HOL (Higher Order Love), Chapter 1: The Fall
By Hasanul Isyraf Idris 9 – 23 April 2016 at
2F-3, Level 2
Bangsar Village II
Jalan Telawi 1, Bangsar Baru 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Richard Koh Fine Art (RKFA) is pleased to present HOL (Higher Order Love), Chapter 1: The Fall by Hasanul Isyraf Idris at Richard Koh Fine Art, Lot No. 2F-3, Bangsar Village II, Jalan Telawi 1, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 9 – 23 April 2016. The exhibition will be the artist’s third solo exhibition with the gallery, and brings together 21 intricate new works on paper ranging from intimate sketches using ink to complex large-scale mixed media drawings. The opening reception will be held on 9th of April (Saturday) from 6 – 9pm.
Presenting the first chapter of HOL through a body of drawings, the artist stumbled upon the word by coincidence which was etched on an ancient marble in a Jewish burial site in Penang, Malaysia and which he personally interpreted the word as an acronym for “Higher Order Love”. The interpretation is also inspired by the Google search result, Higher Order Logic which references a complex high-level mathematical theory.
HOL to the artist means eternal love or unconditional love, is manifested into a ever growing and mutating world fed by memories and sensations of the real-world. Memories as interpreted by the artist, evolve and mutate and eventually transforms into a cerebral wilderness similar to a permanent forest reserve. Much like his previous bodies of work, the universe of HOL is informed by Hasanul’s personal experience, life events and rites of passages. The physical manifestation of the universe is divided into chapters that displays episodes of memories and snippets of the artist’s life, conjuring complex scenes and wondrous landscapes populated by raging wild animals, strange characters in quarantine suits, a lake of seeds and places of worship. Real-world and fiction are woven on paper through precise and intricate drawn lines and luscious color swatches.
HOL, Chapter 1: The Fall , the first chapter of the series presents scenarios that range from the experience of falling off a bike to the sensations of falling in love for the first time. They include moments of bliss and periods of gloom and signify how the artist sees life as, a precious collection of memories and physical sensations to be cherished that simultaneously reminds us that we exist on earth.
Hasanul Isyraf Idris (b. 1978, Perak, Malaysia) was trained at Mara a number of awards, including the Young Contemporary Arts Award in 2007 at the National Visual Arts University of Technology, UiTM, in Perak. He has received Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, the Incentive Award at the Open Show held at the Shah Alam Gallery and the Consolation Prize for the Young Talent Art Exhibition at the Penang Art Gallery. A highly elusive artist, Hasanul shuns attending openings and attempts to work anonymously in the art scene.
Hasanul Isyraf Idris produces works in a variety of media, from paintings and meticulously crafted drawings to painted oven-baked clay sculptures. Mining inspiration from within, he articulates his personal struggles as an artist by personifying them as strange characters that inhabit his invented universes. Influenced by the graphics of underground comic books, 1960s science fiction, fast food, street art and fashion, he juggles pop culture references with a personal viewpoint. Recurring topics in his practice are the meaning of life and death, memories and fantasies and sin and reward.
