The work ‘Alir’ expresses the wishes of the people of Kelantan
Arja also made the After Monsoon exhibition a success by presenting his work ‘Alir’ which was presented in the form of a performance.
TUMPAT: Lecturer and actor Arja Lee voiced the wishes of the people of Kelantan through her artwork titled Flow .
According to Arja or real name Azharudin Ramli, 39, said that with the creation of the work, it brings a clear message from the people of Kelantan and is not aimed at pointing fingers at anyone.
“Actually, it was triggered when they heard their (people’s) expressions about what they wanted. What kind of help, and they wanted nothing more than help to speed up the embankment to prevent flooding in the state.
“That is the message I want to convey. It is clear here that it is the wish of the people of Kelantan for the dam to be built immediately. It is not just that I like to lie down using the cloth. It shows floods and so on.
“If I am an outsider trying to understand the people of this state, why can’t the people of Kelantan appreciate it themselves,” he said after the After Monsoon 01 exhibition featuring the collective works of six Malaysian contemporary artists here, on Saturday.
Sharing about the contemporary exhibition After Monsoon , Arja said that all of them produced works related to post-monsoon to give information and the same objective.
According to Arja, the work and the objective of the art to be conveyed are the same, only the discipline is different.
“Like I also use the Mak Yong element because performance art is synonymous with the Tumpat community in Kelantan. I am also a Mak Yong activist. I put all that together and the result is Alir .
“Some (produce works) in terms of animation , artwork , installation, but I am in terms of performance. Everyone knows, I am indeed active in performing arts and this is indeed my work. Under the Arja Arts Academy that I belong to, I produce a performance entitled flow with Tumpat’s son.
“They (Tumpat’s children) are zero about performing arts. They don’t even know what a monsoon is. They only know storms, big waves, rain and floods… they don’t know anything else but after this performance, we’ve seen it for two week, they can and dare to highlight their identity and recognize themselves from before,” he explained.
He added that most of those who came to this exhibition were from the community around the district. They also understand the implied meaning that they want to convey through this exhibition.
“I mean, the message I brought was successful. Through this message, Allah SWT has allowed it to flow. We can see that the message flows, so that’s why I chose the title ‘ Alir ‘. I want that spirit to flow to all parties. So if ‘people I see, the time has come to make a little change first and we can help our Kelantan people,” he said.
According to Arja again, he uses performance art through this exhibition because it is an element of entertainment.
Asked why he chose to make an exhibition in Tumpat district, according to Arja, it was to introduce Tumpat to the world.
“That is the desire of the director of the After Monsoon exhibition , (Azzaha Ibrahim) because he is a native of Tumpat. He is an independent researcher, an artist who has a high appreciation for art, especially art that involves Malayness. That is why Tumpat, Kelantan was chosen as the location for the exhibition. this is because it also involves the monsoon season,” he said.
Asked about his future plans, Arja said that during his three years in the state, he was involved in associations such as Kelantan Cakna Charity Club, Malaysian Craft Council and Yayasan Hasanah which made him a volunteer to help flood victims.
“Through the organization I joined , they also have a fund to help flood victims. I intend to create an organization to help people according to my capacity.
“People ask why I live in Kelantan. I say, when I migrated to Kelantan, I got all kinds of beauty. It’s not because Kuala Lumpur isn’t beautiful or anything, but the point is that this migration brought a lot of positive things. Here I feel like I know myself better own
“Through this Hasanah Foundation we can help not for me, but for the children of Kelantan. (Can) educate these children so that they are fresh. It needs to be educated from an early age so that they don’t forget art and culture… don’t forget their identity , religion, race and country,” he said.
