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The name A.Samad Said or Pak Samad as he is fondly known to all, has long been associated with the world of Malay literature. A highly regarded champion of the national language, the Seniman Negara however is not known for easy subject matters or stereotypical characters in his fiction and non-fiction writings. He has tackled difficult topics, from the social to the spiritual, in his publications, many which have generated critical discussions and some have even been staged as plays. A prolific writer, he has more than 70 books to his name to date and even in his 80s, Pak Samad is one of the pivotal and recognizable figures in the fight for a more transparent and efficient practice of democracy. His foray into the local visual arts world however, began less than a decade ago though he is well received by the local art community and accorded the kind of respect that many artists could only dreamed of after years of struggling in the art scene. Credit must be given to Helmy, Pak Samad’s second son who noticed his father’s habit of scribbling and doodling on scraps of paper which started back in 2005. Helmy, who is entrusted with handling Pak Samad’s publishing rights to all his books since 2003, would accompany him on tours around the country for talks, launches, poetry recitals and other literary engagements, saw that his father would scribble, sketch or doodle intently during breaks at cafes or coffeehouses and late in the evenings back at his hotel room on napkins, memo pads and hotel stationaries which he either kept or gave away later. Helmy immediately realized the need to have these visual thought processes documented properly and gave Pak Samad sketchbooks and art blocks to draw and paint whenever the need or mood arises. The scribbles and doodling developed into drawings and paintings on a slightly larger scale. It was from the pages of these sketchbooks and art blocks that were exhibited at private and institutional galleries from RA Fine Art to Bank Negara, Galeri PETRONAS and the National Art Gallery (NAG) just to name a few that has made Pak Samad visible on the local art radar. Pak Samad continues to exhibit, mostly in support of worthy causes or charity. The current exhibition at Xin Art Space, the latest private gallery to appear in the local art scene is interesting for various reasons. 

 

Late last year, Helmy was approached by Chan Yong Sin, the principal of the gallery who wanted to exhibit Pak Samad’s works from his collection. Chan, a former union activist and man of letters who was incarcerated under the Internal Security Act in the 1960s had recently published his poems written during his years of detention without trial where the foreword was contributed by Pak Samad. After a few meetings and discussion, it was agreed that this solo exhibition of Pak Samad’s works is to be the gallery’s inaugural show, indirectly signalling the direction the gallery will be taking in the coming exhibitions.  

 

The works on display, of various minor dimensions and purposely limited to those produced in black and red inks, are to highlight symbolically Pak Samad’s ‘anarchistic’ spirit coupled with his individuated outlook that is behind the fervour of some of causes he supports; against the tyranny of the privileged classes upon the masses as well as the autonomy of the individual from coercions and compulsions by the moral majority in a democracy. These works are clustered accordingly to better present the various stylistic approaches with which Pak Samad employs to express his ruminations on life, the frustrations and anger, especially after a demonstration against the powers that be, a cynical remark about the follies of humanity or nuggets of wisdom thought out loud rendered in the abstract and expressionist idiom. Though not formally trained in the visual arts, the abstract approach however suits his purposes fittingly as an outlet for catharsis, therapy and personal affirmations in an intuitive, spontaneous and playful way. Unbeknownst to many, Pak Samad had attended art sessions together with another well-known visual artist back in Singapore before the partition and has read much on the life and times of famous painters both local and abroad. It is obvious then, Pak Samad is not a ‘naive’ artist as some may believe, but a rather well-informed painter who is sophisticated enough to use strokes and lines to work out a a visual solution to a cerebral conundrum, to undo the knot of a personal intellectual impasse or to give form to feelings, emotions and observations that words would not be able to properly encapsulate or convey. 

 

Two revealing aspects which we were privy in Pak Samad’s approach to his art in the course of setting up this exhibition was that in his spontaneous and playful pieces, he instinctively knew when to stop painting, especially after achieving a certain equilibrium in terms of the overall composition in the works. This search for balance and harmony, achieved with strokes of varying degrees of thickness and pressure, as repetitive daubs, quick dashes or thick washes at specific angles or areas on paper counterpointing one another, reflects his understanding of the importance and need for symmetry, where tellingly, even in politics, he takes the role of an equalizer to an unequal or imbalance situation that was either artificially manufactured through manipulation or unfairly maintained by force. The other aspect that we are pleased to discover was that he adopts an attitude of naturalness. Pak Samad even became animated when describing the lyrical gestures of the strokes in his works, referring to the fluidity of dance or silat movements which were a familiar part of his life back when he was involved with the theatre and performance in his younger days. Before we concluded our interview with Pak Samad, he made a simple confession; he draws and paints as though he is signing his name, especially in the original Jawi. 

 

That simple piece of information was both illuminating and thought provoking. Our signature has to be that most personal, uniquely intuitive abstract marking that we all are naturally inclined to make to best represent us in our transactions with the world. Do we ever wonder that all it takes is a few quick, nimble movements of arms and wrists, our fate and fortune could be sealed when we leave our mark above dotted lines in a document which binds us to certain obligations, commits us to certain causes or frees us from bondage and servitude? It is a legally valid and universally accepted personal marking that defines who we are regardless of our race, gender, religion, class or nationality. However, it also unconsciously reveals our personal attributes, inclinations and temperaments if we are to believe the graphologists. Nothing that was produced here by Pak Samad was meant for a patron, the market or an audience in mind. It was made in private outside or rather in spite of his professional obligations. It was made with pleasure, love and angst even, in its unadulterated form.         

 

Shades of Black and Red, is an exhibition mounted to re look and present Pak Samad’s abstract ink drawings and paintings from an angle of celebrating what art should be or ought to be: 

Fun, spontaneous, honest, unpretentious, anarchistic, rebellious, cathartic, therapeutic, courageous, truthful, passionate but mostly importantly, the freedom to be one’s self.

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