as Merdeka celebrations draw near, we also celebrate the emerging Malaysian artists who continue to thrive in the local art scene and strive to make their art seen. From visual artists to illustrators, our country’s art scene celebrates a diversity of styles, mediums and techniques.
Here, we present to you a list of incredibly talented local creatives to take note of.
Univorso
Exploring themes of spirituality, philosophy and human emotions in a vibrant and colourful way, Adam Ummar is a self-taught visual artist of abstraction. Pushing the psychedelic to its paroxysm, each work of Adam plunges viewers into the meanders of a complex, altered consciousness.
Ilham Alshahab
A full-time designer for a local beauty brand Chuck’s, Ilham Alshahab explores contemporary digital art. Offering viewers a dreamlike journey, she intends to inspire and create unique meanings with storytelling through 3D, comic strips, illustrations and GIFs.
Belalang
Abdul Shakir (also known as Grasshopper or Belalang), is a multidisciplinary multimedia digital artist focused on projection mapping, light installation and interactive installation projects. Shakir also creates still graphics, motion graphics and other visual works in production and post-production.
Ang Xia Yi
Ang Xia Yi is no stranger to experimentation. The mixed-media artist focuses on history, memory, identity politics, and the socio-political and emotional impacts of colonialism, as well as issues surrounding Southeast Asia. Everyday materials like inherited, domestic textiles and used objects are incorporated into her artworks.
Adibah Awang
Embracing people and places, important events as well as personal memories, Adibah Awang’s work embodies the Malaysian spirit and is inspired by our local way of life. Above all, she uses illustration as a way to recall and reminisce the memories of the past.
Dhan Illiani
Multidisciplinary contemporary & performance artist and fashion designer Dhani Illiani takes viewers into a parallel universe, delightfully unconventional and unpredictable. Her pieces gravitate towards social commentary and touch on topics like womanhood and growing pains.
Featured image: Ang Xia Yi