AHMAD FUAD OSMAN: Ahmad Fuad Osman’s oeuvre, broadly speaking, is characterized by experimentation and clear willingness to embrace flux. Since his first public gallery exhibition in July 1993, Fuad has spent the last 14 years experimenting with a wide range of art form-ranging from painting to performance art and theatre-and has since evolved into a perceptive and philosophical artist, attuned to issues and events within the Malaysia context and beyond, yet unafraid to contest them. Although well-know now for figurative work, Fuad started out as an abstract artist. With a rich Malaysia art tradition of abstraction to draw from, Fuad’s early interest is no surprise. The artist cites Latiff Mohidin and Ibrahim Hussein as early local influences; he was also taken by the works of Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee. For MATAHATI’s first group show in 1993, Fuad’s confident in his technique was evident in his expressionist paintings, which used an extensive colour palette. Works like ‘Seashells In The Blue Park’ and ‘Midnight Song’ derived motifs from nature in rich, bold organic shape in shades of blue and crimson. Yet, even at this early stage, Fuad’s interest in issues of the day surfaced obliquely, in works like ‘Scarecrow In KL’ and ‘Cockfighting’ – both of which simultaneously reference his childhood (crows in his kampung and cock fights) but also current socio-political problems (long-haired youths hanging around shopping malls, and political maneuvering and scheming in the government). The confluence and competing realities of past and present, rural and urban, naturalistic and materialistic worlds would continue to haunt his works and lend them their simmering angst. Having graduated from University Technology Mara (UiTM) and relocated to Kuala Lumpur in the 1990s, Fuad began toimmerse himself in an urban world, a far cry from his younger kampung days in the rural, small town of Baling, Kedah. In many ways, much of Fuad’s work captures hisobservations and responses to these twin locales as well as grapples with artistic and social infusions derived from his interactions with people he met in the vicinity of the Klang valley. Fuad’s “Lost” series and pieces like ‘State Of Confusion’ (1993) and ‘Identity Crisis’ (1994) are potent indices of the angst of an urban life – moral confusion, personal and romantic relationship that waxed and waned, erosion of essentialist assumptions about religious and ethinic identities. Eking out a modest living as an artist with sporadic teaching gigs at local art educational institutions gave Fuad much needed room to reflect and philosophize about his physical, mental and moral condition as well as that of his cohorts, many of whom were fine art graduates and struggling artists. Fuad’s membership in MATAHATI provided communal identification and collective support but like most Malaysian artists of his generation, the individualist impulse was ever present. 1994 saw the beginnings of a strong figurative thread in Fuad’s work. The artist attributes his figurative turn to a desire for more efficacious communication between him and his audience, many of whom had remarked on the obscurantism of Fuad’s abstract pieces. Thus, anthropomorphic shape led to increasing well-defined human form; the desire to make sense and the need for some measure of understanding intensified the artist’s departure from abstraction. Fuad cites 1980s German Expressionism and figurative expressionists as enduring influences after 1995. Although he admits to a fondness for abstract work and he still cherishes his early abstract expressionist paintings, Fuad no longer sees abstract art as urgent or important for his own artistic progression. Evidence of the growth and full-flowering of Fuad’s turn to the figure is most easily found in his “Lost” series. In ‘The Drowning’ – which are three different paintings but all with the same title – human figures start out as an undifferentiated mass of faceless and hairless, interlocking bodies (Lost #9). Subsequently, in the smaller 1995 ‘The Drowning 2’, faces and nude torsos are clearly visible and well-defined in an almost orgiastic quintet. Finally, in ‘The Droning 3’, the male nude form is unabashedly resplendent in bronze tones. Although none are full frontal nudes, all nine bodies are well-defined, their rib cages and musculature pronounced, though their feces are vacant of emotion. Although sensuous, the work is devoid of libidinal energy for the artist is careful never to unleash the latent homoeroticism in the work. In a context where nudes are seldom represented, Fuad’s exploration of the male nude indicates his willingness to push the limits of what is acceptable for a Malaysia art audience. In 2002, Fuad resurrected the male nude but this time with an academic and intellectual dimension. ‘Mr D’s Last Meal’ was an ambitious installation detailing the evolution of Homo sapiens in line with Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. The eleven large-than-life oil panels are impressive but the wall text hints at the artist’s critical take on Darwinian logic. Fuad’s central argument against Darwin is based on the latter’s stance against religion and his preference for a scientific theory of human evolution over a divine one. Two years later, the male nude re-emerged in paintings created during Fuad’s residency in Vermont, USA. Although not a self-portrait, the figure in this series clearly references the artists: a lone man blithely encountering a stark, wintry locale entirely in the buff. The male figure is more naked than nude for his unclothed state is neither aestheticized nor idealized. A stranger in a foreign locale, Fuad himself as unused to the harsh, wintry climate; this alien-ness is well-represented by the naked male body, depicted standing and lying forlornly in barren, white surroundings. Yet, despite the obvious vulnerability in works like ‘Gazing At The Sun’, ‘Imitating The Woods’ and ‘Imitating The Mountain’ the naked body also signals an openness, a willingness to shrug off prior affiliations and identities so as to embrace the new environment. Fuad has come full circle in these recent nude male paintings. The angst and anxieties reflected in his early paintings have given way to a resplendent quietness. The ‘lost’ male figure writing in search of something obscure and opaque now finds himself physically calm, a willing observer of his surroundings who partaken in their novelty. Interestingly, if the male nudes of Fuad’s earlier works seem to be entangled and enmeshed with one another, in the Vermont series, the male nude figure is alone, far from human confusion and chaos. It appears that Fuad’s male figure finds its most confident and serene expression of self in solitude and contemplation, nestled within nature rather than apart from it. Fuad has never shied away from weighty and philosophical issues-abstract ideas like time, the impermanence of life, identity and spirituality infuse his works. Yet, he is also well aware of the need to root himself in a concrete reality. In an interview early in his career, Fuad proffered his personal view of an artist’s role in society: “The artist must reflect deeply and confront the viewer who may not otherwise have tackled these issues or ideas. Art is about self-inspection and demands commitment and honesty to what is expressed.” The issues and ideas that the artist speaks of refer to contemporary problems of his socio-political milieu, both local and international. Constructed for an Artis Pro Active (APA)1 exhibition, Fuad’s installation, ‘Malay(sian) Dilemma’ is an immediate response to the events of 1998 – the reformasi movement, Anwar Ibrahim’s arrest and imprisonment, and general social unrest. Devoid of human figures, this installation uses words,Malay proverbs, objects and artifacts to reference the case against Malaysia’s former Deputy Prime Minister: a white bed (which brings to mind the mattress hauled to court as evidence during Anwar’s trial). White gloves (a necessity for the forensic unit), a white ladder stained black (the proverbial ladder of success) and saying like “musuh dalam selimut” and “duri dalan daging”. Fuad’s series of large-than-life self-portraits is a further extension of the ideas explored in ‘Malay(sian) Dilemma’ but this time on a personal register. Fuad uses his facial expressions and hands to recreate the familiar image of ‘see no evil, speak no evil and hear no evil’ in his paintings. Works like ‘Hoi hoi… Apa ni??’ and ‘Syhh…!’ have purposefully long titles that capture the mood of that historical moment as well as Fuad’s own confusion about who and believe. The country was marked by increasing polarization among the people: those who bought the views of the ruling government regarding Anwar Ibrahim’s arrest and those who did not. Created in 1999, the paintings reveal the extent to which Fuad was deeply affected by his socio-political climate. In ‘An Eye For An Eye Will Make The Whole World Go Blind’ 2003) Fuad responds with unusually sharp wit and irony to current event on an international register: the post-9/11 war on terror, Palestine-Israel negotiations and Western media bias. In this work, Fuad experiments with digital prints for the first time; he also shows off his dexterity with the English language and his penchant for poking fun through puns and double entendres. The work also highlights Fuad’s interest in socio-political concerns beyond the Malaysian context. A few years later, during his year-long residency in Korea, Fuad created a potent political collage, ‘S(e)oul Searching’ (2005-2006), which is a Xerox transfer of photographs depicting Korea’s tumultuous history of student protests, state violence and active political engagement and repression. As an artist, Fuad spends copious hour alone, doodling, drawing and writing in his sketchbooks. Some of his works have been inspired by the daily news and image culled from the media; in his most recent exhibition at Rimbun Dahan 2008, Fuad’s inspiration is drawn from famous photos from Malaysia’s Merdeka history, which he manipulates digitally with humorous effects. Fuad’s keen appetitie for books and written information has nurtured his tendency to use texts in installations and multi-media works and his recent video art pieces draw from his interest in films that reject the Hollywood mould; he cites Abbas Kiarostami, Andrei Tarkovsky, Wim Wenders, Yasujiro Ozu, Lars Von Trier and Matthew Barney as some of his favourite filmmakers. Despite his many influences, Fuad’s work in theatre and performance art has, however, played a considerably more significant role in his art practice. Since the early 1990s, Fuad has worked on film and theatre set for local and foreign productions; he has also collaborated with actors and directors both young and old (Namron, Arifwaran, and Krishen Jit, to name a few) on drama productions. Occasionally, Fuad even takes to the stage and performs (SUPERPTUIH! and Bangau O Bangau, most notably), easily shedding off his visual artist mantle to take on a physically demanding role. In many ways, Fuad’s work in theatre and film satisfies his need to engage artistically with others. His interdisciplinarity reveals a performing streak but it also signals Fuad’s desire to expand the way he views artistic and how he relates with his audience. Performances at alternative public space and non-commercial spaces, such as ‘Art(is)t…’ (2005) and ‘Experiments InTruth’ (1997) in Kuala Lumpur, and ‘Hair Piece/Peace’ (2004) in Vermont and ‘Some(one)’ (2006) in Seoul, underscore Fuad’s versatility and openness as an artist, as well as his desire to experiment with different media and creative content. Fuad’s interest in installations and site specific work can be linked t his experiences as a performer. The navigation of space and interactivity are key element in any performance; these elements are central to three-dimensional art works as well. Fuad’s ‘Apart Yet A Part’ (1999) is a hauntingly beautiful example of the fusion of spatial and interactive elements. The artist first writes a letter, which he distributes widely, requesting responses to his questions about life after death; he then constructs paper boats from the written responses. Variously positioned and illuminated, the boats resemble paper offering during the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival and symbolize the journey after death. Fuad’s painting have also enjoyed infusions of his interdisciplinarity. Over the years, Fuad has exhibited a penchant for large paintings. He attributes this physical sense of immersion in the artwork during the painting process. Small paintings give him a sense of distance from the thereby surrendering wholly to the capaciousness of his creation. Such self-consciousness is a natural extension of spatial preoccupations when performing. Fuad’s Korean residency is marked by paintings that exhibit a profound awareness of theatricality. Both ‘Fatamorgana #2’ is highly theatrical, with squared arms, a mask-like face and a hauntingly distorted expression reflected in a pool of water; in ‘Fatamorgana #3’, the four adults could well be models in a Gap or Levi’s commercial, with their stylish clothes, perfect cheekbones and exaggerated, interlocking poses. Both works are semiotically rich but it is their visuality that impresses. The paintings are akin to theatre poses of film stills, with their polished, slick veneer and picture-perfect compositions. Despite his multi-media experimentation and interdisciplinary impulse, Fuad has not relinquished his love for painting; yet, he recognizes that new directions in his work are enriched by crossing over into artistic arenas not typically ventured by visual artist. Fuad is ever willing to push the boundaries of expressivity because his need to access multiple points of creative engagement, his desire to constantly challenge himself artistically and ultimately, his wish to not remain static or one-dimensional are paramount in his pratice.
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