Written by: Tofu Leaf
As its name suggests, Malaysia Day Art Challenge is a series of art challenges to celebrate Malaysia. In the year 2021, I drew 16 traditional Malaysian dances to showcase the diversity of my country.
This series was a journey from start to finish. I had to work with ink and paper - art mediums I actively avoid - and I ended up improving as the series progresses (see day 1 and day 11). Not only that, researching for these dances was insightful. I try to encompass for every ethinc group there is in Malaysia, even including the Siam, the baba nyonyas and the bajaus, because their stories are fading. And I don't want their stories to just slip through the cracks like that.
When researching for Igal Tabawan, it was saddening to find only two recorded videos on the dance. Igal Tabawan is a dance performed by the Bajaus for weddings. The old lady in the drawing is a tribute to the dancer in one of the videos, in which she danced alone with slow, but soft, beautiful movements.
The series received amazing responses from r/malaysia. In times of discord, it was these drawings that brought light to everyone's feed. This is when I understood how art is a powerful tool to bring people closer together - by reminding others on the good, and empowering a society through them.
You can see the original posts by clicking on the button below! Have a great day.
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