Ain. Atas Pagar

About

The Back Room is pleased to present 𝐀𝐭𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐫, the second solo exhibition by emerging Malaysian artist, Ain (b. 2000, @ainhannur). Atas Pagar is a quiet show filled with the ashes of memories, comprising a series of new works in Ain’s ash painting series, which sees her creating small paintings out of ceramic ash and pigments. The fragile nature of the paintings and their vulnerability to disintegration are part of the artist’s ongoing concerns with memory and family history.

The exhibition takes its cue from an incident that happened within Ain’s family. Some time ago, her grandmother’s house in Kuantan, Pahang, was broken into and burgled. The burglar had cut through the metal grille over the kitchen window to enter the house — a clean, deliberate cut that fixed itself in Ain’s imagination ever since she heard the story and saw the photos of the cut grille. Thus began a fixation with all sorts of household gates, including window grilles, gates, and fences. For Ain, who has had a diasporic childhood spent in a variety of different countries due to the nature of her father’s work, it became a point of interest to observe and contemplate the different attitudes towards security, openness, and boundaries across different cultures. 

Comparing and contrasting these attitudes, the artist puts in her own words: ‘... The idea of a “gate” changes with context. What we choose to enclose, and leave open, says something about safety, culture, trust, fear, and identity. The phrase “atas pagar” — meaning to be on the fence, undecided — has always stuck with me. For some reason, those words just embedded themselves in my head, as if waiting for the right moment. That moment is now.’ 

Please join us for the opening reception of 𝐀𝐭𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐫, a solo exhibition by Ain, on Saturday, 28 June 2025 at 3pm.