ARTIST Syukur Rani is a young man in a hurry. He began taking part in art competitions during diploma studies, and then opened gallery events in his degree years.
The 26-year-old and his friends also launched an artists’ studio in Shah Alam, which had to be closed due to the pandemic.
“There were a lot of delays, especially in getting materials,” he said.
Syukur’s livelihood took a hit, like many Malaysians.
In the midst of Syukur’s latest exhibition “We Need No Superhero”, the painter spoke to theSun about his latest series of artworks and the source of his inspiration.
How did you get the idea for “We Need No Superhero”?
It came from a previous superhero series, where I had characters that used red capes, in single images.
For the current iteration, I threw away the previous two, and played with the composition and the “story”.
Previously, the story was about the character itself. For ‘We Need No Superhero’, I talk about the environment and what has been happening.
Have you ever felt the need to “self-censor” your art?
I make art based on my environment, what I see and read. For the collection, the artworks are an interpretation of the situation.
It’s up to people if they choose to be offended.
What is your take on the opinion that art should not be political?
I don’t think that’s valid, because art always has a message or story that the artist wants to put out.
If you look at history, art has always had politics, stories about their origin, country, history and so on. You can’t separate art from politics.
I think that if politics is inserted into art, the piece will have historical value because it captures the period it was done.
Do you consider your art to be cynical or optimistic?
I think it’s cynical, and not really optimistic.
Before “We Need No Superhero”, what were your artworks about?
I was focused on character creation and the story behind those characters. There was art about single mothers, propaganda, politics and so on.
How did your art evolve towards “We Need No Superhero”?
The original idea was to focus only on one character. In ‘We Need No Superhero’, there are several paintings that are single images. Those were earlier paintings.
But after I developed things like the story and composition, the visuals evolved.
