KUALA LUMPUR - Gazing at the artworks on display at an exhibition in a five-star hotel here recently, it is hard to imagine that their inspiration comes from 50-year-old batik cloths that once belonged to the artist’s grandmother.
Featuring nature-based motifs, the three-dimensional realism paintings are the handiwork of Nur Syafiqah Mohd Sanusi, 25, a talented graphic designer who wants to do her part to keep batik art relevant in these changing times.
(Realism is a genre in visual arts that attempts to represent a subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions.)
Asked how batik became her signature realism subject, Nur Syafiqah, who has a degree in fine arts from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), told Bernama it all started when she returned to her grandparents' village in Kelantan during a semester break and came across her grandmother's collection of batik cloths that she had been keeping since her youth.
The uniqueness of their traditional motifs, showcasing floral patterns, inspired Nur Syafiqah to use them as the subject matter in her paintings.
"As a fine arts student, I had to choose a subject matter and had my mind set on Malay heritage elements. It so happened at that time I visited my grandparents and saw my grandma’s batik collection... I was immediately attracted to their motifs,” she said.
However, adapting the batik motifs into her paintings was not easy since she had no background in drawing, but Nur Syafiqah overcame the obstacle by learning as much as she could from various sources at her university.
Her efforts bore fruit when her works caught the attention of art enthusiasts, eventually leading to invitations to participate in art exhibitions, the most recent being an exhibition organised by KolmeGlu (an agency that helps showcase the works of artists) at a hotel here.
In fact, she is gaining recognition in art circles and some of her paintings have been sold for thousands of ringgit each. But Nur Syafiqah said money is not her primary motivation, adding, "For me, it is more about the satisfaction I get seeing my creations on canvas... painting is a part-time career for me.”
She added, "I want batik to remain relevant, which is why I try to promote it through my paintings. For instance, I once created a piece combining batik fabric and high-cut Converse shoes, making for a striking style.
"This fresh concept (realism painting and a combination of batik cloth and shoes) received very encouraging response, especially for cultural collections blending Western and Malay elements."
Nur Syafiqah does not think it is wrong to modernise the fineness of batik art according to contemporary trends, as it aligns with the original goal of attracting the younger generation to better understand and appreciate this heritage textile art as well as showcase it to international art enthusiasts.
She, however, stressed that her paintings, regardless of genre, will never alter the authenticity of the original identity and uniqueness of a heritage art like batik.
"When I’m painting, I always remind myself not to ruin the artistic value of a heritage art because it is pointless if our work attracts attention but does not highlight the true characteristics of the heritage concerned,” she said.
Nur Syafiqah also promotes her artworks on social media platforms such as TikTok and often receives orders from clients for commercial paintings as well as invitations to participate in art exhibitions.
She said she was also invited to collaborate with a renowned hijab brand dUCk to design their Merdeka edition two years ago and with other local brands recently.
"The experience has been exciting for me,” she said, adding, "I don't want to limit my work to just painting (on canvas). For this year’s (Hari Raya) Aidilfitri, I designed clothes for a local brand, and God willing, I will do so again next year. - BERNAMA