randian | 燃点

Richard Koh Fine Art (RKFA) is pleased to announce an exhibition by Malaysian artist Hasanul Isyraf Idris entitled HOL (Higher Order Love) Chapter 3, Scab: Lucky Draw, scheduled to run from 12 October – 2 November 2018 at Richard Koh Fine Art, 229, Jalan Maarof, Bukit Bandaraya, Bangsar 59100, Kuala Lumpur. This exhibition is the third chapter of the artist’s Higher Order Love series which began in 2016 and will present large format mixed media drawings on paper, accompanied by unique aluminium sculptures and video animation in which the artist is presenting for the first time. The Opening Reception will take place on Friday, 12 October, from 5 – 8pm.

Read as a manifesto of eternal and unconditional love to the three alphabets he had stumbled upon in a Jewish burial site in Penang, Malaysia, Hasanul ascribed meaning to the acronyms of a complex high-level mathematical theory to read as “Higher Order Love” within his practice, taking place in a universe where first-hand memories and real-world experiences are rendered into one that straddles both. The series began 2 years ago and is divided into chapters to uncover a universe which renders memories and snippets of the artist’s life into visual interpretations through various elements in the drawing.

Continuing his autobiographical narration, Chapter 3, Scab: Lucky Draw continues in the same vein of utilizing formal properties of drawing to recreate a subconscious sense of enclosure and nostalgia that surfaces in the event of mourning, estrangement, or internal conflict. Hasanul continues his excavation through fond memories of his mother, while trying to depict a representation of both what he remembered, witness and felt in the past against the knowledge of the reality that he holds today.

Expanding on his earlier format, his latest artworks record scenarios deemed bittersweet. Through a familiar yet somewhat bizarre use of image fragments referencing dated pop culture from his childhood, Hasanul combines and distorts slogans to accentuate an incohesion. He questions, through the ruse of his works, the apparently irreconcilable conflict between function and value, craft and technology, high and low culture through the exploration of his deepest memories and physical sensations – precious moments that simultaneously reminds and reaffirms us of our existence on earth.