The ‘Art Within Theatre III’ art exhibition brings a unique collection of artworks which are currently being displayed until March 29 at the Penangpac in Straits Quay.
The exhibiting artists are mainly composed of individuals in the performing arts industry.
Some of them are both members of the Penang Players Music and Drama Society and the Penangpac.
The artworks displayed are based on the theme ‘Growth’ and are done using various mediums, such as photography, painting, sculpture and drawing by a total of 11 artists.
Eric Yeoh, Fa Abdul, Hungry Goat, Ivan Gabriel ,Joelle Saint-Arnoult ,Lusy Koror ,Mikk Towers, Rebecca Duckett-Wilkinson , Tommes , Vatsn and Vijay Nathan are the participating artists of the exhibition.
They have a lot of different styles and a variety of ways in expressing them.
Among them is Penang-born Fa Abdul, who is a producer director, playwright as well as a columnist.
Abdul shared about her passion in photography when the Buletin Mutiara team approached her during the launch of the exhibition on March 1.
“Apart from my interest in the performing arts, I have always been passionate about photography and when I heard about this exhibition I decided to take part in it.
“I looked through my collections of photography and selected those that would match the theme which is ‘Growth’.
“I wanted to show a different perspective of growth, whereby growth could be something painful and full of struggles for some,” Abdul said.
Asked about her favourite pick of her collection of pictures that were exhibited, she chose a picture of a mother with her little daughter.
“The picture was taken when I was in Yangon where the mother would be looking at her daughter with hopeful eyes to give her the best that she could.
“Being a mother myself, the picture really touched my heart. I could see that the mother who would want to do anything for her daughter but unfortunately she has nothing much to offer,” she said.
Apart from that, her collections also showcased the elderly with their side of story for not desiring for growth.
“Senior citizens are so heart-broken that they do not want to ‘grow’ , as they seem to be invisible to the people around them when they aged.
“This is a sad reality, and if you can see in Penang, we have a large population of the elderly.
“You can see them as hawkers along the streets in George Town, trying to make a living even at the old age.
“So, I actually desire to tell the stories of the elderly through my lenses and I hope that I would get sponsorship for my project,” Abdul said.
State Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage (PETACH) Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin, who officiated the ceremony, commended the efforts undertaken by the artists in producing the art pieces.
“It is such a delight to see these amazing group of people from diverse background as well as country coming together for the love of the visual and performing arts,” Yeoh said in his speech at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Darwina Mohd Daud