Awas Mawas: A Community Puppetry Project

Last year, I met a very inspiring sculptor and a great gentleman artist, whom I now call my good friend, William Koong. He was interested in indigenous folklore, especially from the Temuan and Mah Meri people of Malaysia. We sat in a café discussing my knowledge of Temuan folklore that I could remember. He had come all the way from Klang to meet me and was planning a project focused solely on the stories of indigenous people from the past to the present.

So, he was particularly interested in the story of Mawas, a mythical creature featured in many Malaysian folklores. As the name suggests, many communities have their own version of Mawas in their stories, which made it very intriguing to explore, according to William. Let me explain the meaning of Mawas: it is a creature that has no gender, whether man or woman, and possesses quite mystical powers beyond human understanding. That's the starting point. Another feature of Mawas is that it lives in the forests of Malaysia. Many Orang Asli hold a deep respect for Mawas and prefer not to mention its name when entering the forest, as doing so is believed to lead to a bad jungle trip.

After all the research he had done, the name Awas Mawas is a play on the Malay word "Awas," which means caution. So it is like “caution! Awas is here!”. He came up with the proposal for the national grant to run a puppetry arts project focusing on the indigenous folklore, past and present. So he, with the collective of artists, puppeteers, and theatre director, went to stay in the indigenous village in order to run the puppetry workshop with the community.

The final part of project was organised the puppets parade in the community as well as in the Kuala Lumpur city during the "Harmonny Walk". So the puppets parade start at the Kampung Orang Asli Pulau Bumbun, Selangor first and then the second parade was held at village Kampung Orang Asli Pulau Kempas. The puppets parade was ended with performance by the children who participate in the making of the puppets itself. It was very memmoriable event for the both of the indigenous communities who been invloved in this project. The parformance was based losely on the indigenous folklore but using the contemporary issues as the storyline. The joy i can see on the faces of the community was so beautiful and precious. Its not just the performance but many of these indigenous folklore never been turn into 3D puppets before as many of community in Malaysia practice oral story telling rather than written ones. It wasn't just for entertainment but it is social critical performances and it empowering the indigenous community through active participatory performance arts.

A wall installation work for Kenduri Seni Art Festival at Pattani, Thailand 2024.

"Defragmentation", acrylic, maker pens on pandanus, 2024
 

In August last year, my artwork was selected to be exhibited at the Kenduri Seni Art Festival at Pattani, Thailand. The piece was made from the pandanus weavings and these weaving was woven by the master in my village. Pandanus weaving is very synonymous with the life of indigenous people in Malaysia. The plant itself grows wildly in the peatland forest, not far from the village. 

The installation features around 19 small weavings, a number that holds great significance as it corresponds to the names of indigenous languages found in the Malaysian peninsula. This wall installation examines maps related to the indigenous peoples' customary land rights, which remain inadequately acknowledged by the Malaysian government.

Selected to be as one of Artivist-in-Residence and Speak at COP28, Dubai!

Last year was the busiest year in my art and activism career. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an invitation to collaborate with talented artists from around the world for the global climate change conference, COP28, in Dubai. The Artivist Network has been one of the leading organizations working to mobilize actions for this important event.

Simultaneously, I received an invitation to present my paper on art and culture's role in climate mitigation.

Sharing sessions at Malaysian's pavilion, Dubai

Speaking about the situations in global south in the indigenous actions during the COP28, Dubai

As an artivist (artist and activist) for COP28, I was tasked with creating various works, including posters, banners, placards, props, and other related materials for the events throughout the two weeks of COP28 in Dubai. This was a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with fellow artists from different parts of the world.

Completed a big mural on ship containers!

Please click on the image above to watch the video on how I did this massive mural project at Mah Meri Craft Centre in Pulau Carey, Selangor, Malaysia. 

 

Malaysiaku group exhibition at Balai Seni Maybank Tower, Kuala Lumpur

 I felt so blessed to be selected for this group exhibition at one of the oldest art galleries in Malaysia. Balai Seni Maybank was the gallery that every artist wanted to exhibit in Malaysia. 

Cultural Wisdom for Climate Action Conference, Bangkok, Thailand

 Earlier this year last January the Siam Society invited me to present my paper on Indigenous Art and Wisdom on Climate mitigation at the Cultural Wisdom for Climate Action Conference, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Such an honour to have this opportunity to speak about my art and the role of indigenous in climate mitigation. I know how small the population of indigenous in the world but our cultural wisdom already saved many forests and biodiversities within from being destroyed in the name of development. 

Working on a Commission Painting!

 Here is my new commission painting. I don't often do commissions unless some special project. Here you can watch step by step how I painted a new painting. 

Click on the video to play. Please don't forget to subscribe to my youtube channel. Enjoy!