‘Saring II: Sublimity’ – Works by Hamidi Hadi

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark: the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

~ Plato ~

THE artist says, “‘Saring 1’ and ‘Saring II’ is a continuity of the connection of a form of thought and feeling towards the self and the world. Technically, it is differentiated by separation lines which are interchangeable, which is how we view things. 

“‘Saring I’ is an awareness which triggers meaning, realisation of purpose through choices, processes, materials from bits and paper fibres; that act of impounding and filtering. 

“‘Saring II’ is how I place, feel within my soul the sense of private space in the forest and rivers. It shapes a certain cognizance and the meaning of ‘knowingness.’ 

“The differences and similarities of a particular work of art is how far or how deep it shapes and fortifies that very sense of consciousness of any artist.”    

‘Saring II: Sublimity’ is an accumulation of works that characterises Hamidi Hadi’s breakthrough as a formidable artist. The pandemic, its crisis and decline to our spirit shatters the spine but the artist ‘used’ these very things to engage in works which are filled with optimism, hope and changes occurring within him. And though the world is in constant panic, the artist went into seclusion, spent much time ruminating, finding a sense of harmony and repose; resulting in ‘Saring II: Sublimity’.  

Hamidi Hadi excogitates, he pondered deeply into the meaning of life, and the ideas that were sitting at the back of his mind resurfaced, and shows us what can be done with the art of creating something completely new and exciting. 

Hadi’s works have always mesmerised, they are both marvellous and intoxicating. One thing that Hadi has been consistently doing is to seek the cerebral link to his own state of being. His layering techniques, profoundly cognitive approaches and amazing brushstrokes is what sets him apart from his peers. He is like a poet, his works stir with so much emotion you cannot take your eyes off them.

And to fully take in ‘Saring II: Sublimity’, we must first look at ‘Saring I’, which he produced in 2019.

In ‘Saring I’, this inclination was a somatic symbolic representation through the act of reprocessing paper using wire webbing. In ‘Saring II: Sublimity’, Hadi espoused an unconventional formulation to filtering by thinking back and centering acutely on the metamorphic panorama of his own existence.

Synchronous to the way he sees the world, Hadi investigates nature through journeys he took – a ‘private space’ by the river ‘clouded’ by a Banyan tree. Nature is condensed in his paintings, not only through the subject matter but also the selection of material he specifically selected – pulverising diatomite and earth into particles, and infusing it with natural Arabic glue to cultivate his own tinctures.

This material, for the first time, is incorporated cohesively into his latest renderings, pulling us into nature through his eyes. 

Hamidi Hadi is deemed one of the most salient abstract artists of his time, and is recognised for his empirical and exploratory use of different materials. 

In his years as a fully-practising artist, Hamidi has officially moved from graphic internal representations of the subjective world into theorisation and the analysis of decomposable substance and practises, to expound his cerebral and spiritual consequence to the world. 

He probes the natural physical processes of the world and incorporates this into his theoretic viewpoints through the postulation of industrial paint, resin, wax, linseed oil and charcoal in layers, resulting in a kind of graveness and motion to make surface density. 

As we look deeper into his abstract renditions, we begin to understand his point of references, and it points to the clues of his inner landscape, and that burgeoning question of his purpose in this universe. 

Through ‘Saring I’, Hamidi pioneered an innovative method that pools paper and wire mesh, resulting in a ‘double meaning’ to the idea and action of filtering. Removing all unneeded material, he recycles paper by utilising wire mesh via amalgamating delicately chopped paper in liquid and straining it through the mesh and creates a fresh form of broadsheet. 

This serves as the artist’s metaphor of the concept of freeing himself from the past and moving forward in a particularised route. In a metaphorical sense, Hadi ‘strains’ himself through the filter, bringing him nearer to that sense of inner-self. 

In ‘Saring II: Sublimity’ Hadi continues his processes as a means to contemplate his relationship with his Creator. The time spent in ‘solitary confinement’ in the forest, he realised how the magnanimity of nature makes us realise how expansive the universe is. 

By thinking back and immersing himself on the transformative facets of his own existence, he has succeeded in creating an optimistic mental attitude, which is the message for his audiences.

‘Saring II: Sublimity’ is a sharp-edged ballad – his canvases sing to us, they compel us to ‘smell’ life, to accept the unusual and the beautiful.  

Hamidi Hadi received the UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) – Bronze Award, Established Artist Category in 2018, the Bank Negara’s Kijang Award in 2004 and the Philip Morris Asean Biennale Art Award in 2000. 

His works have also been collected by both public and private institutions and corporations. Amongst them are the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, Setia Berhad, and the National Art Gallery of Malaysia. 

He has exhibited extensively both within Malaysia and on international platforms, with exhibitions in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. – The Vibes, March 6, 2021

Exhibition ends on March 14 2021

Wei-Ling Contemporary RT01, 

6th Floor,  

The Gardens Mall, 

Mid Valley City, 

Linkaran Syed Putra, 

59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

T: +603 2282 8323 

E: [email protected]