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It’s common knowledge that during the Movement Control Order (MCO), most of us have been stuck at home. The same goes for artists and all the creative types out there. With their spare time and creativity, some managed to fill a whole year’s worth of portfolio. But what good does it do when you can’t share your art to the world?

This is where Sabah Art Gallery (SAG) comes in. Jennifer P. Linggi, the Deputy General Manager of the Sabah Cultural Board and curator of SAG many artworks done during MCO posted in social media by various artists. That’s when Jennifer and her team decided to hold MCO Artworks Exhibition 2020, an exhibition to showcase the artwork of artists made during the MCO.

Her team asked all interested artists, both established and new, to submit their artwork for the exhibition. In a short amount of time, the gallery received great reception from artists. Since our interview with Jennifer, a total of 390 pieces of art were submitted from 50 talented artists. Among them, 20 are newcomers that are going to have their art exhibited for the first time in SAG.

Jennifer said, “apart from wanting to showcase what our artists have been creating these past few months, we want to provide by Noel Jinguli a suitable platform for everyone to share their emotions and thoughts through art to the world. We all understand how the MCO had impacted us, so art is one way of expressing it.” She continued, “the artists were very excited when we announced the exhibition and we were surprised by the amount of submissions we received.”

Usually, artists need to give a set percentage of commission from the sale of the artwork to art collectors. However, the SAG have

decided not to charge the artists any percentage of commission Images | Adynnie

to further support their livelihoods. All the artwork featured are available for sale from as low as RM50 to RM6500. If you ask any art collector, those prices are very reasonable, especially for the quality you’re getting. These artworks range from abstract art to even shoe art and handicrafts relating to the Covid-19 situation.

An artist called KanJenJen has submitted over 70 pieces of art alone. His work ranges from spray painted stencil landscapes to comic strips. It’s quite amazing how an artist can display such a wide range of talent in the field of art. Another artist to take note of is Awang Fadilah. A long time patron of Sabah Naive Art community. The way he expresses his point of view of the world through his illustrations is very unique.

The artworks weren’t limited to hand painted works as well. Even digital pieces are displayed for the world to see. Artists would create their art digitally and print them either on paper or canvas. An artist named Josrie Haral created a series of bright and colourful doodles and illustrations from his iPad, each telling their own story based on legends, animals, and scenes from Sabah.

Every piece of artwork, by anyone, was welcomed. As Jennifer puts it, “this exhibition isn’t about being an established artist. We want to introduce new artists to the art world, while showing them that exhibitions aren’t intimidating. It’s refreshing and surprising that there are many more new artists out there. Even though they’re new, their standards for art are very high.”

“Through this exhibition, we want to change people’s mindset. Art is an important part of our society. It’s somewhat a documentation of history, telling the stories of the situations people went through, just like how the featured artists tell their stories during the MCO through their art. It also reflects the emotions and thoughts of people, while calming our souls and nurturing our spirits from the troubles we face,” Jennifer added.

The reception from the public has been promising since the exhibition started on 1 July 2020. The admission for the exhibition is free until 31 October 2020. So why not take some time off your busy schedule to experience beautiful works of art. You’d not only be doing yourself a favour, you’ll also be supporting our talented local artists.

SABAH ART Gallery

www.sabahartgallery.com.my 088-268 748

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