Shaq Koyok raised the story of Orang Asli in artwork

KUALA LUMPUR: Stepping into Shahar Koyok’s private studio, a portrait painting of a Temuan Orang Asli woman who smiles steals the writer’s attention.

Dressed in simple clothes and wearing a traditional sash, the woman seemed to welcome the arrival of the writer to Shahar’s friendly studio called Shaq Koyok which is located in an apartment in Jalan Pahang, Kuala Lumpur, opposite the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL).

Graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Technology Mara (UiTM), Shah Alam, Shaq, 37, is from the Orang Asli descent of the Temuan tribe, Kampung Pulau Kempas, Banting, Selangor.

The works that have been exhibited as well as his personal collection decorate every corner of the studio that started in 2015, and so far it has only been the gaze of his close friends.

“I am not alone in this studio because ‘they’ accompany me when sketching and painting a piece… sometimes inspiration strikes when I see ‘them’ around me,” Shaq told Bernama, opening up.

The ‘those’ in question are the ‘characters’ immortalized in his paintings, mostly from the Orang Asli community such as the Temuan Orang Asli woman.

PORTRAIT OF REAL PEOPLE

According to Shaq, 37, the work of the Orang Asli Temuan woman from Hulu Selangor that was exhibited took about two weeks to complete and is expected to be taken to an international exhibition in Italy next October.

“Not only that, but I will also exhibit some of my paintings produced on woven mengkuang mats, which can be said to be one of my main art careers,” he said.

Shaq’s interest in drawing began when he was exposed to art subjects when he was in elementary school.

“Since I was a child, I really liked to draw. When I was in high school I got encouragement from a teacher who saw my talent in drawing, especially in producing portraits.

“In fact, I used to get paid to paint portraits at school as a side income,” he said.

Sharing about his painting genre, Shaq prefers to paint portraits which are mostly his works, taking up the theme of friends in his hometown as well as unknown individuals when visiting the Orang Asli village.
“Many things play in my mind after visiting a place, especially the Orang Asli community who have the same fate as me after interacting with them.
“I want to share our story with the public, but I’m not good at words, so I express it in the form of drawings,” he said.
Shaq believes, being a ‘self-representing’ painter gives him the freedom to continue to highlight his chosen topic, which is Aboriginal portraiture.
According to Shaq, when painting, he would try to make each image of the individual he painted seem ‘alive’ and the image would remain ‘alive’ forever in his work.
“Even if the individual being painted dies, or becomes an adult, or becomes another person, the portrait and the story behind the portrait will remain the same,” he explained.

CHILDHOOD

Shaq said almost all the subjects in his work are more about depicting the identity and culture of the Orang Asli community in Malaysia, in addition to sharing the ‘pain’ and struggle that the race goes through.

As an Orang Asli child of Temuan, Shaq claims to often see how the ethnic minority is oppressed based on the stigma of the society that still thinks that the Orang Asli have not been educated since childhood.

In fact, his heart is touched every time he reads stories about bullying among Orang Asli school students, especially on social media.

“Just because of physical differences and darker skin color, there are Orang Asli students, including myself, who are often made fun of by schoolmates.

“They often make fun of us in class, like to call us various names such as ‘Jakun’, ‘Sakai’ and other strange names.

“Some even drop out of school because they can’t stand the taunts, because of that many Orang Asli children drop out of school,” he said, adding that some of them returned to continue their studies after several years of dropping out.

Shaq shared, when he was nine years old, he felt very scared and angry when he saw the forest in his hometown being destroyed for agricultural activities.

“I still remember, one time in 1994, almost every day I saw trucks carrying logs, the sound of saws and excavators. The forest where we sheltered and looked for food, was destroyed just like that.

“We are very furious and angry, even though they promised compensation, but it was just an empty promise, we don’t know who to complain to,” he said, adding that the matter became a fuel for him to ‘convey the voice of his heart’ in the form of a portrait painting.

Shaq added that among his works in 2015, he also used ash fragments from a large forest fire in Kuala Langat, to illustrate how painful the lives of the affected people around the area are.

KANGING MATS AT INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
Unlike other painters who usually use linen fabric as a canvas, Shaq’s uniqueness is more evident when mengkuang mats are chosen as a canvas to paint portraits of Aboriginal people.
According to him, mengkuang mats are usually used as bedspreads in most Orang Asli homes, and it also triggers memories of his childhood because his mother also weaves mengkuang mats herself.
“Although it is common to see, the art of weaving has been increasingly forgotten by the younger generation. Therefore, I dedicate my paintings on mengkuang mats to be able to introduce our traditional art to others,” he said.
Shaq added, painting the paint on the mangkuang mat is a very challenging job because it is difficult for the color to stick, as if ‘painting on a leaf’.
“After painting and painting, I have to protect it with a layer of shellac to beautify and keep the color from fading,” he said.
Shaq also shared his experience participating in an international exhibition in New Zealand in 2018 and his work using mengkuang mats is considered a very valuable work of art in that country.
“I take advantage of international exhibitions to introduce the culture of the Orang Asli community in Malaysia to visitors through my work.
“Most foreign visitors are very impressed by my struggle through my paintings to defend the rights of the Orang Asli and protect the environment, just like how the people of New Zealand defend the rights of their Orang Asli, the Maori people,” he said.

ORIGINAL PEOPLE EDUCATION

As an Orang Asli child, Shaq is happy that his work can inspire Orang Asli children to be proud of their identity.

However, the expression on his face looked a little disappointed when he touched on the acceptance of the whole society towards the Orang Asli people in this country.

“In our education system, we learn about the history of Malays, Chinese, Indians, and even ethnic tribes in Sabah and Sarawak are also introduced in our textbooks.

“However, the Orang Asli community, which has 18 tribes in Peninsular Malaysia, as well as in Sabah and Sarawak, is not even included in the textbooks… that is why the issue of discrimination arises because people do not understand our culture and way of life.

“Many people think we don’t get higher education when there are already many Orang Asli children who are successful in every field they venture into, and some even become university lecturers,” he said, who is also active in charity work and activists who fight for the rights of Orang Asli, especially in issues environment and uncontrolled development.

Shaq at the same time believes that education about the culture and history of the Orang Asli should start from a young age so that all races can recognize and respect each other.

“That’s why I often volunteer to paint a mural of Orang Asli portraits on the school walls so that I can inspire our children to be proud of their identity.

“I want to make them want to go to school. Many feel ashamed because they are looked down upon just because they are Orang Asli.
“I don’t want that. That’s why I always paint the Orang Asli in their traditional clothing on the mural, to represent our culture,” he said, adding that painting the mural at the school helped him connect with the students there so that it would be easier to ‘accept the school’ when faces they know posted on the school wall.

The method also, he said, gives Orang Asli children the opportunity to dare to mingle with friends, can expose them to various cultures and is able to create an atmosphere of multi-racial harmony at school.

source – BERNAMA / Soon Li Wei

-hipz.my