I didn't understand everything and certainly can't remember all the facts he presented, but it was an eye-opener and constant reminder that our history books are Malaysia's best scam.
Fahmi Reza has been keeping busy, bless him.
The Wall Street Journal documents the foray of Modern Arts into Malaysian politics, and some of the credit goes to Fahmi.
KUALA LUMPUR -- It may have been Malaysia's art happening of the year, though almost no one saw it. At the swank Valentine Willie Fine Art gallery one June morning, a pair of workers hastily pulled down a single work from a group show: a gigantic image of the head and shoulders of the country's new prime minister, Najib Razak.
The work's removal echoed its creation. The image was said to have been cut down from a congratulatory downtown billboard (a YouTube video documents the theft, not very convincingly). Compounding the provocation, black tape had been placed across the politician's eyes and yellow police-line tape across his mouth, negating him in the manner of the famous Queen Elizabeth II cover art for the 1970s punk-rock anthem "God Save The Queen."
It was enough to offend at least one gallery visitor -- who turned out to be a government aide. Down came "Najib's Head Stolen From Billboard," though a gallery manager insisted it had been removed along with other works solely to make room for VIP guests at a book-launch reception. (The prime minister's image not only ran down the full height of the gallery wall, but covered part of the floor.)
The artist, 32-year-old Fahmi Reza, a ponytailed human-rights activist, clearly relished the controversy he'd stirred, if not the result. "The billboard was trying to brand our new leader, in the manner of a Big Brother, and this was just my rebranding," he says. "I don't think I was doing anything wrong, but they always try to make us feel afraid."
You've gotta admire his guts. :)
Catch his blog HERE and check out some of his videos. He was the Freedom Film Fest winner of 2007.
This year's one falls during this weekend (at least in KL) so try and catch it if you can.
Get more details HERE.
4 comments:
Hi,
The site from your link seem to be a dubious site, got a security warning from my web browser.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Reported Attack Site! This web site at freedomfilmfest.komas.org has been reported as an attack site and has been blocked based on your security preferences.
Attack sites try to install programs that steal private information, use your computer to attack others, or damage your system.
Some attack sites intentionally distribute harmful software, but many are compromised without the knowledge or permission of their owners."
Thanks for your concern, but it opens fine on my computer. I have been browsing this site for 2 years now and I know it's legitimate.
However, it could have been hacked, though I see no signs of it when I'm in the site.
Met Fahmi Redza recently. He's as serious about his art as he is about his politics. And his pixie girlfriend is the cutest thing ever!
Good for him. That's exactly what we need in our nation today.
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