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Katharsis is an exploration of the artists’ current outpouring of emotions and ideas onto canvas and paper. Playing with ideas and thoughts, related to feelings of angst and hope, progression and destruction, the two reveal insights into their latest artistic direction.
Both artists are graduates of UITM Shah Alam and have taken part in solo shows and numerous group exhibitions. Katharsis is their first collaborative effort.
Syahrul Niza looks to the environment and nature for inspiration. Working mostly in oil, Syahrul Niza renders semi abstract images intertwined with symbolic markings. Using a subtle earthy palate found in nature, the works exude a romantic existence between man and nature.
Spontaneous markings such as black circles and match-stick men prevail in all of Syahrul Niza’s works. These markings identify with the primitive, as seen in many cave paintings of old, and also is reminiscent of aboriginal paintings of the Dreamtime, where design of lines and circles tell of stories connecting man to their land and ancestors. Syahrul Niza celebrates this style of art to bring forth a statement on man’s fragile existence.
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Mohd Hairi Yaakub takes on a more existentialist stance when looking at art. He quotes “our body is merely a vessel for the soul, hence the reason why each soul bears a different vessel each time”.
Mohd Hairi’s figures are portrayed as expressive and pensive, looking straight towards the viewer, confronting you. In contrast, he uses an elegant sampling of Malaysian motifs, to create a wallpaper backdrop on striking velvety blacks. The contrast between the feminine and masculine is evident in much of his new works, between the softness of the batisque design renderings against the taut masculine of his figures, creating a uniquely poetic vision.
This two man exhibition reveals two different styles in art with two different points of views in exploring the balance and tensions of human experience. Working with new and experimental techniques, whilst combining traditional methods of technical drawings and renderings of classical form in both painting and print making, the two artists’ works achieve a visually contrasting bold and dynamic presentation of contemporary art.
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