HAFFENDI ANUAR Migratory Objects HAFFENDI ANUAR Migratory Objects

1 - 5 March 2017

TEN YEARS OF SOLO FOCUS ARTIST STATEMENT

Carved out of wood and occasionally adorned with shells, animal bones and human hair, the strange and fantastical masks from Borneo are usually used by native tribes as ceremonial items or to fend off evil spirits from homes and have been widely traded in the global artifact trade. Browsing the multiple Borneo masks on Etsy and eBay, scrolling over tribal masks, I notice that they are being advertised from different locations around the globe. Either their authenticity is questionable as there too many of them or that these artifacts have traveled halfway around the world from their birth place to be put up again for sale, their abundance and dissemination resonates a natural process of selection, similar to the propagation of seeds by the wind or birds in the jungle, to be are scattered around the globe again and again.

This movement of so-called cultural relics echoes the movement of people traversing through geographical and political barriers and highlights the basic human need for mobility and the constant search for a better life.

The flattened and abstracted masks could be read in a metaphorical sense as faces of anonymous characters moving from different locations in the world, unique in the sense of the individual experiences that they bring about and similar to the imagined masks, through these movements, the individuals change and grow, absorbing and filtering experiences from the changing landscapes.

In this presentation, both the wall-mounted, geometric and abstracted masks and the free-standing wooden sculptures composed of found souvenir objects allude to and explore in a symbolic gesture, this process of transformation and change fueled by movement and migration. This organic course of fluid mobility could be seen as a transformative process, altering the individuals through the varying experiences.

Haffendi Anuar 2017, Kuala Lumpur ARTWORKS Black Telescope, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 91 x 60 x 2.5 cm Comet, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 91 x 61 x 2.5 cm Deru, 2016, Oil and enamel on board, 87 x 60 x 2.5 cm Fantail, 2016, Oil and enamel on board, 91 x 60 x 2.5 cm Lion Head, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 92 x 60 x 2.5 cm Moor, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 92 x 61 x 2.5 cm Oranda, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 91 x 60 x 2.5 cm Pearlscale, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 91 x 60 x 2.5 cm Ranchu, 2016, Oil and enamel on board, 91.2 x 60 x 2.5 cm Tosakin, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 91.5 x 60 x 2.5 cm Ryukin, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 91.5 x 60 x 2.5 cm Veiltail, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 91 x 61 x 2.5 cm Wakin, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 61 x 45 x 2.5 cm Bubble Eye, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 61 x 45 x 2.5 cm Celestial, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 61 x 45 x 2.5 cm Globe Eye, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 61 x 45 x 2.5 cm Panda Moor, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 61 x 45 x 2.5 cm Pompom, 2017, Oil and enamel on board, 61 x 45 x 2.5 cm Migratory Objects 1, 2016, Emulsion paint and wood, 29 x 21.5 x 19 cm Migratory Objects 2, 2016, Emulsion paint and wood, 73 x 20 x 10 cm Migratory Objects 3, 2016, Emulsion paint and wood, 109 x 36 x 12 cm Migratory Objects 4, 2016, Emulsion paint and wood, 55 x 33 x 14 cm Migratory Objects 5, 2016, Emulsion paint and wood, 140.5 x 48.5 x 26 cm

Haffendi Anuar

Education Cherry on Top(less), Topless, New York, USA

Haffendi Anuar (b. 1985, Malaysia) is 2013 BA Honors (Sculpture), Central Saint Martins College MEAA 2014 (Malaysian Emerging Artists Award), an artist based in Kuala Lumpur. He of Art and Design, London, UK Whitebox @ Publika, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia produces sculptures, paintings and 2007 BFA (Foundation), Rhode Island School of Design, 2013 METAMORPH, Hoxton Garage, London, UK drawings. He did his International Providence, USA Odysseys Baccalaureate certificate in art at the , The Gallery @ Starhill, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia International School of Kuala Lumpur, 2005 International Baccalaureate Certificate in Fine Art, International School of Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, his foundation at the Rhode Island Void Open 2013, Hoxton Arches, London, UK Malaysia School of Design in Providence and his Xhibit 2013, SU Gallery, UAL and Four Corners BA Honors at Central Saint Martins Solo Exhibitions Gallery, London, UK College of Art and Design in London. Green Week, Lower Street Gallery, London College Haffendi is a multidisciplinary 2017 Migratory Objects, Volta NY, Richard Koh Fine Art, of Communication, London, UK artist. Mining history of art, digital New York, United States technology, nature and local contexts, 2015 Elephant Utopia, Future Section, Art Taipei 2015, 2012 Show, Elthorne Road, London, UK he creates object-based works that Taipei, Taiwan Magic Assemblage, Magic Assembly, recycle found images, objects and M13, Richard Koh Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Petrie Museum, London, UK artistic styles from digital and local 2011 Quick – in the Moment…., Nolia Gallery, sources. Selected Group Exhibitions London, UK

2017 Young Contemporaries 2016, National Visual Art Gallery, Utopia, the Architecture of Perfection, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Nolia Gallery, London, UK

2016 Malaysian Art, A Special Preview, Richard Koh Fine Art, In-Exchange, Lethaby Gallery, London, UK Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2010 VAA Exhibtion (Starhill Visual Arts Award), Malaysian Art, A New Perspective, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Richard Koh Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Breakthrough Exhibition, The Gallery @ Starhill, Bazaar Art Jakarta 2016, Jakarta, Indonesia KL PAC and Dasein Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia B-Movie, J: Gallery, Shanghai, China Young Malaysian Artists - New Object(ion), Art Central Hong Kong 2016, Hong Kong Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Art Stage 2016, Singapore Artriangle 3, National Art Gallery, 2015 Eyeball Massage, Fingers Exercise, Fergana Artspace, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia NKOTB, Threesixty Art Development Studio, Synthesis, The Art Center, Chulalongkorn University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Bangkok, Thailand 2007 Art +- 1000, Valentine Willie Fine Art, I am Ten, Richard Koh Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Art Stage 2015, Singapore 2005 Foundation Triennial, Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence, USA Malaysian Art, A New Perspective, Richard Koh Fine Art, Singapore

Malaysian Art, A New Perspective, Richard Koh Fine Art, Public Collection Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2014 Art Taipei 2014, Taipei, Taiwan Corporate collection, Singapore KIAF/14 (Korea International Art Fair), Seoul, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore South Korea

Arts Kuala Lumpur – Melbourne , Space@Collins Street, Melbourne, Australia 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 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 @ [email protected]

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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.

All images courtesy of Richard Koh Fine Art and the artist, Haffendi Anuar

This catalog is published to accompany a solo exhibition by Haffendi Anuar titledMigratory Objects at Volta NY, Booth A11, PIER 90, West 50th Street at 12th Avenue, New York, USA, from 1 - 5 March 2017.