Every month, we feature artwork from Penang State Art Gallery’s permanent collection.
By Fahmi Mustaffa
Ng Hon Loong, Figure 2 (Male Dancer), 1992, Acrylic on Board, 30 cm x 23 cm
Image courtesy of Penang State Art Museum
There are 260 types of Blue—could be more, no, there definitely are more. Because Blue can’t just be colours. Blue is for the ocean, sky, rivers, lakes, and mood. Blue is for daydreams and horizons. It doesn’t take up form, it is a form; even when it is formless, it is always in form.
A blue formation, an assemblage of hues, in the process of anthropomorphising. This is probably what Ng Hon Loong was trying to achieve—or not. There could be no anthropomorphism here—it is simply a ‘Male Dancer’, as the title suggests. But is he dancing at all? If he is, where is the movement? If he isn’t, what would a dancer do in that shade of blue?
Painted in 1992, Figure 2 (Male Dancer) is not only a painting, but a research project, to echo what Picasso once said. Born in 1964, Ng first studied at the Malaysian Institute of Art (MIA) before his experiences were further enriched at Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA) and Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs (ENSAD) in France. He also trained at the Atelier de Decor du Mur in Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Appliques et des Metiers d’Art (ENSAAMA).
Figure 2 (Male Dancer) is a research on shade and lighting, and blurry or non-existent lines made to take a form. This could be the research statement on how our eyes, one of the world’s greatest deceivers, form a memory of a dancer. A blurred line, with significant form, and our mind convinces us to believe. We can see the head, legs, hands, and body. And a pole? What is he doing with the pole—grabbing or letting it go?
We have the right to question but the definite answer belongs to Ng. What we enjoy, on the other hand, is the memory of a male dancer, in many shades of blue, transient yet permanent. Like us now. The reason for this season of blue, where we are forced to isolate from human touch. Blue is for blurry vision and foreign feeling. Yet when everything is naught but a gentle blurred touch, unfortunately, the irrelevance of memory starts to make sense.
Fahmi Mustaffa is a Writer, Visual Artist, and Translator.