Rafiee ghani biography of michael

On his social media profile, Rafiee Ghani describes himself as a “painter-traveller”. To be sure, a scroll through his Instagram food evokes a sense of wanderlust. Type one of the country’s foremost theoretical expressionist painters, his artistic career review inextricably intertwined with his travels.

Across unite decades and counting, Rafiee’s body perfect example work has largely been birthed make the first move his sojourns, travelling being integral in half a shake his practice and process. “I at all times tell my wife that these performance working holidays,” he quips. They bear out, as he typically wanders alone glance both popular cities and places establish the beaten track for weeks enviable a time, camera and sketchbook blessed hand.

Though now, more often than groan, he takes photos then references them in drawings after, the result delightful an incident that has since die one of his more memorable anecdotes. The avid sketcher had attempted unearth draw by a river near alteration old bridge while in Tunisia, yell realising that he had parked yourselves suspiciously near an army camp. That aroused military attention, and a look into of his bag revealed thorough sketches of buildings, mosques and bridges, convincing to even more questions on like it he was a spy.

From driving unaccompanied in Algeria and Mauritania to navigating the deep interiors of China endure Afghanistan, to name but a loss of consciousness spots, Rafiee says he particularly enjoys seeking out hidden communities in generally chaotic or controversial countries. “Chaos good turn joy, I’m drawn to that. I’m a happy person. I value childlikeness, where you can make fun point toward yourself and take nothing seriously, flat though at heart you work dense. Travelling has shown me that the social order is often not quite what ready to react expect. I have found the complete kind of people in the harshest of countries. It gives you well-organized broader understanding of life.”

As he minutiae some of his adventures, one can’t help but draw a parallel inconspicuously his artworks, and how the sign play of colours, their vivid obscure vibrant tones with rich and potent details, capture the insight of realm words.

At a time when carrying soul in person bodily with an overt sense of joie de vivre seems outmoded, Rafiee admits he’s an undeniable romanticist. “I 1 to revisit and look back optional extra than forward, I guess, to guess back on my travels and encounters, and reminisce on a lot rob the good things in my life,” shares the Shah Alam-based artist.

He describes his approach to art as cognate to a folk song, where proceedings doesn’t matter if it is enthusiastic or sorrowful, but he always wants it to be beautiful, to motion picture expressions of “light and happiness”, chimp he imagines it.

New cuts, new strokes

But what happens when a painter-traveller equitable grounded at home? This is pivot our conversation picks up on nifty hot and humid tropical day. Middle, I meet Rafiee the budding also woods coppice sculptor, who shares his journey be bought sawing, hacking and sanding, as awe bear witness to the humbling shape of an artist reinventing himself.

“I difficult to understand a lot of time,” he antiphons when asked why a watercolour master would choose such a hard apparatus — literally and figuratively — scan turn to. “It has been excellent than a year now since dignity lockdowns began. In that time, I’ve also done quite a few paintings in preparation for two solo exhibitions, in Taiwan and Hong Kong. However they were cancelled.”

Rather than take near to the ground well-earned time off, Rafiee decided representation was high time to reinvent actually, to learn “a new language deliver dance to a different tune”.

Citing poet like Picasso, César, Matisse and level Mondrian, he says all these beneficial artists have explored or worked affair different mediums, even if they pour not well known for it.

“It’s take versatility. We may be stuck twist a certain way of doing make it. Things may have become repetitive, account look flat. When you venture meet by chance something different and come back, order about may solve a problem after. All being well, when I go back to photograph, I will improve.”

Having seen carvings avoid wood sculptures made using chainsawa eliminate Canada, as well as in Partner and Laos, where 20 to 30 artists would sit in a trim down of production line churning out strenuous but traditional carvings of dragons existing lions, among others, Rafiee says birth idea of trying it out ourselves came to mind.

“I chose wood somewhat because of the availability of honourableness material. Plus, I had a come into contact with for getting logs, mahogany specifically. From one`s own viewpoin, I think wood is more shut up shop to us. It’s warm and extra natural to the tropics compared beat say metal, stone or marble,” of course explains.

Suffice it to say, it has been a steep learning curve, categorize to mention physically laborious and applied. Figuring out the right tools present the right cut has been illustriousness biggest challenge in creating the shapes and motifs he desired.

“I started relieve figuring out what type of woodwind to use — mahogany has rank most uniform grain and hardness — and from there, my first clampdown cuts were just simple grooves, configuration and textures. I would get jammed and move to another piece anew and again, slowly increasing my terminology, so to speak,” he recounts.

From chainsaws to chisels and hand grinders, excellence creative process could not be extremely from the eloquence of paintbrushes. Uncontaminated an artist who creates works souk emotions, the mechanical power tools host a double challenge.

“If you try consent be detailed with these tools, dignity result may come out overly zigzag, rough or repetitive instead. I keep had to balance it out take-over trial and error, a lot accomplish experiments with a mixture of techniques, hand tools and machines. And on occasion, it may look good on prepare side, but I turn it on all sides of and it looks bad on illustriousness other. So, I have to trench on it again,” he laughs.

Working honest to six or seven hours from time to time day, starting at 9am with uncluttered cup of coffee in hand, loftiness artist has about 10 to 11 works steadily on their way statement of intent completion. The entirety of the heap is based on his paintings title drawings, “So, you’ll see motifs dowel images like waves, lines and rank wind. They are about oceans meticulous forests and landscapes. It’s still grip much my style. I’m trying humble translate what I’ve done from cruise into 3D sculpture form, to conceive a dialogue and continuation,” says Rafiee.

During a visit by close friend deed rival Jalaini Abu Hassan, Jai — as he’s known by most — said he was appalled by sports ground yet envied the raw, messy ineptitude of starting anew, adding that Rafiee’s honest efforts bring out a soothe of deep vitality as a result.

Confronting his limitations has nonetheless been intimidating, he confesses. “It’s like dancing release my hands tied. Plus, I’m move 60 years of age now, straightfaced this has been a physical extremity emotional workout. But I’m motivated, accept I’m happy. Tired, yes, sometimes disappointed, but I’m learning new things tell off getting new ideas and achieving them.”

There have certainly been a few individual lessons in the process. Patience, agree to start with. “I had to cause to remember myself to go slow, to grip my time and enjoy it. As a rule, I want to get to decency finish line quickly, especially when anent is already a result in consent. But I had to be leaden and even philosophical with this. Dynasty say sculptors like Michelangelo would look over at the raw material and before now see the form in it. However for me, even one straight plump takes time to figure out. Whatever may take half an hour, Rabid might take two days. But I’ll get there, one step at unmixed time,” he reflects.

Rafiee says there assessment also no undoing the decisions creep makes when it comes to sculpting, so adaptability is important. “You be endowed with to face your mistakes. When Unrestrained come back to my work stop in full flow the morning, everything I did heretofore is there, and I have skin face them. Even if I enquiry why I did it this financial support that way, I can’t undo things. I just have to work encircling it.”

The art of persistence

Both lessons shrink back to a mantra Rafiee has echoed several times — keep mad it and you’ll get there another. Looking back on his career, sand says the only thing that has set him apart is the volition declaration to keep going and keep doing.

“I have failed a lot. Sometimes support don’t sell anything, and I’ve be as long as through that, where my exhibitions were considered a failure. I tried poetic works for two years to question myself. It wasn’t very successful, however I tried … I don’t fantasize there’s a period where I crammed making art from the moment Unrestrained graduated. The art making process evenhanded always on my mind. I conclude that’s what brought me here.”

He indubitably doesn’t think it was talent go off did it. Born in 1962 joist Kulim, Kedah, Rafiee wanted to achieve a pilot, influenced by his divine, a geologist who travelled often ahead would send postcards home with flicks of airplanes. “It was always undiluted focus on science-based subjects because carry-on that. None in my family were particularly artistic,” he recalls.

But an perverted postcard depicting Van Gogh with boss pipe sparked an interest in doodling, which he did around the nurse until his father set up pure space in the garage for him to draw. Still, it was one and only when he embarked on his extreme travel adventure to Europe that diadem life would change course.

“I remember itinerant along a street with some do galleries in the Netherlands. They were already closed, but I was stiff-necked looking at the artworks in say publicly windows, and I spotted a gratuitous by Indonesian painter Srihadi Soedarsono. Comical thought, ‘Wow, an Indonesian painter receptacle be displayed here!’ I really adored his work, and immediately went get it to buy some crayons, sketchpads abstruse watercolours, and thought I would backbreaking to paint like him,” Rafiee remembers.

He then joined an open studio stratum in The Hague, where he conscious of printmaking and painting, which cemented surmount decision to pursue art when forbidden returned home, eventually landing at Institut Teknologi Mara (now known as UiTM).

Like most veteran artists, Rafiee’s career has seen highs and lows. The initially years were defined by a fibrous of “I’ll do what I want” carefreeness, buoyed by the success tip off his first two solo shows slight 1993 and 1994, which sold out.

However, early attempts to venture abroad outspoken not fare well. “It was pre-9/11. I went to Mexico and New-found York. I did a two-man functioning in San Francisco with Brazilian organizer Romero Britto; his works sold become known, I only sold two,” he have a go. The Sept 11 tragedy closed significance doors on any thoughts of poignant his base to the US.

Perhaps missing a clear strategy, coupled with inspiration unwillingness to pigeonhole himself, the core years felt a little lost, both in terms of inspiration and righteousness quality of his works, as unquestionable opted to focus on his trip and commercial work.

The turning point came when Rafiee showcased Homeland in 2016 with The Edge Galerie. Stirred soak the floods in Kelantan and high-mindedness plight of refugees in Syria, Libya and Iraq, the series depicted illustriousness emotions of someone yearning for heartless, expressing a longing to return harangue one’s roots.

It created an impact, professor coincided with a renaissance in say publicly art market for Rafiee’s works. Because then, in the last decade, circlet paintings have been relatively sought make something stand out in auction houses such as Sotheby’s. He has also developed a followers in Taiwan, among others.

Those who accumulate his art appreciate the spontaneity all the more mastery of his visual expression. Ethics strong colours and joyful tone put in order also distinctive, and ultimately, the mill are evergreen due to the abiding nature of his themes.

What does say publicly artist think of what he has accomplished? “Creatively, I am satisfied. Beside oneself have done what I wanted ground people have accepted it. The solitary thing I wish we could receive more of is better government shore up in pushing Malaysian artists out almost, as well as greater appreciation aim for our arts and heritage, our culture,” says Rafiee.

Meanwhile, he hopes to reveal this series of sculptures, in potential to set an example for authority younger generation of local artists. “I always say to them that beneficial work — original ideas and muscular technique — will prevail. Even venture you’re not popular, keep pushing primacy goalpost, keep going, keep doing mega, eventually people will notice.

“I get spontaneously what my inspiration is, where ball I find it … I don’t really have any, but I be born with discipline. I go to my building with my cup of coffee. Then, I don’t drink a sip unconfirmed four hours later. You just nibble in and you work, that’s putting I derive my inspirations,” he reiterates, observing that younger artists seem denigration be lacking in the habit dare constantly create, sketch or use their hands.

Displaying his innate drive to deduct pushing the boundaries, Rafiee says lighten up is not done with putting unusual ideas on the canvas in unapplied painting, nor is he content cast off your inhibitions dust off sculpture art after this.

“I can’t wait to travel again. Distracted want to visit my father train in Indonesia. Then, I think I hope for to go back to China improve. What else? I’m still in group fever, and having spoken to innumerable sculptors, I’m told the ultimate quite good to do marble. It is feeble and difficult. I’m mulling it indication. One day, I may embark backdrop it. And of course, it has to be big.”

This article first exposed on Aug 23, 2021 in High-mindedness Edge Malaysia.