In light of this, The Art People Gallery (TAPG) and The Four Points by Sheraton KL, Chinatown have jointly organised an art exhibition featuring four young talented women.
Titled “In Her Vision”, the art exhibition features a series of artworks that will be on display at the hotel’s lobby until March 24.
FMT Lifestyle spoke with the four artists behind these masterpieces to learn a little more about what being a woman means to them and their art.
Ony Jamsari, born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, contributed her flowery piece titled “Dalam Kasih”, which catches the eye with its warm tones and soothing imagery.
At the centre of the frame is a profusion of flowers filling in the silhouette of the artist herself. A certain feminine touch, but what does it all mean?
“It is about myself! That’s why it’s me in the picture. When I was young, I used to live in a village and I lived around gardens of flowers.”
She said she has many childhood memories of her mother taking her to parks, as well as of her mother’s love for flowers.
These memories of motherly love are thus represented in her painting, with the title directly translating to “In Love”.
Also presenting her artworks at the exhibition is Egyptian artist Hadil El Faramawy, who arrived in Malaysia two years ago and fell in love with the country.
“I have been practising art all my life, but only started taking it seriously seven years ago when I quit my corporate job.”
She said Malaysia’s greenery was a nice change of scenery to Egypt’s endless deserts, and she found it artistically inspiring.
For that reason, her three art pieces, “Sunset”, “Footsteps” and “Waterfalls” feature Orang Asli women in natural settings. Her choice of bright neon colours, and of course, green, “helps us to appreciate just how marvellous nature is”.
Artist Joy Ng’s art, “Beneath Our Skin”, on the other hand, has a poignancy that made it stand out among the artworks, with the artist’s self-portrait shrouded in a thick fog.
“I see people like how I see icebergs. What you see on top is just a little bit, but there’s actually much more beneath it.”
She also likened the complexities of human beings to the ocean – the waters look beautiful from above, she said, but within, it contains treasures and mysteries alike.
To Ng, people are afraid of letting certain emotions show, preferring to run away from difficult situations instead of confronting them head-on and understanding them.
To that end, she hoped that more people would be willing to be honest with themselves. “Don’t go around the darkness but through it to reach the sunrise.”
Last but not least was Liew Mei Toong, whose work “People Around Me II” features a series of faces, which she said was based on acquaintances of hers who have since drifted away.
While she said they are no longer close to her, they had influenced her life in some way, and she was acknowledging them in her painting.
“People are herd and social animals and we have to live with each other. During the journey of our lives, we cross paths with and influence each other.”
Some of the faces are painted orange instead of black. “It’s to show just how much people can influence others, for better or for worse.”
And for International Women’s Day this year, Hadil said that any support for women artists was worth taking. “We support each other as well, so that we can rise up together.”
Four Points by Sheraton Kuala Lumpur, Chinatown
2, Jalan Balai Polis
City Centre
50000 Kuala Lumpur
Contact: 03-2035 7333