Chetak 12 presents its second annual exhibition entitled 2nd Edition from August 27 to September 8, 2019 at HOM Art Trans, Kuala Lumpur.

 

Original artworks in Intaglio print medium signed “edition 2” will be highlighted in this show to celebrate Chetak 12’s subsequent collaboration with senior Malaysian artists and international emerging artists.

 

Established in 2018, Chetak 12 is formed by contemporary artists Bayu Utomo Radjikin, Samsudin Wahab and Faizal Suhif as a printmaking studio that allows fellow artists to produce works in this medium.

 

Three senior artists: Long Thien Shih, Juhari Said and Rahman Mohamed were invited to create original prints in the studio. In July 2019, Chetak 12 welcomed three Southeast Asian emerging artists: Anton Villaruel (The Philippines), Immartyas (Indonesia) and Yas Doctor (The Philippines) to participate in its inaugural one-month-long residency programme.

 

The results of their artistic production featured in 2nd Edition offer fresh perspective into printmaking. The senior artists worked on perfecting their technique: Long Thien Shih produced an etching and aquatint work titled Pisang series; and Juhari Said created etchings entitled Kerbau Jantan and Kerbau Betina, a technique he has just retreated to after nearly four decades since he last worked on the medium.

 

Bayu Utomo Radjikin’s series of Raut Wajah etchings are created from used plates resulting in overlapping effects in each portrait. Samsudin Wahab’s series of “love ballads” in etching and aquatint technique is a reflection of his current personal life – illustrating hybrid characters based on distant memory. Faizal Suhif experiments with Chine-collé technique to produce nature-inspired works.

 

Through the residency programme, Anton Villaruel, Immartyas and Yas Doctor hone their skills in printmaking and at the same time, share new knowledge with Chetak 12. A collaborative work was created to commemorate the occasion. Though the artworks produced consist of individual elements, the participating artists experienced a sense of communal and togetherness in the process.

 

In addition to cultivating the art of printmaking through artist-exchange programmes, Chetak 12 also aims to popularise this early artistic technique by encouraging more artists to explore this medium with hopes of gaining new interest among the local audience.