Was It Necessary For Balai Seni To Remove This 'Abu' Painting, And Without Reason?

The National Visual Arts Gallery (Balai Seni) removed two artworks by Bakat Muda Sezaman (Young Contemporaries) finalists because they caused "distress" among visitors to the gallery.

The gallery today said that since the works were displayed on October 28, it had received a lot of negative feedback.
"The works had a distressing impact on visitors and we decided to take them down for the remainder of the show," Balai Seni said in a statement.

The gallery said as the curators, it had the right to display works and need not put up the work of all finalists. It said the participants were aware of the gallery's terms and conditions when they joined the Bakat Muda Sezaman competition.

"The head of the jury and Bakat Muda Sezaman 2013 secretariat were informed of the risk of both these artworks during the judging process. They had taken note of this and accepted the explanation given the day before the award ceremony," it added.

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Two artworks which were part of a premier art competition were removed from the state-sponsored show at the National Visual Arts Gallery (Balai Seni) in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The two artworks were removed ahead of an award ceremony for the Bakat Muda Sezaman 2013 (Young Contemporaries) competition graced by the Tourism and Culture Minister Mohd Nazri Aziz last night.

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Cheng’s painting titled, "alksnaabknuaunmo", is a play on the phrase, "asalkan bukan Umno" (anything but Umno), abbreviated as ABU, while Izat’s T-shirts had the Arabic words “fa” and “qof” which played on the homophonic tone of an expletive English word.

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The painting, by Cheng Yenpheng, was a finalist in the Bakat Muda Sezaman 2013 (Young Contemporaries) art competition held for up and coming Malaysian artists.

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The word 'ABU' is Bahasa Malaysia for ashes, but it recent years it has become a recognisable acronym for Asalkan Bukan Umno (Anything But Umno), a catchy campaign slogan to boot out Umno during the last general election.

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Izat's installation features T-shirts hung on a rack with the Arabic letters 'fa' and 'qof' printed on the shirts.

According to juror and show curator Nur Hanim Khairuddin, there was no explanation given by the gallery for the sudden removal of the painting which had been on display there since October.

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When contacted, Balai said that it cannot make an official statement yet as director general Haned Masjak is not in Kuala Lumpur for the next few days.

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Cheng's work and the installation piece by fellow finalist Izat Arif Saiful Bahri were removed yesterday without the consent or knowledge of the jury.

One of the jurors, Nur Hanim Khairuddin, was quoted as saying that the competition’s jurors were surprised at the removal and that the gallery gave no explanation as to why it was removed.

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“Actually we were surprised because there was a roundtable session between the jurors and Balai administrators and the green light was given for the artworks. “From the jury’s point of view, the artworks had been chosen to be included in the catalogue and we were not informed it will be removed.
“I question the ethics of Balai on this,” she said when contacted.

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According to Cheng, 32, she only realised that her painting was removed when she visited the exhibition hall after attending the award ceremony, which was graced by Tourism and Culture Minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz. She then approached organisers about the missing artwork, but "did not get a clear answer".

The artist whose painting was removed from the National Visual Arts Gallery on Wednesday has defended her work, arguing that it was more than an anti-Umno piece.

Cheng Yengpheng, whose painting 'alksnaabknuaunmo' was removed ahead of the Bakat Muda Sezaman (Young Contemporaries) 2013 award ceremony, said that the work actually represents citizen rights. "ABU is a very strong civil society (movement), so maybe I can say that I borrowed this strong icon without permission," she told Malaysiakini .

"The artwork is not talking about (the protest movement) Asalkan Bukan Umno (ABU), but is an icon of people's power. "I am playing with the idea of painting space, exhibition space and political stance in an institutional space.

This prompted her to stage a six-minute "performance" where she stood in front of the wall where her painting was originally hung and held a postcard of the painting, while asking the audience where her painting is. Asked if she will demand the painting to be reinstated in the exhibition, she said, "Maybe, you will have to wait and see. I will post the results of my actions on Facebook."

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Yenpheng protested its removal from Balai Seni by holding up a postcard of the blue-hued painting at the spot where it had hung. “This is my painting. Yesterday still here, but right now, no more,” the spunky artist chanted repeatedly as bemused visitors looked on and flustered security guards tried to dissuade her.

Cheng was approached by security guards who tried to snatch the postcard away from her and escort her out, but those present intervened on her behalf and applauded her actions.

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The Ministry of Tourism and the National Visual Arts Gallery owe the public an explanation why two artworks were removed from an exhibition on Wednesday, as it showed that Putrajaya's clampdown on the freedom of expression in Malaysia is now spreading to the arts, said PKR.

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"This is extremely disturbing as it suggests that the growing clampdown on freedom of expression in Malaysia is now spreading to the arts. If these works were so offensive, why were they exhibited since last October in the first place?"

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“Expecting artists to avoid commentary on social and political issues is irrational and defeats the purpose of having institutions like the National Visual Arts Gallery in the first place.

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"On a larger scale, this is yet another painfully unfriendly reminder that Najib Razak’s Malaysia is a place that appears to no longer welcome independence of word, action and thought,” he said.

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The National Visual Arts Gallery and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture which oversees owes the public a comprehensive explanation as to why these works were removed. Failure to do so will mean that the long-cherished dream of creating a vibrant arts scene in Malaysia—if you’ll pardon the pun—will be nothing but ashes.

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Bakat Muda Sezaman competition is a biennial art competition for young artists founded in 1974, and has springboarded artists including Noor Azizan Rahman Paiman and Tan Chin Kuan.

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