Pangrok Sulap

Harold Reagan Eswar

Fig. 1 Pangrok Sulap currently has many ideas to work together with their surrounding rural communities, making the notion of ownership of an art piece a lot more meaningful. Above is a print for the exhibition “escape from the SEA” and a lot of artists, artisans, and art enthusiasts, were involved in making it. Another print for the exhibition was deemed controversial because of political reasons, and divided the community into opposing halves.

According to the Borneo Art Collective, Pangrok Sulap is a very successful collective on several levels. Their success stems from their extraordinary art making process, the messages they deliver, the way they engage communities, and how all this comes together to change the hearts and minds of their audience. While the collective does not have an official membership, it welcomes all people who are keen on creating art as a means of spreading clear messages on social issues, and also encourages artists to use their art to fight inequality and repression. Pangrok Sulap is part of a larger artist group known as the Tamu-Tamu Collective, and together, they organise cultural events and share booths in art markets, as well as run workshops across Malaysian Borneo (Fig. 1).

The collective “Pangrok Sulap” was first established in Ranau, Sabah in 2010 and was originally called “V for volunteer”, which indicates the nature of their activities. At first their ambitions were simple, they strove to motivate the youth and to help the children they visited. Through their trips to orphanages and community centres, they developed a love of community service, and began to put in efforts towards helping the marginalised people of the state of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo (Fig. 2).

The core team members of the collective are made up of ordinary, yet passionate, young Sabahans, carpenters, farmers, and teachers. The collective has grown rapidly and has become well known in the local art scene for their iconic woodcut prints, which spreads social and political messages. Using a scalpel, they painstakingly chisel away at wood panels to create the intricate images that are used to stamp ink on a variety of fabrics and paper. The images must be carefully carved in reverse for the stamp to appear right side up on the surface − this is a labour-intensive

Fig. 2 Pangrok Sulap, and several DIY friends, displaying their finished woodcut print. Members of Pangrok Sulap are favourites among the village youth because of their down-to-earth attitudes and their own village-raised background.

Fig. 3 Pangrok Sulap has a humorous approach to their art. Even when the environment around them seems bleak and nothing can be done, they always have a positive response to everything. They always try to make people laugh despite trying times.

"With the local art scene generally stagnant, Pangrok Sulap appeared, and pushed all the right buttons, to bring a much-needed 'hardcore' shake-up to the scene".

process that can be described as an “old-school”, or traditional, way of working. Interestingly, Pangrok Sulap learned these skills from another pioneering collective called Marjinal, from Indonesia, who had made a visit in the past to teach basic woodcutting skills (Fig. 3).

Pangrok Sulap has displayed their work in rural markets known locally as tamus. Tamus are the heart and soul of every rural community, as they function as local gathering spots for people to meet, catch up, and share news. With Pangrok Sulap’s success, not only has the collective been recognised at the national level, their success has also resulted in international recognition − they have had many public exhibitions in places such as Tokyo, Japan. All of their recognition and accomplishments have been in part achieved by local farmers, carpenters and teachers, whose efforts can be described as “almost biblical” when put into perspective.

Pangrok Sulap first used the name they are currently known by in a social NGOs gathering called the “yellow fools gathering”. The name “Pangrok Sulap” refers to the collective’s love of punk rock music and the DIY concept, which has the slogan “Jangan Beli, Bikin Sendiri” (Don't Buy, Do-it-yourself). The word “Pangrok” is local slang for “punk rock” and “Sulap” refers to the huts in the Dusun region, which are commonly used as resting places by local farmers.

At first, when people heard the name, they thought it was funny, but as the collective became better known and recognised for all the positive things they did for the community, they proved that there is much more to their name than meets the eye. Pangrok Sulap arrived like a breath of fresh air, and proved to have very good timing, as after a very short period of time the general public started to accept the collective. With the local art scene generally stagnant, Pangrok Sulap appeared, and pushed all the right buttons, to bring a much-needed “hardcore” shake-up to the scene.

According to Rizo Leong, one of Pangrok’s founders, “We want to be seen as more than just wild kids gigging, fooling around, drawing stuff, and drinking. We are not just punks; we want to meet and share ideas with like-minded people.”

The group is largely based in Ranau, at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, and get most of their inspiration from visiting far-flung villages and showing their art to local communities, while also getting to know people.

“In the process, we found a lot of things lacking – basic infrastructure – and we tried to find small ways we could make a positive impact on the community like teaching them to draw, paint murals... that kind of thing”, said Leong and quoted in an interview with Julia Chan in the Malaysian Mail on 17 March 2017.

Pangrok Sulap first exhibited their artworks in various local exhibitions around the city, but eventually travelled into the villages and the rural areas of the state, where large social issues, such as the marginalisation of the people, ran rampant. They began conducting free workshops, teaching villagers the importance of visual arts in their daily lives, in politics, and also in preserving the safety and security of the village. In turn, Pangrok Sulap’s efforts would directly protect the culture and heritage of the villages (Fig. 4).

Through exhibition after exhibition, the collective has gained popularity and trust both from the underground art scene, as well as followers of the mainstream. Pangrok Sulap was invited to exhibit, and also to perform in, exhibitions, forums, and art festivals around Sabah and West Malaysia. In fact, the impact of their art was first noticed at the KK Bundle Fest in 2012.

Like the story of Robin Hood, what Pangrok Sulap received from commission works and from generated income, goes towards the benefit not only of themselves but also others. Having more income, they have organised more classes and workshops and clinics. As a result, they have earned trust from the local people and have built a close community. They are also experiencing the impact of the art on local communities that the collective finds essential for their “survival”.

For example, in the case of the Kaiduan Dam Project, the community in Kaiduan, rural Sabah, and the villagers realised the importance of print making. This effort by Pangrok Sulap is an environmental campaign located in the Ulu Papar valley, which is home to about 1,000 people whose villages will be affected by the Kaiduan dam project to supply water to the city of Kota Kinabalu. The message of visual art “travelled” as far as social media would let it. However, the messages had a very big impact on the construction of the dam. Even when visual art could not guarantee the toppling of the dam building proposal, the internet displays the truth from the villagers themselves through the process of woodcut printing. Even if as just a consolation, the villagers’ story and suffering if the dam is built has been told.

One of the members of Pangrok Sulap’s rallying cries to other communities and art collectives is to be bold and positive, as well as to not depend too much on governments, but to take their own steps and initiatives to move forward and find success.

References

http://borneoartcollective.org/ featuredprojects/2016/6/17/pangrok-sulap (accessed 31 May 2018)

https://www.malaymail.com/s/1336695/sowhat-is-pangrok-sulap-art-collective-or-socialactivists-or-both (accessed 31 May 2018)

https://asia.nikkei.com/NAR/Articles/Protestart-The-Borneo-punk-rock-collective-making-abold-statement (accessed 31 May 2018)

Harold Reagan Eswar Artist, Malaysia

Harold Reagan Eswar has been active with the Malaysian art scene since 2006 when he had finished his diploma in architecture.

Apart from painting, Eswar also does curatorial works, film making and is active in reaching out to rural communities in Sabah with art, mostly mural works and also print making. He has been active lately with motivational talks, forums and round table discussions on subjects like community art ideas and social reach out in Sabah's urban landscape.

Fig. 4 This event is in West Malaysia (Pangrok Sulap is from East Malaysia, separated by sea) where Pangrok Sulap shared “our” stories with the local youth. What we found out is that we have a lot in common, and that everything else is just slowing down the process of communication.

哈羅德·埃斯瓦爾

Fig. 1 龐克棚屋到訪西班牙。在抵達西班牙前，他們曾停留德國、法國等朋友眾多的地方。團員有機會與相遇的人分享藝術故事和文化。

根據 Borneo Art Collective，龐克棚屋（Pangrok Sulap）是個在不同層面上非常成功的合作社，包括他 們的藝術創作過程、傳達的信息、融入社區的方式，以及聚合各方面以改變他人的心靈和思想的方法。 合作社沒有明確的入會資格，但歡迎公眾一起利用藝術作為一種手段，傳播有關社會問題的明確信息， 並作為一種武器打擊不平等和壓迫。其實龐克棚屋是一個更大藝術家團體 Tamu-Tamu Collective 之一部 份。兩個群體會一起在馬來西亞婆羅洲組織文化活動，在藝術市場擺放攤位，舉辦工作坊 (Fig. 1)。

龐克棚屋始於 2 0 1 0 年 ， 位 於 沙 巴 拉 瑙 。 當 合 作 社 剛 成 立 時 ， 基 於 活 動 性 質 ， 原 名 為 「 V f or volunteer」。起初合作社的使命很簡單，就是希望激勵年輕人，以及幫助所有曾探訪過的小孩。他們最喜歡 探訪孤兒院和社區中心，其間逐漸激發他們對社區服務的熱誠，並開始協助婆羅洲沙巴的弱勢居民。

合作社由平凡但充滿熱情的年輕沙巴人、木匠、農民和教師組成，他們是團隊的核心成員。合作社迅速 發展，並在當地藝術界頗有名聲。他們所帶出的社會政治信息，以木刻版畫為標記。團員用手術刀在木 板精心雕刻錯綜複雜的圖像，並印於不同種類的紡織品和紙張上。因木刻圖像必須反向雕刻才能印出， 這是一個勞動密集式的過程，亦視作守舊的工作模式。有趣的是，龐克棚屋從印尼和另一個合作社先鋒 Marjinal 到訪時學習到版印技術，當時該合作社很認真地教授這方面的基本知識。

Fig. 2 孩子是龐克棚屋的最佳觀眾，他們總是充滿活力，隨時準備去探索新事物。

龐克棚屋在該州稱為「Tamus」的市場展示了他 們的作品，那是每個農村社區的中心，居民會在 該處聚集以緊貼和分享最新消息。鑑於成功的經 驗，他們把合作社升格至一個國家認同的程度。 最後，他們的影響力超越了本國，曾於全國和海 外多次向公眾展出，包括東京。

這些都是農民、木匠和教師的功勞。如果你用另 一個角度來看，就像是聖經內容一樣。

「龐克棚屋」第一次使用這個現為人熟悉的名 稱，是在一個非政府機構的聚會「Yellow fools gathering」。「龐克棚屋」是甚麼意思？它代 表合作社對龐克搖滾音樂的愛好，以及「Jangan Beli, Bikin Sendiri」（別買，自己動手做）作口 號的手作概念。「Pangrok」實際上的意思是「龐 克搖滾」，而 「Sulap」 在 「Dusun」 語意指 茅舍，一個通常是農民休息的地方。

其他人首次聽到這個名稱時都感到滑稽，但得悉 箇中成員為社區所作的貢獻後，他們的存在更獲 重視。公眾在很短的時間內接受了他們，這對合 作社來說是一個非常合適的時機。龐克棚屋的降 臨猶如一股清新空氣，極爲珍貴。當時藝術界處 於一種狀態，需要我們所謂的「極端」加以刺 激。龐克棚屋的出現正可發揮所長。 龐克棚屋創始人之一里索•朗指出，「我們不希 望只被視作瘋狂嘻笑、無所事事、只顧畫畫與喝 酒的野孩子。我們不只是龐克迷，而是希望藉此 與志趣相投的人見面和交流。」

合作社的大本營位於拉瑙的京那巴魯山腳下，他 們透過探訪偏遠鄉村地區、向當地社區展示藝 術、結識居民而取得靈感。

「在 這 個 過 程 中 ， 我們 發 現 很多 缺乏 的 東 西 ， 像基礎設施之類，我們試圖找一些可以對社區 產生 正 面 影 響 的 小 方 法 ， 例如教 他們 畫 畫 、 繪 製壁畫等……」2017年3月17日里索•朗接受 《Malaysian Mail》 的 Julia Chan 採訪時闡述 (Fig. 2)。

龐克棚屋曾在當地不同項目中展出或演出作品。 他們察覺到鄉村和農村居民被邊緣化的問題，便 進入該區舉辦免費工作坊，教導村民在日常生 活、政治層面及維護村莊安全各方面，利用視覺 藝術的重要性，同時更可確保該區的文化和遺產 受到保護。

一場又一場的展覽後，合作社變得受歡迎，不 僅贏得地下藝術團體的信任，更有來自主流機 構的追隨 者 。 自 此 之 後 ， 龐 克 棚 屋 獲 更 多 參 展的 機

Fig. 3 龐克棚屋在支持Kaiduan 區村民對政府決定建設大型水壩項目表達不滿（350平方公里的洪水區）。 三所社區幼兒園、市集、教堂、墓地和更多的公共地區將被淹沒。

會，並於沙巴和西馬來西亞附近參與多項展覽、論壇、 藝術節的演出。事實上，他們以藝術所帶來的影響是 在 2012 年的「KKBundleFest」首次受關注。

就像羅賓漢的故事，龐克棚屋從委約作品獲得的收益 及其他收入，同時讓自己和公眾受惠。他們有了更多 收入，組織更多課堂、工作坊及診所。結果，他們取 得公眾的信任，建立起緊密的社區，公眾深受藝術帶 來的影響，那是合作社認爲是生存之道。

例如，在 Kaiduan 水壩項目中，Kaiduan（沙巴的農 村）社區和村民因而意識到版畫的重要。這是一個位 於 Ulu Papar 山谷的環保活動，該處約有 1000 人居 住，由於水壩項目供應水源至他們的村莊，因此居民 將受到影響 (Fig. 3)。

社交媒體盡力傳播有關視覺藝術的信息，而這些信息 對興建水壩有重大的影響。即使視覺藝術不能保證推 翻興建水壩的計劃，但互聯網通過木刻版畫從村民處 找到真相。即使這不過是一種安慰，但村民的故事和 興建成水壩後所帶來的苦況已被廣傳 (Fig. 4)。

其中一位龐克棚屋成員最後寄語其他社區和藝術合作 社，要作風大膽和積極，不要過份依賴政府，可以採 取自己的步伐和舉措向前邁進，才能找到成功之路。

參考資料

http://borneoartcollective.org/ featuredprojects/2016/6/17/pangrok-sulap (accessed 31 May 2018)

https://www.malaymail.com/s/1336695/so-whatis-pangrok-sulap-art-collective-or-social-activistsor-both (accessed 31 May 2018)

https://asia.nikkei.com/NAR/Articles/Protest-artThe-Borneo-punk-rock-collective-making-a-boldstatement (accessed 31 May 2018)

哈羅德・埃斯瓦爾 馬來西亞藝術家

哈羅德・埃斯瓦爾在2006年完成建築文憑課程後，一直 活躍於馬來西亞藝術圈。

除繪畫之外，埃斯瓦爾亦參與策展、電影製作。他主要以 壁畫及版畫等藝術形式支援沙巴的鄉郊社區。他近期亦活 躍於不同的講座、論壇、圓桌會議，關注沙巴的社區藝術 及社會發展等問題。

「當時藝術界處於一種狀態，需要我們所謂的『極端』加以 刺激。龐克棚屋的出現正可發揮所長。」

Fig. 4 這是龐克棚屋第一次於2013年參與名為「3 sided coin」的聯展。他們用回收物料創作，帶出現今馬來 西亞教育制度的問題。沙巴的農村人不會錯過任何獲得免費或廉價教育的機會，例如申請教育貸款。農 村的家長習慣互相「炫耀」孩子的教育水平，但這就暴露了教育制度醜陋的地方。那些不被認可的私立 大學會招募農村學生，向他們承諾提供保險、住宿、教育貸款，以及更多難以兌現的事情。年輕的村民 會發現四人宿舍被九名學生佔用。他們不但吃不飽，更身負債務。

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