Maybank is currently hosting its fifth Women Artists Exhibition series entitled ‘RRRAWRRR!!! 2022: ARUS – Maybank’s Southeast Asian Emerging Women Artists Exhibition’.
RRRAWRRR!!! 2022 is a three-part series to showcase diverse contemporary artworks of women artists from South East Asia with ARUS being the first in the trilogy. It is also the third Maybank Women Artists Exhibition series to be showcased in a virtual gallery space following the launch of the Maybank Virtual Art Gallery @ Balai Seni, in 2020.
Visitors to the ARUS exhibition will be immersed in a tranquil ambience and serenaded by calm music as they experience 29 unique artworks by 13 talented women artists from Southeast Asia, who are well-versed in various mediums. These include paint, pen & ink on tracing paper, digital photography & sound composition, silver gelatin prints on matte fibre-based paper, video, color and sound, collage in Ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence (UVIVF), mixed media on canvas, ink and acrylic on paper and wood, installations (variable dimensions), ink on paper & Augmented Reality and wood print on paper.
The artworks focus on subject matters that showcases the intimate emotions and experiences of the participating women artists living in their respective countries and communities. It also provides a captivating contemporary artistic experience, showcasing the unrestricted creativity of women artists and offers an in-depth passage to the frontier of South East Asia’s undiscovered art talents.
The ARUS exhibition is a continuation of Maybank’s commitment in celebrating diversity, as well as the social, economic, cultural and political advancements of women and the interpretation of fine arts through the lens of women artists.
Chief Sustainability Officer Maybank, Shahril Azuar Jimin said “Arus which means currents, movements, flow and circulation, captures two layers of interpretation. Arus implies both electrical currents and water currents. The former points to the virtual reality nature of this art exhibition; a show that exists inside computer servers across the world, while the latter water currents indicate the fluid territories of Southeast Asia. The meaning of this exhibition coincides positively with Maybank’s intention to promote inclusivity by connecting talented women artists of South East Asia under one roof and providing them the opportunity to showcase their talents within Maybank’s digital landscape.”
Shahril added that since the introduction of the Maybank’s women’s art exhibition in 2018, the Group had already introduced a number of international artists in its exhibitions. For ARUS, Maybank made a concerted effort to include a higher number of regional artists especially those from Sabah and Sarawak.
“The focus on Southeast Asia is both timely and exciting. It is a fast-developing region that is home to almost 9% of the world’s population. Southeast Asia being the ancient sites of many great civilizations in the past, is now poised for a renaissance. Their respective contemporary art practitioners, though separated by geography and nationality, are shaped and informed by shared cultural heritages as well as common modern values. We are pleased to be able to highlight and celebrate these artists as part of our commitment to regional unity and diversity as well as the promotion of the arts in general.”
The participating artists for the ARUS exhibition are Catriona Maddocks (Sarawak), Memeto Jack (Sabah), Mira Hector (Sabah), Venice Foo (Sabah), Wendy Teo (Sarawak), Maziyah Yussof (Brunei), Nazurah Usop (Brunei), Susanah Sitai Liew (Brunei), Ila (Singapore), Ng Hui Shein (Singapore), Mira Rizki Kurnia (Indonesia), Issay Rodriguez (Philippines) and Pauline Despi (Philippines).
The exhibition is curated by well-known curator, Suzy Sulaiman, who has vast experience in the local and regional art scene and she is assisted by co-curators Sonia Luhong Wan and Harold Egn Eswar.
Nazurah Usop, a participating visual artist of the exhibition said “It is a privilege to be part of this exhibition alongside other amazing artists within ASEAN countries. It’s a great step to having not only myself but these wonderful artists as well to be heard and to be able to share our voices through what we do best which is, the wonders of art.”
Catriona Maddocks, one of the participating artist of the exhibition said “I’m thankful to the curators and Maybank for inviting me to exhibit my work alongside such a diverse array of artists and to see all of our creative voices together in this digital space. As a British artist based in Sarawak since 2009, it’s exciting to share the space with so many East Malaysians and I look forward to see what conversations and connections may happen in the future.”
Some of the artworks on display are up for sale with 10% to 20% of the proceeds to be channeled to various charitable organisations.
Visitors who wish to experience the ‘RRRAWRRR!!! 2022: ARUS – Maybank’s Southeast Asian Emerging Women Artists Exhibition’ as well as other virtual exhibitions at the Virtual Art Gallery @ Balai Seni Maybank can do so at https://maybankfoundation.com/index.php/media-center/virtual-exhibition
Balai Seni Maybank has been actively hosting Malaysian and international artists since its establishment in the 1980s. Some of the biggest names in the local art scene today have, in the past, exhibited their artworks at Balai Seni Maybank, which continues to support the new generation of visual arts practitioners.
