TENUNAN : A View on Tapestry of Historical Processes

TENUNAN: A View on Tapestry of Historical Processes explores Kain Tenunan, or Songket, as a metaphor to explore the intricacies of historical developments. Known for its intricate craftsmanship and cultural significance, Songket mirrors the complexity of weaving historical narratives.

Curated by Bruneian veteran artist Osman Mohammad, this exhibition draws parallels between the art of Songket weaving and the fabric of history. Each thread in Songket represents different societal elements—social movements, economic changes, and cultural shifts—interwoven to create a comprehensive tapestry of human experience. Just as weavers design patterns in Songket, historical events form patterns that reflect societal dynamics, trends, and transformations.

Featuring works by Bruneian artists Yasmin Jaidin, Faizal Hamdan, and Armacester Arsad, TENUNAN invites viewers to appreciate the interconnectedness of historical moments, highlighting the skill and vision needed to navigate and shape pivotal events. It underscores the importance of preserving our collective legacy and understanding the complex interactions that shape our history.

TENUNAN is part of The Idea of North – a 4-day festival commemorating the 40th anniversary of bilateral relations between Brunei and Singapore.

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Curator: Osman Mohammad

Osman Mohammad has produced a body of works that spans over thirty years with a variety of medium ranging from oil paintings, watercolour, acrylic, and 3-Dimensional works. He also has a career of over thirty years’ experience in the field of media and creative arts, and design. He has participated in exhibitions, art camps, art festivals, biennale and exhibited his artworks in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, England, Japan, South Korea and China. While working on his art he is also actively working on his project promoting young emerging artists in Brunei under his studio - Creative Space. He lectures art and design at the Faculty of Arts and Social Science in Universiti Brunei Darussalam as Adjunct Senior Assistant Professor since 2013. He is appointed by Sovereign Art Foundation as Nominator for Sovereign Asia Art Prize since 2019 for Brunei Artists.

Osman Mohammad is an artist and a designer. 1984, he graduated with B.A. (Hons) in Three-Dimensional design from Central School of Art and Design, London, England and later added to his resume, a degree in Master of Business Administration. Collections of his art pieces can be found in Brunei and abroad. Brunei Museums, Brunei Shell Petroleum, Brunei LNG, Brunei Tankers, Brunei Shell Marketing, Istana Nurul Iman, Istana Nurul Izzah, Brunei Investment Agency, Fort Canning (sculpture) - Singapore, ICCRC- India are among institutions that collected his artworks. Examples of his national design works include among many - the Universiti Brunei Darussalam official and graduates Robes and National Anti-Drug Campaign’s posters in 1980s.

Artist: Yasmin Jaidin

Yasmin Jaidin is a Bruneian contemporary artist currently practicing in Brunei. Her practice revolves around materiality by working with media that can be found in the everyday like sugar, flour, grass and soil. She experiments with its physical state and is concerned with its ecology when it is displaced from one environment to another. She holds degrees at Goldsmiths and the University of Arts London, and has exhibited internationally at such venues as The National Art Center in Tokyo, UP Vargas Museum in Manila, the Manila Metropolitan Museum, and the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan. Her work exhibits a fidelity to the chosen material, combining minimalism and process into an object oriented practice.

Artist: Faizal Hamdan

Faizal Hamdan (b. 1975, Tutong, Brunei) earned a BA in Art from Curtin University of Technology, Australia in 2003. He is an art and design lecturer at a sixth form centre in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, and works in painting, sculpture and installation art. He has exhibited in Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, Japan, China and South Korea, and is interested in notions of identity, time and space. Most of Faizal’s artworks evolve from his personal experience, and can be serious yet playful at the same time.

Artist: Armacester Arsad

Armacester Arsad has been a full-time Art Tutor at Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah since 2003. She graduated with a degree in Fine Art from the University of Huddersfield in the UK and began her art education at Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan. Armacester received a Government Scholarship for her studies and later completed a Master's in Fine Art at the Winchester School of Art in the UK in 2009 through Government In-service training. Balancing her teaching responsibilities with her art practice, she actively participates in art exhibitions both within Brunei and internationally whenever possible.

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