Art lovers listen up!
Malaysian designer Kide Baharudin is celebrating his hit collection with Vans Global with his first-ever solo exhibition.
ALSO READ: Putting Malaysia On The Map: Kuala Pilah Artist Creates Head-To-Toe Collection With Vans
Born in Kuala Pilah, Kide gained fans worldwide with his unique artwork which juxtaposes vibrant modern colours with scenes set in the 50s and 60s.
Speaking to Rojak Daily, Kide said that Vans Malaysia arranged for the exhibition to be held at the "perfect spot", the @TunPerakCo-Op.
Tun Perak Co-Op is a restored and refurbished heritage building located at 62 and 64 along Jalan Tun Perak, Kuala Lumpur.
"The building's historical look just matches with my artwork perfectly!" said a delighted Kide.
Pe'el lah kau!
Entitled 'Pe'el', the exhibition features 15 of Kide's latest whimsical works.
"I choose 'Pe'el' because my paintings have lots of characters and in those days when you are a person with a lot of characters, the elders would say 'Kau ni banyak pe'el lah'."
"It's just an old catchy term which I thought was apt," he said.
While the highlight of the collection is definitely the two huge artpieces depicting busy sceneries filled with a host of different characters, Kide said that the installation was the piece especially dear to him.
"I got to work with my Abah on the installation. I wanted it to be made from an actual kampung house window and he helped me put it together so that I could paint on it."
"The funny thing is that my Abah is a perfectionist. I wanted an imperfect window to fit my imperfect looking characters but Abah just could not stand making something senget for me," he laughed.
Kide said that his Abah finally presented him with the most perfect, most symmetrical kampung house window.
"To fit my style, I decided to paint the lines around the panes to make it seem senget and I was nervous to see my Abah's reaction when he finally saw the piece,"
"I remember Abah just looked at the window and stood there in silence or a bit. After a while, he smiled so I knew he liked it lah," said Kide who spoke to us at the exhibition together with his wife Norshafika Sharom.
Making a name for Malaysia
"I'm so proud of his acheivements and through his collection with Vans and his artwork, he is spreading the word about Malaysian culture to the world."
"A lot of people still don't understand Malaysia. Our people, our culture, our tradition and they are learning about it through his art," said Shafika who met Kide while they were both studying graphic design.
The two also collaborate and design together when they can.
Chill out with art
The relaxed or lepak vibe at the Pe'el exhibition also perfectly sets the tone for the whole experience.
The traditional interior, the beautiful paintings and the music.
In fact, there's actually a working jukebox with a specially curated list of songs chosen by Kide himself at the exhibition.
When visitors come in, ideally they should pick a song from the list, play it from the jukebox and then start looking around.
"Music adds to the experience. You listen to it and then look at the artwork and you can almost see the characters moving," said Kide.
So guys, don't miss the opportunity to check out this delightful exhibition by such a talented young Malaysian artist.
The 'Pe'el' exhibition started on 17 July and will continue until 26 July at Tun Perak Co-Op..jpg.aspx "Vans Malaysia")
Head there between 10am to 8pm and if you're lucky, you'll even get to meet Kide too.
"I'm here most days because I want to celebrate and enjoy this exhibition with everyone," said Kide.
What a lovely idea!