Liew Kung Yu

Cadangan-cadangan Untuk Negaraku

Liew Kung Yu's 4 piece exhibition at the Galeri Petronas showcases Malaysian culture that is exaggerated through his photographs. His work portrays our nationalism and patriotism to a greater extent. However, because the photographs have been worked upon according to Liew's desires, it has turned into a story of its own.

He names each photograph to suit the elements and the topic at hand. "Bandar Sri Tiang Kolam", "Pantai Gelora Cahaya", "Metropolis Warisan" and "Konkrit Jungle" are the names of the 4 artworks. Each one has a gold frame, symbolizing our materialistic wants and it overlaps at certain angles. There are also red hibiscus flowers surrounding the photographs, a further significance of our culture as it is our national flower.

The photograph entitled "Bandar Sri Tiang Kolam" is emboldened with roman columns everywhere, relating this to a "Malay" appeal as it is often seen in many houses, regardless of their style or design as they are all about the residents of Malaysia. Government buildings fancy these roman columns too, a little strange attachment that appear to be powerful. The obsession with a greater respect for the white man shows here in these roman columns. Asians are generally known to put the white man on a pedestal, along with everything else that is considered "western". "Pantai Gelora Cahaya" on the other hand represents the tourism industry revolving a rainbow theme featuring a rickshaw, a symbol of our economic struggle in previous years and has now become an attraction and a means to earn some pocket money.

"Metropolis Warisan" is a confusing display of batik and the use of public transportation in our country. Needless to say, the system and the upkeep are appalling and to draw attention to this is of an utmost personal priority. Buildings become landmarks of this photograph with a few tourists around the city centre looking lost. Translated to English, it means a metropolis that is a heritage. This goes to show that we are inheriting a city and a history of haphazard city planning with only short term solutions for problems. Finally, "Konkrit Jungle" displays animals local to Asia. However, this is a symbolic representation and comparison between our community and the animals, more likely to represent our behaviour in society.