Richard Koh Fine Art presents Nadiah Bamadhaj’s solo exhibition – Ravaged, highlighting the current social conundrum within the LGBTIQ community in Indonesia

July 30, 2020 / News

A Solo Exhibition by Nadiah Bamadhaj

Bangkok, 30 July 2020—Richard Koh Fine Art (RKFA–KL) is pleased to announce Malaysian artist Nadiah Bamadhaj’s (b. 1968) solo exhibition in Malaysia. Ravaged runs from now to 13 Aug 2020 at Richard Koh Fine Art, 34–1, Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The artist presents 8 works on paper from her new series that combines charcoal on paper collage drawings and digital images.

In Ravaged, Bamadhaj attempts to highlight the current social conundrum within the LGBTIQ community in Indonesia, focusing on a particular group; Yogyakarta’s Transgender Extended Family or KEBAYA. In this series, Bamadhaj re-visits a familiar element from her previous work, the Medusa, which has been a major part of her practice since 2008.

The drawing component are portraits of individuals that Bamadhaj interviewed from aforementioned group. These portraits are combined with photographic images by Indonesian photojournalist Dwi Oblo, capturing particular dramatics and serene moments intertwined with the lives of those depicted in the portraits. Utilizing the Medusa icon as an expression of social injustice, the corresponding digital images allude to the stories of members of the LGBTIQ community; their hopes, fears and yearnings.

Nadiah Bamadhaj (b. 1968, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia) was initially trained as a sculptor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand but now produces drawings, sculptures, installations and digital images. She has worked in non-governmental organizations, lectured in art, and has written on both Malaysia and Indonesia. In 2000, she began her full-time art-practice and was awarded the Nippon Foundation’s Asian Public Intellectual Fellowship in 2002, electing to spend her fellowship period in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where she currently lives with her husband and son. Her artwork continues to focus on the social intricacies of Yogyakarta’s society, using myth, architecture, and dwelling to articulate her observations.

Her solo exhibitions include Lush Fixations (2019), Richard Koh Fine Art Singapore; Ravaged (2018), Chambers Fine Art New York; Descent (2016) Richard Koh Fine Art Malaysia; Surveillance (2008), Valentine Willie Fine Art Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Founded in 2005, with spaces in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Singapore, Richard Koh Fine Art is committed to the promotion of Southeast Asian contemporary art on regional and international platforms. Centred around a core belief in developing an artist’s career, the gallery looks to identify understated, albeit promising practices, and providing it opportunities to flourish. Through its regular exhibition cycles, print & digital publications and cross-border gallery collaborations, Richard Koh Fine Art engages the art community with the aim of developing regional and intercultural dialogue.

For further information about the exhibition, please do not hesitate to contact Michael Low at +6016 217 5112 or the gallery at info@rkfineart.com / +6 03 2095 3300.

All images are subject to copyright.

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