Working from home? Malaysian artist pencils his way through this new reality

Haslin's 'Living Room', the first in a new series that he is working on during this movement control order period. This pencil series will focus on the different spaces in his house. Photo: Haslin Ismail

Contemporary artist Haslin Ismail has a few new works uploaded on his Instagram account, which are a departure from his usual paintings and mixed media works usually exhibited in galleries.

In these colour pencil drawings of a living room filled with everyday objects and brimming with life, a woman breastfeeds a baby, and beside her, two other children – and a cat – stretch out on the floor. The second one also zooms in on this space, with the kids watching television and their books strewn on the floor.

This is Johor-born Haslin’s reality at the moment, working from his home in the Selangor-side of Cheras, and spending time with his family.

For someone who has been creating and exhibiting his fantastical art pieces in various exhibitions for 20 years now, this new experience - brimming with domestic angles - has taken him back to basics.

These are the first two pieces of a new series that he intends to work on as long as the movement control order (MCO) is in effect. It comprises different elements of familiar scenes atop another, drawn in black and red.

'Living Room 2' which captures a space in his house that he currently spends the most time in during the ongoing movement control order. Photo: Haslin Ismail

On the ceiling of the first drawing, he has drawn two numbers – five and 10, a nod to the fifth day of the movement control order coming into effect, and the number of Covid-19 deaths (in Malaysia) when he completed the drawing.

A similar formula can be seen in the second piece, which was completed last month.

“I chose a living room setting to kick off the series because I spend a lot of time here: watching TV, drawing at the table and having meals with my family. The ‘lockdown’ routine has given me a chance to get more intimately acquainted with spaces in the house. The intricate drawing allows me to explore this kind of new 'relationship' and think about it, ” says Haslin, 35.

Last weekend, he put up another drawing titled The Scream 1, which is set in the kitchen, with pots and pans in the background.

A look at Haslin's sketchbook that is filled with portraits inspired by newspaper reports. Photo: Haslin Ismail

The subsequent works in the series will include other parts of the house, like the stairs, bedroom or bathroom.

Haslin, who lectures part-time at Malaysian Institute of Art (where he teaches figure drawing), has been sketching for years. His current sketchbook is filled with drawings of people from newspapers. He usually works on A4-sized paper but for this new series, he has decided to bump up the size and work with A2 paper.

“I just want to express my feelings toward this situation and how we deal with it. The information I get from the television, newspaper, social media and Internet has influenced the way I think and feel about Covid-19. I would say my worrying drives me to draw, as a way to comfort myself and tell myself that we can fight this by staying at home, ” he says.

This Covid-19 series sees Haslin going back to basics with his art. Photo: Filepic

Haslin is used to working from home as he has a home studio. The difference this time, however, is that his children are with him all day long.

He is embracing it to the fullest, saying that he is happy that he gets to spend time with them and help out with the newest arrival in the family, his six-month old son.

“I will just keep drawing and will only end this series when the ‘lockdown’ is over, ” he says.

His first Living Room piece is now part of a online group exhibition, Mending Fence, at G13 Gallery.

Since he started on his MCO series, he has had a few offers for commissioned work and has been invited to a few other online exhibitions. Together with a few friends, he is also currently working on new pieces for a comic that they plan to self-publish after the MCO is over.

In his lecturer role, Haslin says this MCO series did also begin as an assignment for his students.

He shares that he usually draws on inspiration from his own sketch studies to come up with activities for them.

"I change the syllabus every year, to keep it fresh. For this assignment, I wanted them to draw from their observations at home - to focus on their surroundings such as the spaces and their families. I then decided to also take on this task myself and offer my take on this assignment. I find it a fun activity as I can explore interesting perspectives in drawing and experiment with other subjects. It is my first time experimenting with the fish-eye perspective and I am enjoying it a lot," he says.