- Richard Koh Fine Art

HASANUL ISYRAF IDRIS
HOL
(Higher Order Love)
Chapter 1: The Fall
HASANUL ISYRAF IDRIS
HOL
(Higher Order Love)
Chapter 1: The Fall
Artist Statement
HOL adalah inskripsi pada serpihan batu marmar lama yang
dijumpai di kuburan Yahudi ditengah Georgetown, yang aku kurang
pasti apa maksud atau sambungan dari perkataan apa. Berbulanbulan ia berada distudio aku sebelum aku mula mencari pemaknaan
HOL pada Google, jumpaannya adalah Higher Order Logic, teori
matematik peringkat tinggi. Bermula dari situ aku mula membuat
agakan aku sendiri, menggubah dan menggarap ayat baru dari situ
dan tercetus frasa “Higher Order Love”. Maknanya mungkin cinta
sepanjang hayat atau cinta tak bertepi.
HOL is an inscription on a piece of ancient marble found in a
Jewish burial in the middle of Georgetown, Penang; what I am
uncertain is the meaning of the word or whether is it part of a
longer word. For months, the stone rested in my studio before I
Googled HOL and stumbled upon Higher Order Logic, a highlevel complex mathematical theory. Using that as a starting
point, I begin to make my own assumptions, composing and
working on new interpretations until I reached the phrase
“Higher Order Love”. HOL’s meaning could either be eternal
love or unconditional love.
Throughout the journey of our life, we are constantly running
after things and being occupied with things, and it seems
that all those things are only to fill a cerebral databank, which
subconsciously converts the activities into cherished memories.
Dining in a restaurant, having a special partner, holidays and
such events. All of those memorable things are to be cherished
and told as significant moments that cement our existence on
earth. Everything is recorded and stored, without prejudice.
Memory, in my opinion, will eventually evolve and mutate. As
it develops, I imagine it as a permanent forest reserve, which I
titled HOL (Higher Order Love). We can go back and forth to HOL
Piece of inscribed marble stone
following our needs; there are waterfalls of tears, lakes of seeds,
houses of worship, graveyards, a coliseum for wild beasts that are
full of rage and anger and a cave for shelter in which we would
sometimes sit and share our life experiences. HOL consists of a
number of fragmented episodic memories from the wilderness
of my mind in which I bring forth to share. “The Fall” is the first
chapter of HOL, to remember “The Fall” can be connoted in a
variety of flavors, a mix of delight and gloom. Between falling off
Jewish cemetery in Georgetown, Penang
Segala perkara yang kita kejar dan lakukan sepanjang hidup
kadangkala seperti hanya untuk memenuhkan databank dalam
minda yang bertukar sebagai memori untuk dihayati. Menikmati
rasa makanan di restoran, mempunyai pasangan, melancong dan
sebagainya. Segalanya untuk dikenang dan diceritakan berkalikali sebagai detik penting tanda kewujudan kita diatas bumi ini.
Segalanya terakam dan tersimpan, mahu tidak mahu dia tetap ada.
Memori menurut bacaanku, sebenarnya bercambah dan tumbuh,
ia berevolusi dan bermutasi. Melalui masa dia membesar dan
aku bayangkan ia adalah hutan simpan kekal yang aku namakan
HOL (Higher Order Love). Kita boleh pergi dan balik mengikut
keperluan, ada air terjun kesedihan, tasik benih, rumah ibadat
untuk bermunajat, padang kubur, stadium haiwan buas yang penuh
dendam atau gua tempat berlindung yang kadang - kadang kita
bualkan untuk berkongsi sebagai pengalaman hidup. HOL adalah
beberapa fragmen episodic memories hasil hutan minda yang aku
bawak untuk dikongsi. “Jatuh” adalah bab pertama dalam HOL,
mengenang “Jatuh” boleh dikonotasikan dalam pelbagai rasa,
bercampur antara gembira dan sedih. Antara jatuh basikal dan jatuh
cinta untuk pertama kali.
a bike and falling in love for the first time.
Hasanul Isyraf Idris
Pulau Pinang
2016
Hasanul’s latest series of works lingers around the idea of falling. For
Hasanul, falling can either be a positive or negative thing. The artist
reminisce on past memories such as falling off a bike or falling in love while
working on this series. These memories are not limited to personal ones
but extend to moments in history that somehow imprint Hasanul’s sense
of being until today. These include the death themes in Andy Warhol’s
work between 1962-64, two of which are titled ‘Suicide’ - Fallen Body (1962)
and Purple Jumping Man (1963). Both are the appropriation of suicide images
in which one is a fallen body popularly known as ‘the most beautiful
suicide’ because of the composed position and visually unbroken body
The Melancholic
Moment of Falling
Dr. Tetriana Ahmed Fauzi
and with legs crossed elegantly. This fall provides an uncanny comparison
to Yves Klein’s Leap Into the Void (1960) in which the artist jumps off from
a rooftop into the street. The photograph which was shot and edited later
was published in broadsheet with a caption that reads ‘’the painter of space
hurls himself into the void’’ as a protest to the space race. The work came
out 6 months before Yuri Gagarin’s flight into space. The notion of falling
and flight find further metonymic movement in Hasanul’s consciousness,
into the Falling Man by Richard Drew. Unlike Klein, however, the fate of
‘Falling Man’ in Richard Drew’s journalistic photography was a tragic one.
One of the many victims of September 11, ‘Falling Man’ was caught on
camera in a vertical dive before he fell to the ground. Although Richard
Drew caught about a dozen frames of the fall, one of the poignant images
was a graceful fall that touches many.
While the notion of falling mentioned above connotes the tragic ends of
human lives, falling also marks the beginning of everything. For a believer,
everything began with the epic fall when Satan denounces Adam and
refuses to bow down to him that God cast him out from heaven forever.
The fallen angel, since then has sworn to persuade human into doing and
thinking of bad deeds. As someone who is concerned about spiritual wellbeing, the religiosity of falling is also at the edge of Hasanul’s thought.
He refers to religious figures and deities in his drawings as metaphors
or representations of a certain traits or memory. He is conscious of his
decision in making the choice as he thinks it is a ‘good’ choice and he is
in a phase of discovering religious symbols and knowledge. Religion and
its knowledge are becoming fluid to him as he delves into them. For him,
everything connected to religion is supposed to be calming and leading
towards spiritual cleansing. Hasanul also feels that drawing’s meditative
process has helped him to combat depression.
As he struggled with personal challenges when producing Back From Planet
Luvox (BFPL), his previous solo show in 2014, Hasanul continued the fight
against depression with a more elaborate setting and intricate characters
teaching in Sabah, Ganesh was alienated and treated differently because
through drawing. His drawings have become more visually complex
of his race. It was an incident that he couldn’t forget. Between the forest
and packed, leaving almost no room for space, and this time leaving
burning incidents in Sabah to the fantasized story of his brother’s cancer
Luvox behind. The images of hybrid skeletons from BFPL are replaced by
phase, the plots in the drawings unravel. Often the memories of his late
humanoid figures. Slithering snakes and mutated four-legged creatures
mother are the most significant ones projected in his works. In Topographic
are among the images that populate the landscapes of his drawings. Albeit
Retro Dingdang Amnesia (2015), a falling bridge that protrudes from the left
the gory nature of the images, especially in Sorry Mak Tattoo and Spa (2015)
side bears the writing MAK as part of it’s construction. The half-broken
and Orient Craters on Graveyard (2015), his drawings exude a serene sense
wooden bridge is also decorated with carvings from his parents’ house in
of atmosphere, probably because of the decorative elements, patterns and
Perak. In the drawing, pieces of everything seem to scatter in slow motions
repetitive visual texture quality. In Orient Craters on Graveyard, the tonal
towards all directions. The crumbling landscape of Topographic Retro
detail of the lunar craters, which is actually figures blending in the moon’s
Dingdang Amnesia portrays MAK’s disintegrated world. The temple on the
topography, is almost as dense as the pointillistic galaxy-like landscape
corner, however, is untouched by the catastrophic tragedy.
background. Much like the detailed drawing of Louise Despont from her
Hasanul’s notion of memory is melancholic. It is the past remembered.
solo exhibition titled Energy Scaffolds and Information Architecture (2016), the
It exists somewhere in mind that is sometimes recalled and often
meditative quality in her drawing installations resonate with Hasanul’s
mentioned. There are good ones and bad ones but those that impact deeply
drawing. Her drawings are mostly symmetrical in composition with
are the traumatising experiences that scar him for life. Hasanul spoke
repeating patterns on gridded paper. The lines are gentler and hues much
of episodic memory, referring to a person’s unique memory of a specific
softer, making the drawing’s ambience subtler and more serene. According
event. According to Kim Ann Zimmermann (2014), a person’s memory
to Claire Voon (2006), Despont’s lines have a gentle way of pulling you
of an event will be different from someone else’s recollection of the same
into her constructed setting and inviting deep, personal meditation.
experience. Episodic memories are events that sometimes are deeply
Compared to his previous body of work, the current works were not
ingrained in the mind, due to the emotional baggage it carries. People will
produced entirely from sketches. The images emerge in his mind as he
normally remember details of the event right down to a particular colour,
draws them one by one continuously. It was during the drawing process
sound or smell.
that he ‘summoned’ these images from his memory. He selects, allocates
“Sorry Mom Tattoo and Spa” is a real name of tattoo parlour he stumbled
and composes them in the drawings. At the same time, he would drive or
upon the internet while browsing. The spa in Sorry Mak Tattoo and Spa
take walks to find subjects that would recall and ignite old memories. These
drawing is filled with gods and deities rejuvenating themselves and getting
processes help him in having a continuous flow of mental images. The
nature of drawing as an activity itself helps to activate the flow of images
Shisa, a guardian lian
that comes to mind. Since drawing is like second nature to him, it advocates
tattoos done. According to Hasanul, the godly figures in the drawing are in
balance with the evil ones as they are portrayed to be symbolically bad and
vice versa. For example, in Buddha’s hand is a tattoo of the word Lucy, short
the generation of ideas, or recall past images. Sometimes he feels that
for Lucifer. The spa is a reminiscence of Hayao Miyazaki’s bath house for
certain memory needs to be immortalized in drawing. Other times, it’s the
the gods in Spirited Away (2001), where spirits go to the bathhouse to cleanse
drawing process that recalls a memory, in which drawing a certain image
and refresh themselves. There are a lot of images in Hasanul’s works bearing
reminds him of a certain memory which leads him to draw more and more.
symbolic significance that represent a certain event or place; Sarasvati and
Bali trips, snakes wearing necklaces and his good friend Edison, the lucky
For Hasanul, there is no grand narrative of memory for each work. Each
symbols that decorated the spa hall with Osaka trip, and lots more. But the
memory imbued in the drawings is layered and overlaps one another.
shadow of his mother is always present, resonating in several images and
Certain images may recur a few times to represent certain memories.
symbols in the drawings.
For example, the elephant which sometimes resembles the Hindu God
Each symbol represents different memories, like disparate fragments,
Ganesha in Sorry Mak Tattoo and Spa, is a memory of circus elephant and
they are pieced together in a drawing. A specific event experienced by a
also representing his good friend Ganesh. During the time when he was
Saraswati statue in Pura Ulun Bali
person will not be the same when shared especially as representations.
Anish Kapoor’s commissioned piece for the Guggenheim Museum is a
decorative textural details and fantastic juxtaposition of images in
large-scale sculpture that can never be fully understood or experienced
an ambiguous perspective vision. They are echoes of his thoughts, of
visually. The sculpture called Memory (2008) is designed in a way that you
memories revisited and dissected. It is melancholic and emotionally
can’t see the full scale of the work or understand how it was built in the
intense. The emotional attachment it carries is overwhelming but
space. From each angle, you can only view some parts of the works. The
not heart wrenching, like when your chest is choked from within.
sculpture begs questions of how it was made, brought in and assembled.
Hasanul’s fragmented memories are in parts joined together in drawings
similar to Anish Kapoor’s sculpture, a mystery that can never be revealed
to the viewer without detailed explanation from the artist himself.
Note
According to Sandhini Poder (Anish Kapoor: Memory 2009), curator at
Part of the exhibition also includes small drawings which are done during a Rimbun Dahan
the Asian Museum, ‘in a way it is an inaccessibility the fact that the artist
residency in 2015. These drawings are inspired by the ‘little forest’ that surrounds him. The
is not giving you objects that you can perceived as a whole, it’s really
time spent in Rimbun Dahan allowed him to contemplate on his creative practice and be
fragmented, it is preventing you getting the experience of the entire piece.’
closer to nature. There he recorded gamelan music, sounds of nature at night and casting
wild boars footprint with plaster of Paris. It also permits him to experiment with materials
Although you can see Hasanul’s drawings in totality because of their two-
and find possibilities in creating new artworks.
dimensionality, a viewer can never grasp the fragmented memories that
each image symbolizes, or fully comprehend the events or experiences of
Bibliography
the memories that support them. Nonetheless, this is not a major concern
Anish Kapoor: Memory, video, Guggenheim.org, 2009, viewed 26 February 2016, <http://
for the artist, for it is not a factor that will stop a viewer from appreciating
www.guggenheim.org/new-york/exhibitions/past/exhibit/3317>
the works.
Block, A. (2016) ‘Louise Despont Site-Specific Structures Fill NY’s Drawing Center’.
Interior Design [Online] Available at: http://www.interiordesign.net/articles/11558-
Anatomy of Amygdala (2015) is an invented accident scene on a highway.
louise-despont-site-specific-structures-fill-ny-s-drawing-center/ (Accessed: 27 February
Neon bright, packed with the busy scene of workers extinguishing fire
2016)
and moving dead creatures hint at a linear narrative rather than a mixture
Carter, A.L. (1923) ‘Falling as a Theme in Literature’. Modern Language Notes, Vol. 38, No.
of images and representations. One also finds characters which resemble
6 (Jun., 1923), pp. 340-343 [Online] Available at : http://www.jstor.org/stable/2915183
a forensic team or scientists in a middle of an investigation. Somewhere
(Accessed: 27 February 2016)
in the middle of the scene, amongst the landscape is a holy tree, complete
Cosgrove, B. (2014) ‘The Most Beautiful Suicide: A Violent Death, an Immortal Photo’. Time
with holy men in meditation. The final piece of the large scale drawing is
[Online] Available at: http://time.com/3456028/the-most-beautiful-suicide-a-violent-
called Shanti Pavilion (2016), an apocalyptic scene of falling dark figures in
a coliseum with a courtyard in the bottom part of the drawing. The space
death-an-immortal-photo/(Accessed 25 February 2016)
Elephant motive in batik
is marked with graffiti and we can see a shamanic figure in green and more
artnews.com/2010/03/01/yves-kleins-leap-year/ (Accessed: 27 February 2016)
workers in uniforms. The figure in green seems to be the head of a clean up
Pompeo, J. (2011) ‘Falling Man Retraces Steps Recalling Unknown Soldier’. Yahoo News,
operation down at the courtyard. All around the coliseum are more figures,
[Online] Available at http://news.yahoo.com/photographer-behind-9-11-falling-man-
spirits and deities with tattoos inscribing names of good and evil in one
retraces-steps-recalls-unknown-soldier.html (Accessed: 27 February 2016)
place, falling, destroyed, rising and standing.
Voon, C. (2016) ‘Drawing the Invisible Shapes of Energy’. Hyperallergic.com, (March, 2016)
[Online] Available at : http://hyperallergic.com/277119/drawing-the-invisible-shapes-of-
Down the rabbit hole is where Alice fell in what seems like a long
energy/ (Accessed: 27 February 2016)
fall that never ended in a dream, to find herself in Wonderland with
Zimmermann, K.A. (2014) Episodic Memory: Definition and Examples. Live Science
idiosyncratic and amusing characters. Much like Hasanul’s drawing,
(February, 2014) [Online] Available at: http://www.livescience.com/43682-episodic-
we would find ourselves musing over the many characters that fill the
memory.html (Accessed: 27 February 2016)
drawings. Each piece of Hasanul’s large scale drawing is unique. There is
no exactly similar visual composition or formula. It is hard to categorize
them as a series, but what unify them are the densely populated images,
Levin, K. (2010) ‘Yves Klein’s Leap Year’. Artnews [Online] Available at: http://www.
Buddha and Jesus in Japanese comic
Artworks
Topographic Retro Dingdang
2015
Felt, ink, watercolour, pencil and glitter
on paper
153 x 153 cm
Anatomy of Amygdala
2015
Sticker, ink, watercolor, graphite and
pencil on paper
153 x 182 cm
Orient Craters on Graveyard
2015
Ink and glitter on paper
153 x 153 cm
Sorry Mak Tattoo and Spa
2015
Sticker, ink, pencil and watercolor on paper
153 x 153 cm
Shanti Pavilion
2016
Ink, pencil, graphite and color pencil
on paper
153 x 182 cm
Sumsorry
Santan and Batgod
2015
2015
Pencil, ink and watercolor on paper
21 x 29.5
cm
Pencil, ink and watercolor on paper
21 x 29.5 cm
Santan and the Acid Party Band
2015
Ink and watercolor on paper
21 x 29.5 cm
Sadhu Kingfisher
2015
Watercolour, ink and graphite on paper
21 x 29.5 cm
Facing Mantra
Rainmoon
2015
2015
Ink on paper
29.5 x 21
cm
Ink on paper
29.5 x 21 cm
Dancing Dengue
2015
Ink on paper
29.5 x 21 cm
Pool
2015
Ink on paper
29.5 x 21 cm
Hawaii 5.0
Mempening
2016
2015
Scratch paper
29 x 20
cm
Ink on paper
21 x 29.5 cm
Prana Teardrop
Bhakti Angel
Perfect Mandala
2015
2015
2015
Scratch paper
29 x 20
cm
Scratch paper
29 x 20
cm
Scratch paper
29 x 20 cm
X3
Cabinet
2015
2015
Scratch paper
20 x 29
cm
Scratch paper
19 x 27.5 cm
Fender Dating Finger Strumming
2015
Scratch paper
19.5 x 27.5 cm
Hasanul Isyraf Idris
Hasanul Isyraf Idris (b. 1978, Malaysia)
was trained at Mara University of
Technology, UiTM, in Perak. He has
received a number of awards, including
the Young Contemporary Arts Award in
2007 at the National Visual Arts Gallery,
Kuala Lumpur, the Incentive Award at
the Open Show held at the Shah Alam
Gallery and the Consolation Prize
for the Young Talent Art Exhibition
at the Penang Art Gallery. A highly
elusive artist, Hasanul shuns attending
openings and attempts to work
anonymously in the art scene.
Education
Hasanul Isyraf Idris produces works
in a variety of media, from paintings
and meticulously crafted drawings to
painted oven-baked clay sculptures.
Mining inspiration from within, he
articulates his personal struggles as an
artist by personifying them as strange
characters that inhabit his invented
universes. Influenced by the graphics
of underground comic books, 1960s
science fiction, fast food, and street art
and fashion, he juggles pop-culture
references with a personal viewpoint.
Recurring topics in his practice are the
meaning of life and death, memories
and fantasies and sin and reward.
2015 Bachelor in Fine Art, Mara University of
Technology UiTM, Perak, Malaysia
Solo Exhibitions
2016
HOL Chapter 1: The Fall, Richard Koh Fine,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2014
Back from Planet Luvox, Richard Koh Fine Art,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2011
Clash of the Pigments, Richard Koh Fine Art,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Group Exhibitions
Malaysian Art, A New Perspective,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2007 Young Contemporary Art Exhibition, National
Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Three New Voices, Wei Ling Gallery,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2006 Pameran Titian Budaya Malaysia,
Brunei Darussalam
Open Show, National Visual Arts Gallery,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tribute To Jeri Azahari, National Visual Arts Gallery,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2005 Miniature Show, Maya Art Gallery,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Richard Koh Fine Art, Singapore
AID For Tsunami Relief, National Visual Arts
Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Malaysian Art, A New Perspective,
Richard Koh Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Below 1000, Gema Rimba Gallery, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Open Gate - Asian Sounds Research, with Japan
Foundation, Hin Bus Depot, Georgetown, Malaysia
2004 Young Contemporary Art Exhibition, National
Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2014 KIAF/14, Seoul, Korea
Malaysian Eye, White Box, Publika,
Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1999 Open Show, Shah Alam Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur,
MEAA (Malaysian Emerging Artists Awards)
Finalist Exhibition, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Arts Kuala Lumpur - Melbourne 2014,
Space @ Collins, Melbourne
2013 YOUNG MALAYSIAN ARTISTS: NEW
OBJECT(ION) II (YMA II), Petronas Gallery,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2011
Art Expo Malaysia 2011, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
The Junction, Pelita Hati Gallery, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Young Talent Art Exhibition, Penang Fest,
Penang Art Gallery, Malaysia
1998Julung, Melaka Museum, Malaysia
Senirupa, Darul Ridzuan Museum,
Perak, Malaysia
Residencies
2015 South East Asian Art Residency, Rimbun Dahan,
2010 Ringan-ringan, Map White Box, Publika,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
January Showcase, Chandan Gallery,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Awards & Activities
International Contemporary Art Show (Imcas),
2007 Young Contemporary Arts Award, National Visual
1999
Incentive Award, Open Show, Shah Alam Gallery,
2009 Danga Bay, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Our Hearts For Yours, Chandan Gallery,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
18@8, Weiling Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2008 Semangat Chandan : Contemporary Artist From
The Land Of Grace, Chandan Gallery,
Kuang, Malaysia
Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Consolation Prize, Young Talent Art Exhibition,
Penang Art Gallery, Penang, Malaysia
Richard Koh Fine Art has been in operation since 2005
and is regarded as a pioneer for introducing Southeast Asian
contemporary art to Malaysia and the region. Promoting
an adventurous roster of emerging and established Southeast
Asian artists, the gallery regularly mounts exhibitions locally
and abroad with a commitment to emerging practices and
challenging media.
RICHARD KOH FINE ART
229
229 Jalan Maarof
Bukit Bandaraya, Bangsar
59100 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
T +60 (03) 2095 3300
@ info @ rkfineart.com
BVII
Lot No. 2F-3, Level 2 Bangsar Village II
Jalan Telawi 1, Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
T +60 (03) 2283 3677
F +60 (03) 2283 4677
SINGAPORE OFFICE
10 Ubi Crescent
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Lobby E Singapore
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronically, including
photocopy, recording or any information storage
and retrieval system, without the prior consent
from the artist and gallery.
Publication © 2016
Richard Koh Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur
Artwork and Images © 2016 Hasanul Isyraf Idris
Essay - Dr. Tetriana Ahmed Fauzi
Translation of artist statement - Haffendi Anuar
This catalog is published to accompany a
solo exhibition by Hasanul Isyraf Idris titled,
HOL (Higher Order Love), Chapter 1: The Fall
at Richard Koh Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur
from 9 to 23 April 2016.