Self-taught art at 'Singular Rhapsody'

Norhayati Kaprawi’s tribute to women wearing Kemban batik and other aspects of traditional Malay culture can be found in her art.

Two Singapore Biennale alumni, a gallery framer, a former underground music pioneer, a couple of community art activists, an elusive street artist, a poet/performing artist, a former ISA detainee and a French language copywriter – if you needed an outsider angle to an art exhibition featuring self-taught and naive artists, then look no further than Kuala Lumpur gallery Xin Art Space’s Singular Rhapsody exhibition.

“This show is about bringing together a wide range of homegrown naive artists. All of them are not bound by rules, and their vision for art is far removed from traditional academic interpretation,” says Tan Sei Hon, 40, the show’s guest curator. Singular Rhapsody gathers 22 names – some familiar, some new discoveries – whose works fit into the naive art category.