CORE contemporary art

Mohd Fairuz Paisan or fondly known in the Malaysian art world as PoOi, uses his latest series of 13 wall-based sculptures to tell us the story of himself, as a Muslim Malay man from Rembau, Negeri Sembilan.

Coming from a family of carpenters who pass their trade down from father to son, Po Oi uses the advantaging skill that was set to learn in his youth through his contemporary art practices. His affinity for woodworking and appreciation of Minangkabau culture can be traced back to his grandfather, who was renowned as one of Negeri Sembilan’s expert carpenters with regards to building roofs in the curved “Minangkabau” style. It seems clear that these early influences underscored the value of architecture as cultural gauge for the artist, subsequently leading him to salvage wood from the walls of “Minangkabau” homes as a material base for his artworks.

“I Am PoOi” tells two stories, one of local life in Malaysia as a whole, and another of Po Oi himself. We see his observations of the differences between the way Islamic arts draw on floral motifs in the MENSA region, where they are more representative, versus in the Malay tendency towards abstraction, and begin understanding the distinct identity Islam holds in South Asia. It is apparent that “I Am Po Oi” is a fitting title for this series on identity, which beautifully straddles the personal and social.