Today, we observe World Animal Day, a special international celebration dedicated in raising the status of animals and spotlighting animal welfare issues.
It's celebrated in different ways in every country, irrespective of nationality, religion, faith or political ideology. Through increased awareness and education we can create a world where animals are always recognised as sentient beings and full regard is always paid to their welfare.
Here’s a list of Malaysian artists who have shown their love and respect for animals through art.
Haris Rashid’s Killing Beauty I (watercolour, ink and colour pencil on paper, 2013)
Contemporary artist Haris Rashid is known for his usage of wild animals in his paintings, which often serve up layered meanings and metaphors about life. His is an exploration on how the forces of nature and humanity are similar. In his debut solo exhibition called Beauty In The Beast (2015), Haris rightly made the animals look Godly and cast a new light on them so that his viewers could look at them differently. In one of his pieces called Killing Beauty I, the artist highlighted the dire plight of tigers in the Malaysian jungles.
Suzi Chua’s Gentle Giant (2018)
Through visual storytelling, self-taught wildlife artist Suzi Chua works hard to raise awareness when it comes to wild animals and their plight in the wild in her paintings. One of her pieces called Gentle Giant was part of the Art In The City initiative in KL in 2018. Chua successfully captured the tenderness and human-like charm of the orang utan, while adding a tinge of sadness for these animals as they slowly lose their habitat in the wild.
Siti Fariza Ahmad Basri’s 'Leatherback Sea Turtle' (gouache on wood, 2020)
Miniature art painter Siti Fariza Ahmad Basri’s Leatherback Sea Turtle painting is an example of why World Animal Day is crucial. In this 42mm x 18mm miniature piece, Fariza portrays the magnificence of the leatherback sea turtle normally found nesting on the beaches of Terengganu. But due to illegal turtle egg poaching, the sea creature has been declared locally extinct. The caption on her Instagram page poignantly reads “When the turtle cries, who will listen?”.
Christine Das’ Betrayal (acrylic on canvas, 2021)
Christine Das is a Penang-born wildlife advocate/artist who uses art as a voice to create awareness and raise funds for animals. In Betrayal, a diptych, the passionate artist sheds light on the culling of dusky leaf monkeys by Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) officers in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan earlier this year. They are categorised as a threatened species.
The poignant painting shows two baby monkeys, one with the less common brownish fur and the other with its signature dark grey fur. The former is seen hugging its mother presumably while the latter is innocently staring at the viewer. Through these paintings, you can sense the artist's anger and despair at how the Government agencies are not doing enough to protect these wild animals.
Nasir Nadzir’s Tam In Remembrance (acrylic on canvas, 2019)
The late Penang-based artist Nasir Nadzir, who died in January this year due to Covid-19, channelled his painting and pen drawing skills on wildlife works. From elephants to snakes right to orang utan families and the tiger, Nasir had a way of giving 'life' to his animals creations on canvas
Though his art career was short-lived, Nasir made his name in the George Town art circles and beyond through his art that never failed to highlight his love for nature and wildlife. One of his noted artworks was Tam In Remembrance, which paid tribute to the last male Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia. It died in May 2019 in captivity in Sabah.
Issarezal Ismail’s Seeing The Unseen (oil and bitumen on canvas, 2019)
Born in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan, Issarezal grew up close to the sea and mangrove swamps. This instilled a love for nature in the artist from a very young age. In his Seeing The Unseen work shown at the Konservasi exhibition at National Art Gallery’s Creative Space last year, the artist detailed the devastating effects of deforestation and illegal logging in the country.
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