Silat Demo at Humind Art Solo Exhbt.

On looking back at my first Solo Exhibition since my return to Malaysia, held at the ABN-AMRO Gallery USM entitled HUMIND I feel like I have come a long way in trying to fit into the Penang Art scene. Hasnul J. Saidon the Director of the MGTF-USM was instrumental in making the show happen.

Also present then was the martial arts group from Kampong Rawa with a demonstration of the ceremonial Silat presentation performed by a group of Westerners who were doing a research on the martial arts in Malaysia.

The performance was graceful and elegantly done almost like a dance performance.

Opening the door of the Silat tradition to foreigners gave it a fresh breath of air and the performers were themselves much absorbed into the performances.

Under normal circumstance the Silat form of martial art is mostly not exposed to others who are not Malays but this school is one of those which allowed for participation by non Malays.l

Ceremonial Style of Silat were performed as a form of exhibition on special ocassions like those of weddings and social functions.

The typical Malay costumes were colorful and added towards the Aesthetic beauty of the performance especially worn by a group of Westerners. It is not that those in the East are shows no interest in Western culture, it seems that just about everything Western is being immitated, adapted and assimilated by the East albeit Break Dancing or Rapping, Jazz or Classical, Boxing or Wrestling, when performed by locals here it not anything unusuall more often it is viewed with disdain or even frowned upon.

It is refreshing for me to look back and be able to see more what had taken place when I had the opening of the Exhibition. The people who were there, those who made it happen those who came to make it more festive, all these moments are often forgottten as time passes by. I am ashame for not keeping in touch with these individuals over the years but they and the moments shared with them will always be remembered as it is here in my blog.

I

I was a Silat Instructor at a point in my life while living in the East Coast and for a while in Penang. In Penang i had forty students at one time and was doing the practice at Sungai Pinang , my Auntie's house. I met a student or two now and then and found that they have children and even about to become a grandfather themselves. Incidently my group of students put on a demonstration at USM when the University had a Martial Arts convention sometime in the early seventies. My group represented the Silat Seni Gayong Malaysia at the time.