"WET SERIES" A Tribute to the Pink Lady a solo exhibition by RAJA AZHAR IDRIS is nearly sold out!
Success is never easy. However, with perseverance, patience, belief and the ability to overcome adversity (despite the odds), will undoubtedly ensure a positive result. Raja Azhar’s success as a full-time artist is testimony to these attributes which have irrevocably defined and enhanced his chosen career.
During the 70’s with no formal training, Raja Azhar’s works emulated the general trend of his Malaysian contemporaries. His batik designs and landscape works were generally well-received, the sales of which enabled him to accumulate sufficient funds in order to pursue his fervent dream - a Degree in Fine Art. After two exasperating attempts at enrolment with the Victorian College of the Arts backfired miserably, Raja Azhar was finally accepted by this prestigious and renowned academy. He was a diligent and gifted student who eagerly indulged his passion and daringly dabbled in a variety of media and styles. Gone were the days of producing only batiks and landscapes. His works, influenced by the many changes and positive experiences in his lifestyle, began to exude an underlying sensuality and they inevitably underwent a complete transformation. Thus, in 1980, he began formulating ideas for his impressionism with movement series.
The glass façade of the National Gallery of Victoria was a familiar sight to Raja Azhar as it shared a common entrance with his Alma Mater. The distortion and movement created by a flowing sheath of water across the gallery’s glass façade (“National Gallery of Victoria – Home of the Weeping Woman” and “Family Visit – National Gallery of Victoria ”) fascinated him. The images created an everlasting impression on Raja Azhar and fueled his desire towards creating his first ground-breaking piece (The Touch”). This award winning work was the very first of his Impressionism with Movement series. Raja Azhar’s enthusiastic approach to his newly discovered style resulted in him coveting the first prize in the renowned St. Kilda Acquisitive Art Competition. His success continued with further awards being granted in 1981. Raja Azhar was nominated as the “Artist of the Year” by the illustrious Victorian Artists’ Society as well as being the recipient of the acclaimed Lord Mayor’s Art Award. He continued to express himself through a series of successful exhibitions depicting images and objects manipulated by the distortion and movement of water.
Emulating his contemporaries, Raja Azhar’s choice of medium had always been canvas. But, in 1998, after a thought-provoking visit to the Venice Biennale, he was inspired to switch to the intricate medium of glass. Always keen to increase his knowledge, he pursued further studies and over the next five years, he attended workshops in the designated area of glass art in Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide respectively. The distortion and movement of water still continued to peek his interest. He replicated his unique technique (impressionism with movement) through the creation of textural, fused and slumped glass works. Since 1998, Raja Azhar has managed to produce an eclectic selection of installation works and sculpture pieces (“Cascade”). This piece combines the medium of wood, glass and metal representing the elements of harmony, fragility and strength. The formation of water can be seen throughout the work while the glass medium creates an effective movement due the techniques of slumping and fusing.
However, in this current collection of works, Raja Azhar has reverted to his original medium (canvas). The collection is attributed to the exploits of the defunct Bas Mini or “Pink Lady” (“Downpour – Jalan Pahang” and “Behind the Pink Lady”) as it was fondly referred to. “Downpour – Jalan Pahang” captures the image of a flood prone area in the city from which vehicles and commuters struggle to escape while some become stranded. “Behind the Pink Lady” is a nostalgic reminder of the “vespa” as it cruises in the rain. “Pedestrian Crossing – Jalan Pahang” depicts the determination of a pedestrian as he battles his way through a heavy downpour. “Rush Hour – Jalan Tun Razak” captures a group of defiant motorcyclists as they wait impatiently at an intersection even defying an oncoming car. Commuters (“All Aboard!”) scramble to alight the mini bus during a sudden downpour while school girls (“Cyclists”) seem to enjoy their ride home despite the rain.
The predominantly black and white works (“Deluge” and ‘Walking in the Rain”) in this new collection bear a similar resemblance to the popular black and white photography process employed during the 50’s. Close-ups (“Water Abstraction and “Formation”) or images (“The Twin Towers ” and “The Red Umbrella”) are skillfully highlighted with a dash of colour which contrasts starkly against a primarily black and white background. Raja Azhar has reinvented this skilful process in his black and white collection.
Raja Azhar’s current collection is an artist’s observation and interpretation of the chaos and frenzy on a perilous rainy day made all the more risky through the daring feats of the notorious and defunct “Pink Lady”.
A Brief History of the “Bas Mini”/”Pink Lady”
The mini bus started operating on 23rd September 1975 under the Ministry of Transportation. At that time, the mini bus operated on various routes according to their individual colours (blue- white, yellow-white, red-white, purple-white and dark green-white). The mini bus was responsible for servicing nearly sixty different routes! Three major companies (Syarikat Kerjasama Pengaman (M) Bhd, Bas Mini Wilayah and Konsortium Pengusaha Bas Mini Sdn Bhd) monopolized the various bus routes while smaller operators were allowed to service certain areas only.
In 1975, when the mini bus was introduced as a service, the bus-fare was just 0.40cents. Later in 1991, the fare was increased to 0.50cents while two years after, the fare was again adjusted to 0.60cents. The mini bus did not have any fixed time-table. Instead, the service operated on a commission basis whereby the operators were paid according to the number of trips and fare collection they could raise in one day. Sometimes, in order to outdo a competitor, a driver would detour from the designated route much to the annoyance of the passengers.
In 1990, the then Deputy Minister of Transport, Datuk Paduka Rahmah Osman, standardized the colour of the mini bus to “Pink” and white. On the 1st April 1998, the services of the mini bus was terminated in the city of Kuala Lumpur . Once a notorious mode of transport for the many commuters in Kuala Lumpur, the “Pink Lady” will always be remembered for its’ death-defying activities on public roads.
Written by
SHAHIMAH IDRIS
