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The following is an excerpted article from Shian's Art magazine Issue No. 96. (2005) -- Webmaster

I LOVE LITTLE GIRLS, THEY MAKE ME FEEL SO GOOD

GNUTE is a young Malaysian-born fine arts graduate who just completed her studies and exhibits in New Zealand. She has used apple skin, wax and sewn material to produce contemporary work that is non-political (thank goodness). For her latest installation she stuffed mung beans into stockings to form tumor-like tentacles. Here she answers 14 questions provided by graphic designer Jun Kit.

Do you have any artistic influences that might shape the way you work?

I tend to start out with research first of all. Some tutors in art school emphasize experimenting with materials as a starting point, others suggest research. I've always started out with the written word or with drawings. It's amazing the kinds of ideas you can get just by reading a footnote. The fun thing about art is making sense of all the random ideas you come across; there is a kind of rhizomic connection between everything.

Quite often you explore themes of child sexuality in your work. Why are these topics expressed so frequently in your artistic direction?

I am most interested in the idea that something innocent (for eg, the image of a little girl, a nursery rhyme, a relationship between two people) could teeter on the perverse, depending upon how one views it.

I chose the theme of little girls because that’s what I enjoy drawing, but also because the child is something that society fiercely protects. Naturally, I can’t resist questioning what is sacred to society. I think the idea of the sexless and innocent child is an adult construct. I don't remember being an innocent kid. Only when I grew up was I told to view my childhood self as innocent and un-knowing. Innocence itself is a concept I don't quite believe in, as it remains a sort of abstract that I left behind along with my religious beliefs.

There’s no doubt that our society is deep in the cult of the child: as we grow older we're encouraged to look as much as we can like children, and we idolise or protect the purity that children stand for. At the same time, we deny children their own (sexual/immoral) desires while projecting our own onto them. A child
is defined by what it does not have, namely sexual knowledge, experience, definite personality & features... In other words, the child is a blank onto which we project our own desires. That's why the idea of a "sexless, innocent" child is so appealing. That's why movies like Pretty Baby, Lolita, etc. were so shocking and repulsive in their time, because the sexually knowing child jars against our constructed myth of childhood. I see my work as contributing to this contemporary dialogue.

Most people, namely people who know me, think that I am drawing myself in those pictures hence they are disturbed by this. They think I was sexually abused as a child. I suppose that I am role-playing as well, with my drawings, because I find it interesting how people read an artwork in terms of the maker’s biography.

For your "Taint" exhibition in 2003, a soothing soundtrack of guitars and pan flutes by Ronnie Khoo was produced to accompany the work that were shown. The music formulated a rather innocent atmosphere accentuating the child-like pieces on display but when one discovers the underlying perverse meanings of it there hints a sense of irony. Is music an important aspect of your life and work?

Haha, I'm not sure if Ronnie would ever consider using pan flutes! Maybe he would, but it must have been something else for that particular recording. I’m glad you got to hear it, because after a while, the gallery folks decided to pump up the atmosphere and play party music instead. It was in conjunction with their celebration party, after all. I knew what I wanted for the soundtrack, and that was an attractive melody with weird, off-key sharps and flats seething underneath. I think Ronnie found it difficult to be directed by someone else, although he had lots of freedom and was enthusiastic about the project. He did well despite the time constraints. It’s rare for me to add sound to a work. Maybe I should consider it more often in the future.

Music is important when I am working but not as important as going out to see art exhibitions and getting the energy from good art. Listening to music while making art is fun, and sets the mood, but I need silence if I want to think hard about a concept or if I’m assessing what I’ve made.

Are your pieces related in any way to Rita Ackermann's artistic approach towards the notion of lust and female sexuality? Some of your work of girls exude the same sexually provocative personae as her paintings and drawings of nymphets made in the early nineties.

That's true, they're very similar. But I was more influenced by photographers like Jock Sturges and Inez van Lamsweerde rather than Rita Ackermann. The concerns in my work are similar to hers, minus the speed (drugs). I think her work that you’re referring to shows nymphets that are more self-destructive than the ones I drew, actually. She had them puking, or sticking syringes into their arms. My images were more passive in contrast, more about the exhibition of their bodies and awareness of their sexuality.

What is your favourite piece of your own work?

The latest installation I did. It has a really long title so I don't think I'll repeat it here. It brought together neatly the themes I was working with at the time, ie the sexual child, the monstrous child, germination...

Young Malaysian artists seem to have very little space and venues to exhibit and express themselves. Seemingly, only a small handful of independent (mostly artist-run spaces) cater towards the younger generation, where the participants are familiar and few. People are starting to think that Malaysian youths would rather spend more effort doing non-artistic activities. In your opinion, are the creative youths just hiding, or their activities aren't very publicised, or because they just don't care?

No, I think we have many creative individuals. Unfortunately, as (artist/arts writer) Tan Sei Hon says, they need to ‘cari makan’ first. Perhaps that is why these creative youths choose Graphic Design instead of Fine Arts. It pays more. On top of that, I don’t think our local art schools match up internationally. Their arts courses are still too structured and traditional. I’m afraid the artistic climate isn’t very conducive for creative minds. That is why I regard the artists who do stick to Art as quiet mavericks; how they survive in Malaysia is so admirable. I talked to Phuan Thai Meng once, it was a fulfilling discussion for me, where he said that he had to improvise with crayons because he couldn’t afford oil paint at the time.

How is the younger generation art movements in New Zealand different from that of Malaysia's, if such 'movements' exist?

It's so different. New Zealanders don't know how great they have it here. I suppose it's good that they keep chiding each other about not being good enough by international standards, which shows how ambitious they are. They also complain about things like how hard it is to get funding, but at least the govt funding is generous and well spread. In a nutshell, Kiwis have a “can-do” attitude to things. I take my hat off to their resourcefulness. Young artists here don’t wait to get a dealer gallery gig, they simply find empty spaces around the city – be it a shop lot that is in between leases or an empty area in a back alley – and show their work. That’s what’s important to them, exhibiting and doing it, whether the turn up is just twenty art punters or a hundred. Some shows are shit, some are excellent despite the low budgets, but the important thing is to try. They’re lucky, because they have a very active arts scene that supports them. Even established artists and curators don’t find it beneath themselves to visit these exhibitions held by artists fresh out of art school.

I get the impression that some younger Malaysian artists tend to adopt militant stances or rail against the ‘institution’. I’m sorry but I find this whiney and didactic sometimes. I’d like to see more variety in subject matter, in local art. That’s why I find Lau Mun Leng’s work a breath of fresh air, it’s not political, it’s more open for interpretation.

What are you currently working on? Are there any upcoming shows?

I will be showing with two other artists at the George Fraser Gallery, Auckland. It’s an alternative space and I’m both excited and anxious about it. Our working title is currently “Very Big Numbers Are Scary”, the show will deal with concepts like mutation, multiplicities, and colonies. I know my description seems trite for now. We’re still in the process of resolving ideas and making the work itself.

What do you think of the intense amalgamation of creative people in Kuala Lumpur? The network of people-musicians-artists-playwrights-editors-writers that know (and have collaborated in one way or another with) each other is astoundingly compact.

There are a good many roles in the art scene that have yet to be filled: we need incisive art critics and reviewers, theorists, educators, and curators. That has made it easy for Malaysian practitioners to assume several roles. That’s good news for me, as an arts practitioner just starting out, because it might be easier to get my foot in the door. But eventually, we will need people who specialize, don’t you think?

You mentioned the compact nature of the arts network. Very kampung - I like it! But that’s because I still feel like I’m outside of it. I think if I got much more involved, the pettiness of the small scene might get to me. I’ve heard gripes about this from the more seasoned ones.

Do you have any role models?

Many. I’ll just mention one. My partner. He’s very hardworking and dedicated. That motivates me. Maybe because I feel competitive!

Lastly, what inspires you to live and produce art?

I can’t imagine myself not doing it.

disclaimer: this essay was not written for this website. It is taken from the stated source above.