Fyerool Darma 'Moyang'

My first attempt in coming up with a write up for Fyerool’s ‘Moyang’ snowballed into a big ball of factual blur. Fortunately, I have discarded the draft into the small thrash icon at the bottom right hand corner of my screen. Perhaps, this is how most art writers feel when they are required to produce a piece of writing for an institutional exhibition, or a critic to be published in an art magazine, or a press release for an upcoming show, written eloquently so as not to scream ‘BUY ME!’. The truth is, I am not an art critic, I have never written a press release (perhaps one or two isolated events), I am not an art history, anthropology or a fine arts graduate. Hence, I will write my take on ‘Moyang’ as from a perspective of a friend who has witnessed both the thought and craft process of putting this show together, as stress-free as possible.

‘Moyang’, a Malay word meaning ‘Ancestors’ is the pivot point in Fyerool’s paintings for the show. I would like to view this body of works an extended conversation on ancestry presented in tangible forms as opposed to an ‘exhibition’. Like many other Malays, we have spent countless of afternoons with our parents and grandparents discussing our ancestry over a cup of coffee and an oily bowl of fried banana fritters. Yes we are Malay, but what kind of Malay? Where exactly did we come from? How was it like living in the kampong? Which Kampong did Atok or Nenek lived in? What year did they arrived in Singapore? What, why, when, where and how. The five questions that was taught to us back in primary school for us to ponder upon before attempting to compose a 300 word long composition has again come in useful.

Certainly, most of these questions could be simply answered in a sentence, but that is not usually the case. The complexity of the answers can only be justified through an extended and often inconclusive conversations. Indeed the original population of Singapore was made up of native fishermen tribes. However, the Malays as we know today not only evolve from the original natives of this land, but also from the Malay migrators from Indonesia. The ever changing and growing political and commerce landscape in the archipelago were the main contributing factors to the movement of the Malays in the region. The Malays from Sumatra arrived in Singapore as early as 1160. We later see the arrival of the Javanese from Java when they overthrew the ruling Malays in Singapore in 1252. The Bugis from Southern Sulawesi who were known for their sea traders and warriors, made their way down to Johor to serve the Johor-Riau empire as early as the 16^th century. The success of Singapore as a trading port later invited more ethnic groups from Indonesia, such as the Banjar from Kalimatan, the Boyanese from Bawean Island and many others.

As more Malay settlers call Singapore home, the line which divides the identity of various Malay ethnic groups diffuses as marriages between different ethnics became part of the norm in the society. The diffusion of ethnic identity within the Malay community in Singapore took another major turn when in 1871, the separation along the Malacca Straits by colonial powers in the region divided us geographically into British Malaya and Dutch Indonesia. Although we eventually gained our independence from the colonizing powers, the borders that was drawn out remained the same. We eventually identify ourselves quite simply as ‘Singapore Malay’.

Most, if not all Malays in Singapore are aware that they are not simply ‘Singapore Malay’. However, not many are willing to find out more about their ancestral past. This could be problematic as we continue living with the present simplified definition of Malay, which denies the diverse and unique cultural past that we had. It is clear that the subject of ancestral identity is far too wide to be discussed in the presentation of ‘Moyang’ alone. However, we could view this body of works as a tool in regaining consciousness of our identity, which might foster further discussions on forgotten historical narratives that has shaped us. It would not be too much to say that ‘Moyang’ is indeed a contributor to the justification of a rich history that was lost through the traumas of our historical past.

Wardah Mohamad

June 2015