Shafiq x Najib

G13 Gallery is excited to present Shafiq x Najib, an art collaboration by Shafiq Nordin and Najib Bamadhaj.

They will present twelve pieces of artwork that each emphasise their unique interaction whilst applying their characterised art styles and techniques.

Famed for their artistic sensibility and styles, Shafiq and Najib have both been active in the arts for more than 12 years. They have participated in numerous art fairs, international and local shows, as well as solo and group exhibitions.

On this special occasion, these two artists whose friendship has lasted for nearly ten years will collaborate together, create their miracles and explode the art scene of Malaysia. This is not only a collaboration between pop culture and pop surrealism but also more a cultural conversation between local and the West.

Shafiq x Najib runs from 19 February to 5 March 2022 at G13 Gallery.

Collaboration: Cultural conversation

by Law Weng Yan

How could surreal inter-flowing pop art style animals and local cultural figurative elements merge in the same artwork? I couldn’t even imagine, but Shafiq Nordin and Najib Ahmad Bamadhaj did it, incredibly.

It is a physical conversation happening in paint instead of words. After having many discussions and multiple sketchings, Shafiq and Najib emphasized their diversity in artistic style and their unique interaction on the same painting, taking turns to create a series of works containing both of their creative signatures. It is a witness to their artistic sensitivity and mutual trust that these works fuse so brilliantly. What is interesting is that, as every artwork was painted by both artists whilst each was experiencing different mental states, audiences might discover different things whilst observing the same painting from various perspectives.

Despite differences in their artistic styles, the two artists have unmistakable chemistry which is shown in the aesthetic cohesiveness of their collaborations in the paintings present. For an artist, the most important and delicate relationship they can have with another artist is one in which they are constantly challenged and intimidated. The greatest pleasure is to be provoked to the point of inspiration.

This puts me in mind of an essay by Boris Oicherman, the curator for creative collaboration at Weisman Art Museum: “...Initiating and establishing a working relationship involves sustained effort over a significant period of time, and here is where the wonderful intention of creative collaboration becomes exceedingly complex to implement.” Collaboration is a joint effort: it always starts with a discussion about ideas, concepts and messages. However, culture clash might occur during the collaboration process as the diverging attitudes, morals, opinions or customs of two dissimilar cultures are revealed. It takes me back to the Silk Road in the Tang Dynasty of ancient China. Culture clash stimulates deep communication between cultures, hence we can now see how the ancient Orient culture and Western culture communicate through documentary evidence and artefacts, and how the cultural fusion developed over thousands of years. Consequently, kaleidoscopic cultures and societies have appeared.

People collaborate, making connections to enable different elements to touch. It might be a sort of pollination of culture or a cultural map-making that creates new routes for people and the world to recognise and know more about the existence of different cultures on our earth. Beyond all artistic collaborations in history, the one between pop artist Andy Warhol and graffiti prodigy Jean-Michel Basquiat is one of the most oft-quoted collaborative exhibitions. Their collaborative work

‘Olympic Rings’ is evidence of the fusion and intersection of the same theme in different art styles, as does SHAFIQ X NAJIB. This collaborative exhibition can be regarded as a wide-ranging conversation on arts and cultures between the local and the West. Najib Bamadhaj and Shafiq Nordin paved the way for the combination of both these art styles by erasing the differences and gaps between pop art and the local traditional cultural art style, reminding us of the unlimited potential that exists in creative collaboration.

These two old friends have come to embody a profoundly symbiotic and mutually beneficial creative relationship. Seeing their works side by side, we encounter a playful selection of quotidian symbolic icons which sparks riveting semantic games. Representing the climactic moment of this extraordinary creative relationship, the quality of these works mirrors the depth of friendship between these two iconic contemporary artists. The mechanics of a mutually beneficial creative rapport are laid bare as stylistic differences blend in a harmonious synthesis, giving birth to an entirely new aesthetic language.