in today’s age, the Self is at peril of being unfairly heaped together by a set of stereotypes and preordained, parasitical classification- guilt by association. This worrying reality is more so apparent for the Muslim Self. There seems to be a caustic confusion, undermining the distinct and diverse individual beings, now seen as a single entity. As a Southeast Asian, Malay-Indian heritage artist who is of the Islamic faith, he feels that the effects and clutches of Islamophobia has reached into his placement and existence. The war on terror that culmintates over these years thrust Muslims into the forefront. The artist believes that it does not augur well for the identity to be clasped by a singular, tantamount attitude, consciousness and psyche, a radical view constructed, over time by higher forces.
