Jendela KL under the auspice  of Faisol Abdullah  CEO and designer, has brought a group of talented artist who are also couples to showcase their ideas of a living space products. The idea was to create prototypes of artistic and yet functional products. In looking at the metaphorical power of  thematic works to cultivate an appreciation for the art of living ,The LIVING ROOM exhibition was created.  It was launched last Tuesday 31st March  at the The Annexe Gallery.

The idea was first brought to The Annexe’s Pang Kee Teik by Faisol Abdullah to get together some artists to do a group exhibition of  living space products. Pang took it a step further by suggesting getting couples who are also artistically involved if not before, then definitely to take up the challenge in  this particular exhibition. The exhibition will be to show “their singularity in the duality  of their lives’ as told by the Sophie, public relations officer for Jendela KL .

Right : Faisol Abdullah speaking to Datuk Liew Vui Keong and other guests

True enough each couple had a story to tell about their artistic journey. They have fought , laughed and loved to get to the results on show at The LIVING ROOM.  Each art piece tells of  the balance that each couple had have to strike in order to arrive at the end result. This is the essence of the exhibition , about striking  a balance  and not just in art and functionality ; it is also  relationship and work; ideas versus ego; creativity versus short cut and most importantly  love and  war at the end of it. The exhibiting artists are Azliza Ayob and Kojek; Ili Farhana and Bebe; Johanna Varghese and Simon Keogh ; LisaFoo and Fabian Tan; Tsuji Lam and Yeoh Lian Heng;Wong Min Lik and Wong Eng Leong.

It is heartwarming to see that most of the couples work ultimately began and end with love in this exhibition. Each idea painstakingly conceived , crafted, molded and made. For instance, for couple Wong Min Lik and Wong Eng Leong (oil painter and installation artist), they struggled with the idea of finding a common medium of what to produce and in the end, decided on using Min Lik’s Udumbara flower symbol which she paints in oil  as the basis of their work. They decided on bean bags to form the face of the flower because they are soft cuddly and encourages interaction. It took three months from learning where to get materials and experimenting to  painstaking sewing  the whole range.The journey was tough but they pulled through together.

As for couple  Azliza Ayob and Kojek, a contemporary sculptor and a painter, their young family and its needs is the inspiration. With four  kids  in tow, it is not surprising individual  space is a major consideration. So they came up with a giant  play house,  in pink, dedicated to their eldest daughter complete with throw pillows and a comforter ,bringing out the child in all who beholds it and yet capturing the adult need of a perfect individual space. They stencilled on  mushroom  motifs  on the wall of this “living space” as an extension of their last exhibition at the Balai Seni Lukis Negara last year . Then , they had  made an installation of small  life size  mushrooms way up to the ceiling and entitled it it “Tumpang” or parasite.  And they did that as  a double entendre critique if you will, ambiguously directed at the Balai ’s endeavours and also as an artist depending on the Balai.

Next we spoke to  artists, TsujiLam and Yeoh Lian Heng  , a graphic designer and printer individually and together they both run Lost Generation Space.  They are seasoned event organizers for art exhibition and talks  , yes they work together and yes, they fight a lot about ideas. But like most true to themselves and true to  ideas people,  they can put aside the egos , agree to disagree and put their emotions  aside for the greater good or better idea.

So , they settled on the idea a metal sculpture. They have never done it before but the more they did it , the more they fell in love with it and they did not just come up with one centerpiece , the experimental wrought iron table for indoors or outdoors but many smaller wall pieces as well. They also  lovingly hung a bulb in front of the art piece so that the reflection of the unconventional patterns naively rendered  in bubbles and lines like a planetary constellation of flowers, stems and leaves will also be adornment to the wall.

For architect couple , Johanna Varghese and Simon Keogh, their boat shaped table is an absolute stunner, putting their best hand forward , the  construction looked simple enough . But delve a little deeper and if you will peep through the hole at the end of the table, you will see  their architectural skills come to fore.  Looking through this peephole , you will see that the boat is not one sided but it comes full circle. Perhaps that is what most relationships are about.

Then, there is the Curtain Wall by FOTA Design architects, Fabian Tan and  Lisa Foo. Painstaking folded like giant origami sculptures, it is breathkaking in its simplicity and complexity at the same  time. It is truly a labor of love of hand folded linen paper. Measuring almost 6 feet by 10 feet length , it is breathtakingly daring.  Transforming  not just the paper’s mundane  usage but also its appearance, it is definitely taking the meaning of  art and functionality to a different level. This accordion like art piece , intended as an “interactive sculptural piece” ,which ‘ invites “creative manipulation  of its freeform and shape according to the inhabitants’ imagination”. They will take out the mundaneness in your life and fully intended to demonstrate the proof of life because each piece can be sculpted and change shape or form according to the desirable expression  of one’s home according to Lisa Foo.

They can’t help it, one is an architect who loves to dress up corners and the other likes to light up the world with plastic bottles and environmental consciousness.

And so the LIVING SPACE ,an experimental project by Jendela KL to identify possible commercialism of these amazing prototypes ,  hopefully won’t just  successfully tittilate everyone’s imagination on possibilities in their own space but  may just make themselves available to the market as well under Jendela Living’s patronage and guidance.

It is opened to the public from 27th march to 7th april 2009 .

Possible related posts...

• Video: The RM100million “Nightingale of KL” revealed!
• The MTV Movie Awards 2009
• The Light Show 09
• Be Green Shopper!
• Shops that ship internationally - Little Odd Forest