Angkat-Sumpah by Arif Fauzan Othman

About

Arif Fauzan Othman's fourth solo exhibition, Angkat-Sumpah, features fifteen oil on canvas paintings depicting symbolic figures that convey social values represented by intellectual dichotomies and cultural beliefs. The subject matters were conceived from statuettes created by Arif Fauzan in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown, photographed, later composed, then painted on canvas in a theatrical landscape.

Known for his figurative and abstract-style painterly ability, Arif Fauzan emerges from a six-year interval since his last solo exhibition, Blackzephyr, with a new series of majestic and elegant renditions of sculptural figures to depict the mystique of Nusantara mythology and the contrasting symbolism of glorified statues in Western culture.

His latest body of work, Angkat-Sumpah, translates as “swear an oath”, but a play on semantics can also mean “glorified curse” or “lift the curse”. The idea of delving into “paradoxical dichotomy” provides an opportunity for Arif Fauzan to examine the contrasting forces of good and evil, and the disorienting moral landscape that engulfs our modern society, where discerning right from wrong has become increasingly challenging.