'Universal Truths', 'Thought-provoking art'
EVEN if we are not searching for God or the idea of God, evidence of His presence is everywhere. The higher power is not necessarily hotwired to religion, culture or even spiritualism; our gut feelings, the five senses, send us messages and we interpret them.
Art4Soul took a bold step in exploring the varying perceptions of this subject that is rarely discussed.
Man&God is an ongoing visual feast, which started out as a book project, Man + God 1, a collection of interpretations from all over the world on the idea of God. Photographs, drawings and computer imagery designed by the Art4Soul team were not the only features in the book. People on the streets were approached and asked to reveal what they had in their pockets. Ninety percent of them carried something that symbolised God, including crucifixes, tasbih, amulets, talismans and mini versions of the Bible. The next step was to ask why they carried these objects around and how or if they made a difference to their lives.
All these made for an insightful and inspiring work of art, a 'visual smogasbord' of varying perceptions that spawned a series of accompanying exhibitions in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Singapore, New York and Stuttgart, Germany.
For the first time, the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur opened itself to something other than fine arts and graphic design was elevated to the next level. The exhibition is termed a "feast of sound and visuals," not only featuring two-dimensional physical art pieces but also music and an interesting fixture called the threedimensional installation.This peculiar feature is a 'moving' piece of art in the form of actor/dancer/artiste Swee Keong, who moves through the exhibition in dance-like movements.
