Anne James in a scene in the theare show 'Poly', which is playing at DPAC until Feb 16. Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani
PHOTOGRAPHY: 'STEEPED IN TIME: OLD TEA HOUSES THROUGH THE LENS OF HARRY WOO'
Venue: Wisma Kebudayaan Soka Gakkai Malaysia, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur
Date: Feb 15 to March 16
Harmoni Soka Art and Culture’s exhibition, Steeped In Time: Old Tea Houses Through The Lens Of Harry Woo, is more than just a visual showcase – it’s a reflection on cultural heritage, human connection, and history’s place in an evolving world.
This exhibition introduces audiences to the tea house culture of Sichuan, China, inviting them to consider how these spaces – rich with human warmth and collective memory – can be preserved amid rapid urbanisation.
Featuring a black-and-white photography series by Malaysian artist Harry Woo Hong Sang, the exhibition captures the timeless atmosphere of old tea houses, revealing their historical imprints and the stories they hold.
In Woo's compositions, natural light reveals how winter sunlight filters through skylights, illuminating tiger stoves, rattan chairs, wooden tables, and tea drinkers. Vintage teapots, quiet conversations, and curling smoke also weave a rich tapestry of moments in these monochromatic works.
Woo’s photographs, taken in 2013, document the tea houses in the ancient towns of Luozhen, Sichuan, and Pengzhen in Shuangliu District, Chengdu, offering a rare glimpse into a fading tradition.
The exhibition opens today, featuring an artist talk at 4.30pm. Free admission.
More info here.
W. Rajaie's 'Sorga Rawa' solo project at The Back Room takes the form of a single installation that fills up the entire gallery. Photo: The Back Room KL
EXHIBITION: W. RAJAIE'S 'SORGA RAWA'
Venue: The Back Room, Zhongshan building, KL
Date: Feb 16 to March 8
The Back Room presents Sorga Rawa (Bog Paradise), a solo installation work by W. Rajaie that fills the entire gallery.
Known for his earth paintings – textured works of compacted dirt with deep cracks – Rajaie expands his exploration of soil as a medium, pushing it into metaphysical territory.
Sorga Rawa is a surreal, shifting landscape where matter becomes myth and ritual turns to religion.
Most days, visitors can only view the installation from the gallery entrance. However, on select days, the Upacara Cemar Tapak (Ceremony of Stained Feet) invites guests to walk barefoot through the mud, following specific guidelines.
The opening reception for Sorga Rawa takes place on Feb 16 from 3pm to 6pm. Admission is free, and all are welcome.
More info here.
'The Palette Project' exhibition features palettes, tools, materials, and sketches – offering a rare glimpse into creative process of an artist. Photo: Handout
EXHIBITION: 'THE PALETTE PROJECT'
Venue: Level 1, GMBB, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends March 9
Here’s an exhibition that shifts the focus from artworks to the tools behind them. The Palette Project brings together 55 local artists from various fields, showcasing their palettes, tools, materials, and sketches.
From studio tools to an array of pens – even personal objects with deep sentimental value – this exhibition offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the creative process. It invites visitors to understand how artists view the world and the dedication behind their craft.
The exhibits also highlight how different artists manage their tools, revealing insights into their personalities. Some are meticulous and structured, while others embrace a more fluid, unrestrained approach.
The opening reception for The Palette Project takes place on Feb 16 at 3pm. It will feature an open forum, featuring independent curator and art lecturer Tan Sei Hon, alongside artists Ajim Juxta and Amir Amin. Admission is free.
More info here.
Jalaini latest solo exhibition 'Sepia Tak Sepi' is showing at UR-MU, The Toffee building in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: The Star/Art Chen
EXHIBITION: JALAINI ABU HASSAN'S 'SEPIA TAK SEPI'
Venue: UR-MU, The Toffee, Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur
Date: Feb 15-28
The independent gallery UR-MU is presenting Jalaini Abu Hassan’s latest solo exhibition, Sepia Tak Sepi, at The Toffee building in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The free admission show is opening today at its Level 4, Project Room at 3pm.
"Sepia Tak Sepi is wordplay to embolden the Sepia aesthetic, that it is 'not quiet' (tak sepi)," reads the exhibition notes.
For an artist and thinker like Jalaini, this series serves as a reflective inquiry into the tensions between East and West, navigating themes of adaptation, displacement, and identity.
Through his work, he interrogates the complexities of ethnicity, socio-cultural evolution, and political and national consciousness – revealing the friction between tradition and modernity, belonging and estrangement.
In his approach, he also expresses the challenges faced in going against the flow of contemporary tastes, and recognising the importance of material culture in centering his practice.
More info here.
Screen printers and artists (from left) Akid, Fauzan Fuad and Sanan Anuar screen printing in their studio, Bogus Merchandise. Photo: Handout
WORKSHOP: 'SENI JADI SENJATA: CETAK & LAWAN'
Venue: Rumah Mandiri, 32, Jalan Terus 4/42, Seksyen 4, Petaling Jaya
Date: Feb 15, 1pm
Rumah Mandiri, a youth-driven organisation founded in May 2024, officially opens its doors today at 10am, marking a new space for community empowerment, leadership development, and creative initiatives.
The launch event features a diverse line-up, including documentary screenings, history talks, acoustic performances, and a debate.
At 1pm, don’t miss the silkscreen printing workshop by Bogus Merchandise, a KL-based art collective known for its bold, subversive designs that blend art, music, and street culture with social critique. Bring a blank shirt or tote bag and print your own resistance artwork – free of charge.
Arrive early to explore the Rumah Mandiri space and learn more about this youth-driven organisation and its mission.
Free admission.
More info here.
A new work by Samsudin Wahab is seen at the 'kam.ceng' group show at The Strand Mall in Petaling Jaya. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
EXHIBITION: 'KAM.CENG' GROUP SHOW
Venue: Ground Floor, The Strand, Petaling Jaya
Date: ends March 3
The Strand Mall in Petaling Jaya has opened two pop-up spaces – on its ground floor – in collaboration with Fergana Art gallery. Presenting the kam.ceng exhibition, this initiative brings contemporary art to the public through a showcase featuring artists Samsudin Wahab, Haslin Ismail, Faizal Suhif, and Zulkefli Jais.
Samsudin, Haslin, and Faizal, all established names in the local art scene, bring their signature styles to the exhibition, offering visitors a mix of thought-provoking and visually striking works. Each artist has contributed a new work, alongside a selection of past favourites and studies on display.
Adding a fresh perspective, Zulkefli Jais – last year’s Bakat Muda Sezaman winner from the National Art Gallery – presents a brand-new immersive installation titled A Promised Freedom?, inviting audiences to step directly into his creative world.
Free admission exhibition, open daily 11am-6pm.
More info here.
Whether you're a history buff, a photography fan, or someone drawn to the city of Tokyo, the 'Tokyo Before/After' exhibition has something for everyone. Photo: The Star/Muhamad Shahril Rosli
PHOTOGRAPHY: 'TOKYO BEFORE / AFTER'
Venue: GMBB creative mall, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends Feb 23
Take a trip into the Japanese capital city’s unique past – and explore its present – in the Tokyo Before / After photography exhibition, now showing at the GMBB creative mall.
This exhibition, created on the occasion of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, features a selection of 80 works, in which works by photographers who had captured images of Tokyo in the 1930s-1940s are presented in juxtaposition with those taken after 2010.
Exhibition curator Kotaro Iizawa, a Japanese photography critic, has structured the show into two distinct eras. The "Before" section features works from KOGA (Light Pictures), NIPPON, and Kineo Kuwabara, while the "After" section showcases contemporary photographers, including Nobuyoshi Araki, Mika Ninagawa, Motoyuki Daifu, SATO Shintaro, Shinya Arimoto, Natsumi Hayashi, Kenta Cobayashi, and Daido Moriyama.
The exhibition (free admission) stitches together Tokyo’s story like a cinematic montage – vintage charm meets futuristic reinvention in a city that never stops evolving.
Whether you're a history buff, a photography fan, or someone drawn to the city of Tokyo, this exhibition has something for everyone. In Kuala Lumpur, the Tokyo Before / After exhibition is presented by The Japan Foundation, KL, and the Embassy of Japan.
More info here.
Anne James in a scene in the theare show 'Poly', which is playing at DPAC until Feb 16. Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani
THEATRE: 'POLY'
Venue: Black Box, Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC), Petaling Jaya
Date: ends Feb 16
In Poly, which is playwright Ian Skatu's debut full-length play, the truth is never just one thing. The performance – starring Anne James, Omar Ali, Engku Armand, Sandee Chew and a new guest each night – features three stories, all with the word "poly" in them – Polygraph, Polygon, and Polygamy – and each as mind-boggling as the next.
Fittingly showing at the Black Box venue, Poly challenges our understanding of communication, reflecting the struggles we often face in connecting with one another. In a chaotic world where nothing is as it seems, the characters grapple with overwhelming physical and emotional extremes – whether with a loved one, a visitor, or a figment of their imagination.
By the end of this absurdist show, audiences will laugh, think, and wonder: is this distorted reality really so different from our own?
More info here.
