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persists amongst the Malay community.
In his collection, Izzat positions the
keris, a Javanese asymmetrical dagger,
as the main medium in highlighting his
message. In Malay customs and culture,
the keris plays a pivotal role, regardless
of social class, as it is a weapon and
spiritual object that’s often considered
to have an essence or presence and
possesses magical powers, with some
blades possessing good luck and others
possessing bad. The perspective that Izzat
tries to highlight through his artwork
is the explotations of these otherwise
beautifully crafted weaponry in deviating
people from their faith.
According to the official Malay lan-
guage dictionary, Kamus Dewan, the
word
Demang
refers to the head of district
or a title bestowed upon a chief of district,
whereas
Demang
, as implied in Izzat’s art
pieces, refers to the Javanese dialect for
the hilt design of a type of keris named
Jawa Demang
, or more commonly known
in Malaysia as
Jawa Demam
. The hilt
shape is meant to represent a deity, half
bird, half human, probably a Garuda (a
mythical bird), in a squatting position,
holding it sides as if it was shivering
from cold.
‘Mantera’, on the other hand, is a word
that originates from Sanskrit, referring
to a structure of words, sacred utterance
or chants that can evoke supernatural
powers or an otherworldly presence. It is
without a doubt that Izzat’s intention is
to visually highlight these blasphemous
rituals in the Malay world, as suggested
by the title of his solo exhibition. His
works set to highlight the Malay Muslim
community’s reliance on witchdoctors or
shamans, known as bomohs, and their
occult practices, although it is widely
taught that these sacrilegious beliefs
contradict with the true teachings of
Islam.
Izzat’s artistic expressions in this
series are manifested through the usage
of ritualistic elements, crafted by applying
the combination of paper and canvas
printing, as well as painting techniques.
Through the darkness of the colours of
his paintings, he wishes for his works to
be viewed and valued as those that try to
denote repentance in each viewer. With
his bold works of art, Izzat still has plenty
to offer and will surely make a name for
himself as a member of the emerging
young generation of artists in Malaysia
to look out for.