Two Sides of The Veil
A veil is not merely a piece of cloth. Nor is it just a religious symbol. It is perceived from various angles rendered in many different terms by those subjected to it – the women of the world.
One side of the veil represents hardened souls rebelling against religious oppressors for subjugating the veil onto them to the point of sexually harassing, assaulting, arresting, and ridiculing them for deciding to wear or not to wear the veil. Another side of the veil depicts the free and empowered feminine ebbing with the flow of life on her own terms.
As a woman who is on my own journey of consciousness myself, I perceive the veil as a tool of empowerment. I wish for us to break the norm of policing women’s decisions when it comes to their bodies and respect them the way they deserve to be respected and valued, regardless of the dress code.
We should give women the freedom to dress the way they feel comfortable, as much as we would like to preach to them about the veil and as much as we would give them the freedom to educate themselves about the beauty of it. Women deserve the room to
interpret it from their level of perception and personal experiences. Give women the power to think for themselves, and allow them to discover their individuality at their own freewill, away from radical religious views and patriarchal indoctrination.
It is unfair for mankind to tarnish its meaning in brutal ways that can harm and backfire on the religion when the veil can
become a place where women can turn to to remind themselves of the inner strength that they possess when given the power to choose to practice their religious beliefs and how to present themselves to the world. And to me, that is the true beauty of the veil.
Arda Baha (Ardacadabrahh)
Arda Baha is an independent self-taught artist who explores a plethora of mediums to produce vibrant pieces of art. She specialises in bright and wild abstract art which ranges from 2d and 3d digital art, traditional mixed media art and merchandising. The abstraction in her art expresses her personal emotional outpour from the depths of her heart and mind. The robustness of Arda’s art intends to promote positivity and confidence to express her individuality, despite the emotions that are involved in the creation of her art.As an ever-evolving creator, Arda spruces up her work and intention every now and then toquench her desire for creativity.
Chasing the Gap
“I’m so sick of running as fast as i can, wondering if i can get there quicker if i was a man.”
Designed as an interactive piece, the intention of the artwork is to highlight the human’s experience and engagement with the art. With the piece shifting itself and the never ending action of chasing the gap, this artwork’s intention is to shed some light about the significant amount of effort needed for women to gain equality of opportunities because we are simply not afforded the same opportunities as men.
Let us all advocate for ourselves, speak up about opportunities, and let us shine so bright, our fighting spirit becomes the light to the shadows. I believe in a world where we all have the same opportunities, regardless of our gender, but simply because we are more alike, men and women, than we are different.
Grey Z.
Grey Z, also known as greyowlZ is an architectural graduate turned digital 3D artist based in Kuala Lumpur. Grey’s art is inspired by her own feelings and perception of her surroundings with a touch of surrealist landscapes. Her creations are an exploration of her self identities, her inner battles and her growth as an artist. She hopes to continue her artistry for as long as she can and for others to resonate and find solace with her pieces
Phoenix
Phoenix was a mythical beast whose body emitted rays of sunlight is a symbol of renewal and rebirth. Upon its death, it arises again from the ashes and start life anew. Life will bend and break your spirit to succeed but each time you will rise above the ground stronger than ever. Like a phoenix, arises magnificently from the ashes
Jasma Jamaludin
Jasma binti Jamaludin was born in 1994 and graduated from SEGI University with a degree in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). She became interested in art during her early days as a medical student. Working as a doctor, she felt death, pain, and suffering through her patients. It is an onerous duty. The only way out for her it seems, is to paint experiences and expressions on canvas. Dancing and whirling with vibrant but surreal colours, her abstract artwork is not bound by her own imagination. It encapsulates the very essence of life and death itself.
Proud Pussy
Resembling a flower in bloom, her petals hold divine secrets beyond earthly understanding. A portal to the heavens, she has nurtured life through generations. Inspiring poems and battles, desire and healing.
The vagina is one of the most powerful forces in nature. Yet, “pussy” is often used in a derogatory context to imply weakness or cowardice. Why are feminine traits seen as inferior or undesirable?
Some may find themselves uncomfortable to hear the word “pussy” or gaze upon one. Perhaps because women are made to feel ashamed for having pussies, and men are shamed by being called pussies. In truth, the issue lies deeper than anatomy and the damage affects all regardless of gender.
This piece encourages the viewer to shed any shameful stigma and embrace empowerment instead. Be proud of your pussy, for there is no shame in that which is feminine and sacred.
Jem Kosmos
Jem Kosmos is a multidisciplinary artist who is inspired by harmony within chaos. She weaves complex themes into striking yet delicate compositions, with emphasis on mood and colour. Through her art, she seeks to heal and reflect the many facets of identity, trauma, and spirituality. A Digital Animation graduate from The One Academy, Jem went on to work in Visual Effects, Film and Video Production, UI/UX, Graphic Design, and the tattoo industry. Some of her favourite mediums include photography, digital painting, and clay sculpting. Ever curious and evolving, Jem believes she should never limit herself and instead embraces every opportunity to pursue different perspectives that come with each new discipline.
Pengantara
While women are actively taking the role of mediator in domestic and community level, the importance of having women in the discussion is often overlooked. Conflict affects all genders of the society but women are at a greater risk of facing physical and sexual abuse.
“In essence, women’s participation in mediation is simply a question of equality and fairness. Women make up half of a community. Their voices should be heard.” – Hanna Tetteh, UN Under Secretary General, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
This artwork aims to highlight the vital role that women play in the society in conflict solving, mediating peace and gender equality. The pairing with ravens is due to its complex symbolism in literature and world lore, as well as a nod to a French anthropologist, Claude Lévi-Strauss’ structuralist theory that suggests the raven obtained mythic status because it was a mediator animal between life and death.
LakarUmbi
LakarUmbi is a digital artist playing around feminine subjects and dark ambience. Coming from performing arts (music) background, she often collaborates with her partner (tingkahlagu) to create audio-visual works, bridging what they do in real life to the digital NFT realm. Their previous works are available on multiple clean NFT platforms like versum, OBJKT, teia and Pentas. Past exhibitions are“PORTALS” by NFXT and“100 Artists from hicetnunc” by OneOf during Art Basel Miami.
Systematic Transformation {In Blood}
Systematic Transformation is a methodical technique of form making incorporating movement through translation, rotation,
dilation and reflection. The resulting visual leads to experiential or imaginative interpretation usually related to object or for some,
it invokes a deeper memory.
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What comes in a cycle?
A prickling sensation with a nasty mood swings and all of the sudden, hunting for more food, a guilty pleasure to dilute a constant
discomfort and dull fatigue. It’s a bloody week of the month, every month.
Nabihah Haiyee
Nabihah Haiyee is a visual artist and designer based in Selangor. Nabihah focuses on geometric patterns and mathematical art for both paper folding and digital art – with the interplay of light and shadow. Her previous experience in architectural field has influenced her method of translating idea from concept to form making. Inspired mainly from surrounding nature, she is fond to study and reinterpret the shapes of nature’s fractal growth; repeated patterns at multiple scale over time. She also collects and reconstruct pattern, tessellations and islamic geometry, making it her obscure fixation. Every finding will takes her to a blurry realm of art, mathematics and nature which makes her art journey unpredictable.
It’s ok to feel
As a woman, we are often viewed as an emotional creature.
And with that presumption, our judgements are thought to be flawed.
However, being able to feel is an amazing thing and it doesn’t have to be a‘fault’.
Through this work, I’d like to show that it’s okay to wear your emotions on your sleeve.
That it’s okay to feel the way you feel.
Morphosis III
Morphosis nft series is an extension from my previous physical large ceiling sculpture work entitled‘Lend Me Your Wings, I Pray’ . It explores the theme butterfly Metamorphosis and the narrative of healing, change, growth and transformation. Life is a cyclical change. I wanted to capture a movement phase that embody organism pulse beat, and its kaleidoscopic cell pattern growth visually. Hence, the idea behind the visual Morphosis series which was to capture the layered multicoloured spectrum light projection that was produced from the layering of iridescent plexiglass pieces. The composition and form of the pieces reflects the interpretation of a butterfly’s nano scale wing pattern. The source of the projected light moves in animated motion against the pieces creating various psychedelic pattern against the plain background. Those moments and motion were captured, recorded and post edit in
videography format.
As a female artist, I have my own personal growth. My work is an ongoing exploration without rules and conventions, continually generating new forms, patterns, and themes. I’m in a constant state of transformation and my life continue to shift and evolve with every season. The art that I make mirror these changes. In a sense, I realize I am undergoing this morphosis – transitioning to a new version of myself. I believe art reflects the lives we live, and often serves as a deeper extension of ourselves.
Pamela Tan
Pamela Poh Sin Tan is an architectural designer who creates her artwork through explorations of art, architecture and design. Her work aims to blur the boundaries between creative disciplines invoking ambiguity in her art. Through her craft, she seeks the subtle unseen and intends to unveil the unknown delights in various scales. She aspires to create pieces that embody layers of spatial and experiential narratives. Pamela Poh Sin Tan obtained her Masters in Architecture RIBA Part 2 (MArch) from the University of Greenwich, UK. Her first year MArch studio project entitled“Mappa Mundi: A Map Maker’s Dream” was selected to be exhibited in London’s The Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition 2015. She is the winner of the fifth and final cycle of the Tan Sri Chan Sau Lai Architecture Award in 2016. Recently, two of her projects,“Eden” and“Projection Kite” , won the Bronze and Merit awards respectively in the Design for Asia Award 2020 under the category of Environmental Design and, on 2021,“Eden” won best of the best for German Design Council- Iconic Award.
Fizah Rahim
Fizah Rahim is the design director of Machineast, a 3D creative studio that believes in creating artwork with high artistic aesthetics. Fizah Rahim grew up watching animated title sequences and music videos which influence her color palette in her designs today. Fizah has worked in well-known motion graphic studios as an Art Director before setting up her career path at Machineast. Her clientele includes some of the region’s renown channels and brands such as Nike, IBM, Ubisoft, ESPN, FOX Sports, HBO, BBC, Disney, TIME, and MTV. Fizah has collected Promax/BDA World Gold Awards for Animax Pupil music video as well as Finalist for New York Festivals for her notable work on Astro Hitz Lightbulb. Machineast’s work has been featured in many art and design publications and social media worldwide. Fizah also loves to share her experience and thoughts at
various creative conferences and talks — VGA Fest, Massive Territory, Graphika Manila to name a few.