The Galeri Seni Johor (or Johor Art Gallery) has always been in my mind for so long. Every time I drove passing Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, I would never miss the glimpse of the gallery building. The curiosity grew on me for years, which have turned to a sort of pressure "I-must-go-and-see-this-time!" when I came back recently. Can you imagine, for years? Gila ke hapa. Sebelum aku 'meletup', baik aku pergi tengok kan.
I always wonder if this gallery has visitors. "Ada ke orang datang sini?" I asked myself. The gallery looks kinda 'lonely' from outside. But well, I finally came to the gallery with my sister to see if my assumption was right. When I arrived, I felt like there was a buzzer pressed to my ears with the sound 'tetttttttt!' to imply that I was wrong. There were visitors in the gallery. It may not be hundreds, but there were people browsing through the gallery. We came at the same time as a group of Japanese tourists.
This is how the gallery looks like from outside:
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| Minus the red old car, this is one nice and maintained historic building considering it is more than 100 years old |
This is one of Johor's historic building and it used to be the official residence of Johor's Third Minister, Dato' Abdullah Jaafar. It was built on 1910 and in 1994, the state government decided to change it to an art gallery to house historical artefacts on Johor's art and heritage. In 1999 however, the Johor Minister announced that the Johor Art Gallery would also be the Arts and Cultural Centre for the State of Johor.
We went in and spent an hour inside the gallery to see our local artists' artwork (especially by Johoreans). Some of the photos:
My personal favourite as below:
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| Artwork by Hirzaq Harris depicting the late Sultan Ibrahim of Johor on a stamp |
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| Artwork illustrating the Sultan Ibrahim Building at Bukit Timbalan |
I like Hirzaq Harris' stamp artwork because of the very detail work. Looks like a simple stamp but it is not when you have a closer look. Combining the inches of details, it becomes an outstanding piece. I guess stamp alike artwork has become one of Hirzaq's artwork signature as I have seen other similar artworks by him as well.
Another one that I like is the Sultan Ibrahim Building at Bukit Timbalan. I can't remember the name of the artist but I like his idea of using brass, metal piece as the base of his artwork. His work details are pretty good too as the building resembles almost exactly as the actual Sultan Ibrahim Building. The Sultan Ibrahim building is the former state secretariat building of Johor and was constructed between 1936 and 1939. It was completed in 1940 as the British colonial government attempted to streamline the state's administration. Honestly, the artwork looks better than in the photo that I snapped.
The rest of artworks that I also find interesting:
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| Zikir: Ar Rahim II by Jamil Mat Isa. Calligraphic based artwork on one of Islam's prayer recital. |
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| Peristiwa Bukit Kepong by Sabariah Omar. A historical based artwork. |
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| Askar Timbalan Setia Negeri Johor Peristiwa 1915 by Baharim Khusil. Another historical based artwork. |
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| Catatan Buat Cucu by Mohamed@Mohamad bin Hassan. A story-telling artwork, from a grandfather to his grandson. |
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| Ketunggulan by Fauzul Yusri. One cynical artwork. |
Actually there are more interesting artworks but these are all that I can share for now. My conclusion is, most of the artworks in Galeri Seni Johor are very much on Johor's culture and history. Not many mind-provoking artworks that you can find here but overall, it is fine and worth visiting. I think this gallery personally reminds me not to forget my own roots, no matter how far I have travelled in life.
So my Galeri Seni Johor curiosity is finally answered!
2 comments:
Always been there... but hvt got opportunity to go inside.
I pun bertahun-tahun nampak galeri tu tepi jalan tapi tak pernah singgah. So this time, I made a point to visit :)
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