ACMtalks | A webinar with Dr Anissa Rahadiningtyas and ACM Senior Curator Noorashikin binte Zulkifli, originally broadcast via Zoom on Thursday, 17 March 2022, 7pm SG.
Tied to the revered status of the Quran, calligraphy – more specifically, Arabic calligraphy – has long been regarded as the highest form of artistic expression in the Islamic world. In pursuit of ornamental writing, artists have pushed calligraphy’s limits by fashioning complex compositions where the aesthetic appeal of the visual form outweighs readability. Additionally, newly Muslim communities often adopted (and adapted) the Arabic script to write their vernacular languages. In Southeast Asia, the most prevalent and well-known form is Jawi: typically, the Malay language rendered in Arabic script. In use for over 500 years, Jawi eventually gave way to a romanised alphabet by the mid-20th century.
In light of this, Anissa Rahadiningtyas will examine the use of Jawi in the works of modern and contemporary Indonesian artists who explore the textual and artistic capacity of the script. Focusing on the works of A. D. Pirous (born 1932) and Arahmaiani (born 1961), she argues that the methods and convictions of these artists have the potential to decolonise, not only the practice of art-making but also the transmission of knowledge, by reclaiming the tradition that was severely marginalised by the Dutch colonial education in the 19th and 20th centuries. Furthermore, the artists’ engagement with Jawi brings to the fore distinct memories and experiences as each proposes reinterpretations of the notions of becoming “modern” and “Islamic.”
In response, Noorashikin Zulkifli will draw on objects from the ACM collection to highlight calligraphic and manuscript traditions in Islamic Southeast Asia as possible sources or comparisons. This dialogue between traditional and modern/contemporary forms aims to explore the significance of Arabic script in this region.
