Reflecting a legend

I wrote an overview about Ahmad Fuad Osman for art history class as a reflection, and I am quite astonished and in awe that I was able to find this patter of his where he has the ability to process complex themes through experimental techniques he implemented to convey the messages and context behind each artwork. It may sound easy but it is not easy to pull off. Ahmad Fuad Osman graduated in UITM in the year 1991 with produced paintings that was highly influenced by expressionism and abstraction through Matahati collective group which he co-founded, then later ventured in multiple disciplines of experimentation through sculpture, video, installation, and printmaking once he joined Malaysian film and theatre industry right after he graduated. Both Matahati collective and theatre industry that he got involved with inspired him to go through and create complex themes of socio-political aspects of Malaysia, specifically focusing on identity politics, the abuse of power and historical amnesia (A+ Art Asia, 2018). What’s fascinating is that Ahmad Fuad Osman has the ability to take on complex themes while simultaneously experimenting on new media that he has not explored. According to an interview with Selina Ting in 2019, this ability shaped him to be versatile in order to survive as an artist based on his words quoted below. 

“The essence itself is the core, that is art. I always work with an essence, so it doesn’t matter whether it’s video or… your body. The medium will just help you to represent the idea. Some ideas you need just pencil and paper to realise. Why would you need a video? But there are some ideas where you need narrative. You need moving images to be able to present the idea. You have to use the right medium” 

The words said above by the artist can be expressed through many of his works, though personally for me, it expressed through one particular artwork titled This is Certainly not What it was (2014). An installation consist of a stuffed crow, placed on top of stacked art books, in line with a glass container filled with water and rocks at the bottom, partly appropriating the visual story of Burung Gagak dan Kendi whereby a crow putting each rock it can carry and insert on the glass filled jar in order for the water to reached the top for the crow to finally able to quench its thirst. But the twist added by the artist to the story is the stacked western art books being the ladder to reach the top of the glass to quench its thirst. Almost as if it’s highlighting the idea behind being an artist, one needs to venture in western art knowledge in order to ‘quench’ the thirst of being an established artist or worth knowing as one which can only be assumed that many artists can relate to.

Ahmad Fuad Osman has been recognized through several notable venues namely Tacheles Berlin, The Seoul Metropolitan Art Museum, Singapore Art Museum, Gertrude Art Centre, and last but not least Vermont USA. But why has he been able to rise internationally is the question that could only be answered through the artworks produced by himself that have been on the ‘international stage’. 

One of his notable works is definitely Enrique de Malacca Memorial Project (2016). It is a sculpture of Panglima Awang, also known as Henry the Black, who was rumoured to be the first person to circumnavigate the world by being a slave and interpreter to Ferdinand Magellan. The weight of this work is based on the juxtaposition of how history of maritime-colonised countries such as Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia itself can be intertwined and narrated from various perspectives, inclusive of fictional elements, highlighting the complication in establishing the truthfulness of history which globally many countries could relate (Gronlund. M., 2019)

Other than the notable works of Ahmad Fuad Osman, Hantuhantuhantuhantuhantu (2013) is definitely a philosophical piece that has caught my personal interest. An installation made with metal which a picture of a United States of America dollar printed on the metal, layered on top by the four letter that spelled LIVE, or EVIL if viewed from another perspective. I find this piece fascinating as it is not only exclusive of traditional medium, but also how simple it is yet layered with philosophical narratives; a giant printed metal of one of the top currency in the world or belong to the first world currency, LIVE or EVIL printed intentionally out of nowhere is the discreet message in which money is what people live for, highlighting capitalism, which also makes money evil as it drives the social problems faced by humanity in decades long since money system invented. With the word play of the title, Hantuhantuhantuhantuhantu which means ‘ghost’ and tuhan means ‘God’, as if the artist is saying that money can be either depending on how people see money as; Money as God, or Hantu Duit, roughly means one is obsessed with money. 

Sources:

https://www.afkcollection.com/gallery/artist/ahmad-fuad-osman

https://aplusart.asia/artists/46-ahmad-fuad-osman/

https://initiartmagazine.com/2019/08/02/ahmad-fuad-osman-the-importance-of-being-free/

Gronlund., M. (2019). Sharjah Biennial 14: “Leaving the Echo Chamber”. E-flux Criticism. 

Retrieved from https://www.e-flux.com/criticism/259003/sharjah-biennial-14-leaving-the-echo-chamber

Sarena Abdullah (2015) Looking Ahead, Looking Back: A Review of Works by 15 Artists 

Organised by Fergana Art Space (7th February–29th March 2015).Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia.  Retrieved from https://eprints.usm.my/30923/1/WS-ART_BR_2.pdf

Zena Khan (2013). Great Malaysia Contemporary Art. Volume 1. Core Design Gallery. Retrieved from https://www.afkcollection.com/media/filer_public/f0/8f/f08f2a5f-d35e-4825-ae4c-bd06ae51f950/gmca_volume-i.pdf