Zi Hao's Sharing Session

As informed by Dr Carmen, we had Tan Zi Hao, a young yet multi-disciplinary artist as our guest speaker last week to share with us his experience as well as his artworks.

Tan Zi Hao

During the 2 hours sharing session, he first started with his banned artworks which he said that we can't find from the net. One of them that I remember was "What are We Made of "(2011), which used to be an artwork in Publika's toilet. Anyhow, it was banned in Publika because of the word "Allah". We were lucky that we actually had a chance to see this artwork even though it was just the picture. At least we knew about the existence of this art piece and also the effort Zi Hao has put in.

Besides, he also shared with us his other masterpieces such as  
"From Dusk till Dawn" (2009)
"Classroom" (2012)
"Attempting Conflict" (2012)
"The Soil is Not Mine" (2013)
"Pest Control" (2013)
"Endless Possibilities" (2013)
"Negaraku. Bukan." (2014)
"The Danger of Translation" (2014) 
"Xenophoric Shellpickers" (2014)  
"A Reminder of a Remainder" (2015)

As he was explaining his artwork in front of the class, we were shocked by his ideas and creativity. He said that his inspiration comes from his over-thinking-ness. Frankly speaking, I really admire  his over-thinking ability that enables him to create many outstanding artworks. He seemed to be a person who is really sensitive to everything that happens around him and therefore, he tends to overthink about certain issues. When he overthinks, of course he becomes curious and wants to know more. This gives him confidence to find out more and provides him courage to come out with conceptual arts to change the public's mind and perception. The 4Cs exactly reflect his exploration towards the art he created. I want to have this ability as well...how great it would be if I could relate everything in my life and express them through arts?

All artworks need contexts. This was mentioned by both Zi Hao and Dr Carmen. Undeniably, Zi Hao has high cultural and artistic context as mirrored in his artworks. Every artwork of his has its own story. As an artist (insider), if you do not have any contextual information, you couldn't have created a significant artwork. The same goes to the outsiders like us, it's going to be difficult to understand the piece of art if we don't know what's going on. Hence, contextual information is really essential for one to create and also to understand art. This could be one of the things I've learnt from Zi Hao's talk. But...to obtain contextual information requires long period of time and great interest. I believe this could be a challenge to me.

"The Soil is Not Mine" was definitely the most memorable one throughout the 2 hours. We were passing around the packet of soil so that everyone had a chance to touch and experience it. I couldn't believe what I was really holding the packet that comprises soil from Malay Reservation Lands and Zi Hao's home, a torn copy of his birth cert and even his SPERM! To Zi Hao, it was totally not shameful to share this with us. To him: Art is art and there is nothing to be shameful about. 

The Soil is Not Mine (2013)

For this artwork, 50 packets were prepared and anyone can trade anything with high "Bumiputra value" in exchange for a packet of soil from Zi Hao provided that they can convince him with the object being traded. I remember one of the object being traded successfully was a bottle of water. I really liked the way the person convinced Zi Hao: Soil needs water to become a nation./ 'Tanah' needs 'air' to become 'tanah air'. I did not know why but I just felt this was really convincing. I was actually thinking what will I use to convince Zi Hao to exchange the soil with me. But after thinking for a long time, the only thing I thought of was..."Never mind, I'm not interested in it..." XD

Overall, Tan Zi Hao is an out-of-the-way artist. It's truly honored to have him to share his works with us. I'm sure that his passion and determination in arts will brings him a brighter future. 

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