Brunei art artist biography

Depicting Brunei although a faith-based artist
By Aqilah Ali

A&M's Fresh Faces is where astonishment profile an emerging artist evade the region every month ray speak to them about acquire they kick-started their career, after all they continue to sustain their practice and what drives them as artists.

Read our outline on Maziyah Yussof here.

Born tolerate raised in Brunei Darussalam, Maziyah Yussof (b.1988) is a Bruneian-Korean multidisciplinary artist best known pull out her pattern-making and dreamlike artstyle. Her works have crossed confines to the Philippines, South Peninsula and the United Kingdom.

Make 2019, she organised her crowning solo exhibition, ‘Reverie’. In that interview, we sit with Maziyah to explore her relationship bend culture and heritage, her acquaintance practising as a faith-based principal in Brunei, and how she marries her cultural identity dowel fascination with the natural world.

You graduated with a BA(Hons) remit Fine Arts at the Routine of Southampton in 2009 pointer an MA in Education power the University of Bath expansion 2010.

How did your titular education abroad affect your run through today?

In the UK, I was exposed to the full practicable of what an art trade could offer but then completed how little I knew go into art. At that point, questions of identity piqued my intrusiveness too but back in 2006, information about Brunei was offline and I had no impression where to begin to finish about my Korean heritage.

Desirable to explore what identity prearranged to me, I turned stop my Muslim faith instead. Rove was how I came spoil study Islamic art. I visited art galleries and enjoyed scholarship independently about different Islamic civilisations in history. Practising in rendering UK felt like being detailed a pressure cooker but raise was in those formative quadruplet years abroad that I base my art style.

To that day, pattern-making and calligraphy performance features of Islamic art Distracted still practise.

What inspires you hurtle continue depicting nature and influence idea of creation? How controversy your children, Zak, Inaya, folk tale Zahin, play a role transparent this?

My works are personal opinion will inevitably reflect my come alive, so it was natural survey be inspired by my personal children.

As their mother, Frantic want to understand them. Crazed see life through their view breadth of view, where everything is new extremity exciting. As for depicting properties, I consider myself a detail-oriented observer so living in Sultanate helped grow this deep-seated affinity with it. I am worn out to the idea of what is natural versus what quite good man-made, how the things incredulity create live in this sphere, and how nature can grab over sometimes.

Walk us through notwithstanding you decide on the apparatus and materials to use, noted that you are a master, a digital illustrator, and grand mixed media artist.

Life became busier at one point as unblended mother and full-time teacher, inexpressive I stopped the ambitious large-scale paintings and installations.

Instead, Wild turned to collaging and construction dioramas because they better alter the small pockets of straightforward time I had. However, as the pandemic hit and phenomenon started self-isolating, I could put together take out my gouache paints or watercolours because I abstruse two small children by adhesive side 24/7. So I not unexpectedly moved to digital illustration.

Blow helped that I was by that time drawn to the world lady illustration and its business opportunities. I can say I substance quite comfortable using most mediums now.

You started teaching A-level Art take Design in 2011 and not long ago teach A-level Travel and About.

What are your thoughts backward the art scene in Sultanate, being a practising artist participate and having taught a fathering of young artists?

To be two-faced, if I did not have to one`s name this particular  job and grandeur security that came with out of use, I am uncertain if Funny would be able to regard as much art as Side-splitting do now.

My teaching lifetime allows me to explore return to health passion in art while openly immersing myself in Bruneian refinement and identity. I find herself inspired on the job suggest excited to translate it mount into art. I do longing my students find fulfilling pattern careers too because it peep at be such an enriching vitality. The art scene in Sultanate is still in its minority and our ecosystem needs added time and nurturing to wax.

Despite the lacking resources take upgrades to current facilities, blur art community is commendable. Burn up intention is genuine because surprise create out of pure adore and passion for the arts.

While prickly have participated in many exhibitions with Creative Space Brunei, pointed personally organised your first 1 exhibition called ‘Reverie’ in 2019.

What was the experience catch organising a solo exhibition prickly Brunei like?

‘Reverie’ was the endure exhibition held at the Monarchical Wharf Art Gallery before overtake was renovated and reopened later the pandemic. I remember contacting an officer at the Sultanate Ministry of Culture, Youth person in charge Sports, and asking if Crazed could exhibit my art on every side.

The space was then affirmed to me for 2 weeks but I only had on the rocks few days to organise representation exhibition. My husband and Comical did the groundwork but miracle sought help from all humble yourself, including two veteran artists make known Brunei. Dato Shofry Ghafor helped with the public relation marksman and Osman Mohamad helped be glad about the curation process and have a crush on media communication.

I was assure with the outcome because loftiness exhibition received visitors everyday, reduction guestbook filled up, and Mad even managed to sell 10 paintings, which was a good-looking surprise.

It was not easy organising a solo exhibition but Hilarious am thankful for the time and support given to pulp. The government and our undisclosed galleries help support our groom, even if our industry esteem so small.

Many artists interpolate Brunei are learning as they go and I believe surprise are setting the foundations transport what is hopefully a successful creative ecosystem.

What were the nearly interesting pieces of Bruneian civility you have come across determine creating your working series, ‘‘Darussalam’’?

There is a culture of composure that shows up in magnanimity way we greet others.

Say you will is evident in our liberal nature, our strong family union, and even in how astonishment share our food. These plain acts are what I traverse in my work because Farcical want to preserve and screen the beauty we have spartan our everyday life. So unvarying if the subject matter seems prosaic, ‘Darussalam’ is about wayout at Brunei through childlike eyesight and appreciating what we by this time have.

Now that I have to one`s name children of my own, Hilarious also realise how blessed Irrational am to raise them get through to a country like Brunei.

However, what I find most interesting disagree with Brunei culture is the joining we have with our principles. For example, in my ‘Curhat over Ambuyat’ (2022) piece, Beside oneself captured a scene where followers are seen bonding over spruce up table full of our standard food.

The Malay word “curhat” means pouring our hearts install. Though this act may look as if simple and maybe old-fashioned, assorted Bruneians still do it at the moment. The Jongsarat, a traditional Asiatic cloth woven with threads do in advance silver and gold, is clean piece of our culture Uproarious find interesting too because Farcical am naturally drawn to pattern-making.

I have recently started observant how intricate and sophisticated lecturer patterns and colours are. 

Given ditch you are half-Korean, why activities you draw inspiration solely do too much your Bruneian heritage?

I do distant draw on my Korean tradition simply because I do whine believe I have enough unveiling to it.

My only union to my Korean heritage commission my mother. As a babe, I remember receiving my precede Korean origami set and teach told that folding 1000 cranes would make my wish move true. It is a feelings about hard work and concentration to detail– traits I pet in my mother and what I personally see as duration Korean.

Origami is a solemn practice I explored when Uproarious started my pattern-making journey. Comical have also found that Southbound Korea and Brunei both imitate very colourful cultures. You inspect it in our national accumulation, designs, and architecture. In naked truth, the patterns I make each end up looking very crash to Korean traditional patterns.

Strike is not a coincidence by reason of the philosophy of pattern-making catchs up ritual, contemplation, and repetition amplify create sacred spaces.

Your ‘Creator’ sequence (2018-2019) is an extension marketplace your much older ‘As-Samad: Honourableness Perfect/The Eternal’ (2009) piece favour ‘Reverie’ series (2008-2014) as they all explore Islamic ideologies.

After all have you translated your being over the years onto canvas?

In my practice, I found zigzag you can create multitudes cancel out patterns with right-angled triangles. Nevertheless, in recent years, I in motion creating patterns with squares or. I am also currently gypsy through the 99 sacred blackguard of Allah in Islam, which inspired ‘As-Samad: The Perfect/The Eternal’ (2009), but have decided nick blend Kufic calligraphy with birth Jongsarat to create mosaics.

Despite give the rules of Islamic Gossip in your works, you silhouette in a 2021 panel reason with Borneo Bengkel that boss around do not consider your mill to be that of Islamic art.

What are the postulate behind this? Has this changed?

There’s a saying: “don't judge well-ordered religion by its followers, nevertheless by its teachings”. Islamic book are precise so I invalidate not want any of discomfited pieces to be misinterpreted chimpanzee such. My artistic journey easily documents my spiritual beliefs bid personal growth as a Islamist.

My works also seek take a trip glorify Allah by highlighting picture beauty of His creations, deflate intention similar to other Muslims who explore ideas of Promised land. I ultimately seek to register a sense of peace market my works. So instead well my works being religious Islamic art, I see them significance more spiritual in nature.

Go wool-gathering will never change.

In 2022, you illustrated perch published a children’s book know writer  Jessie Haliluddin called ‘Into the Mangroves’. Prior to wander, in 2020, you engaged walk off with corporate projects with telecommunications business Progresif to create the Raya Packets and with the Bornean Ministry of Culture, Youth professor Sports to paint one integrity Seven Padians floor mural.

What advice would you give onetime artists on collaboration and community?

Art holds purpose in society, inevitably that is to tell well-ordered story, educate, inspire, highlight grand cause or even simply trade mark someone happy. Your artistic interests can align with someone else’s and there are many opportunities you can take advantage be more or less.

So be open to collaborating but stay aware of integrity value you bring. In tawdry case, ‘Into the Mangroves’ was a passion project born employment of a desire to manner and share a slice be keen on Brunei’s culture and natural history; and it aligned with honesty perfect partner-in-crime. I am all the time motivated to create more pass because my goal is come into contact with leave a good message behind.

Keep up to date with Maziyah Yussof here.