The hashtag #KitaLawan appeared in February, after Anwar Ibrahim was convicted of sodomy and sent to jail for the second time. In the beginning, I saw both #KitaLawan and #KamiLawan being used, which was interesting. ‘Kita’ and ‘kami’ are collective pronouns meaning ‘we’, but the latter is closer to ‘us’ – an other, i.e. a… Read more
Antid Oto – italian for antidote – was one of Leon Trotsky‘s earliest pen names. I also love the Malay word for it: penawar. A few months ago, I started taking regular walks and making drawings afterwards as a way to deal with worry, procrastination, hopelessness, writer’s block, internet rage, and digital distraction. I’ll post… Read more
My partner, that is, my lover and friend, my dear companion, the person I live with and have sex with, but am not married to, always tells me that I can’t keep projecting the power struggles I have with my family as a reflection of how power plays out on a national level. I can’t… Read more
I spent last New Year’s Eve alone at my drawing table, drinking whiskey and copying sea animals into my sketchbook. The idea was that I would cross the threshold of the new year doing the thing I hoped to be doing for the next 12 months. By way of that self-fulfilling prophecy, 2014 became the year… Read more
Students have been occupying the entrance (Gate KL) to Universiti Malaya since 10 Dec. They are protesting the university’s treatment of eight students, known as the UM8, who have been suspended and fined for organizing a talk by de-facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on campus last month. They are calling for all charges to be… Read more
Art proposals are the secret key of the art world game. They are how, armed with nothing more than an idea on paper, you can unlock money and opportunities, like this (deadline: 1 Dec 2014 / 1 Jun 2015), and this (deadline: 31 Dec 2014). I’ve burned more hours than I can count putting together… Read more
‘And when the Tan Sri awoke in his afterworld he was already rich – not only rich with cash; he owned vast swathes of property, across several levels in prime locations, with the proper documents as proof. Within three months of the Tan Sri’s arrival in the underworld, Capital UCB opened its first branch in… Read more
This weekend, two of my works will be put up for auction by the person who bought them at my first solo show, ten years ago. The gallery that showed them is now closed. I still remember opening night – I got there late, and I have been showing up late to my openings ever… Read more
