KUCHING: Local social enterprise and cultural initiative Catama will be hosting a 10-day contemporary art exhibition featuring the work of artists, craft artisans, musicians and cultural practitioners from Borneo (Sarawak, Sabah, Kalimantan and Brunei), as well as those from Peninsular Malaysia, Australia and the UK.

Running this Dec 9 to 18, the ‘Dalam’ exhibition will take place at the Think&Tink, the site of the retro-popular Ting & Ting Supermarket that was once an iconic Kuching landmark and has now become a creative hub.

‘Dalam’ (‘In’ in Bahasa Malaysia) explores themes of ‘the other, the interior, the seen and unseen’, alongside the intersection between cultural and craft practices and creative expressions. The event will also include a series of inperson talks and dialogues, as well as artist tours where members of the public get to meet some of the 14 featured artists and collectives and discuss their work and inspiration with them.

Catama creative director and ‘Dalam’ curator Catriona Maddocks said: “This exhibition explores themes of identity, craft and the inner world; the ‘dalam’ and the ‘alam’ (realm) that we create, expressed through audiovisual storytelling, woven craft installations, textile art and spatial documentation.”

The featured exhibits will include a 4m-tall installation made from 100 woven mats created by the artisans from the Iban community of Rumah Perdu in Ulu Spak; sculptures and photographs from West Kalimantan artists Zakaria Pangaribuan and Hardiyanti that explore indigenous traditions, beliefs and contemporary lives; audio-visual pieces in video, sound installation and projection formats by Ayesha Keshani, Harold Reagan Eswar @ EGN and Tiyan Baker; textile works by Bethany Balan, Elroy Ramantan, Iona Danald and Leopold Garett Jawan; sculptures by Anyshya Jusam; installation by Armanzaki Azrs; and print works by Sharon Chin.

“The art scene in Kuching has really boomed in the past few years, especially with places like Think&Tink by Borneo Laboratory, and Seni Kita Festival by HAUS KCH.

“We can see that audiences are interested in new, experimental work, but very often we still see exhibitions only featuring paintings of hornbills and longhouses. Whilst these are important symbols of Sarawak’s heritage, this ‘Dalam’ exhibition is an opportunity for contemporary artists from Borneo and beyond to push beyond these themes to express their modern lives, experiences and art forms, whilst still honouring craft traditions,” said Maddocks.

The exhibition is collaboratively produced with arts platform Borneo Bengkel, which will also feature its ‘Sem/bunyi’ exhibition that was recently premiered at George Town Literary Festival in Penang.

In this respect, Borneo Bengkel curator Sonia Luhong Wan said after presenting ‘Sem/bunyi’ in Penang, her team was really happy to bring it back to Sarawak and share it with the local audiences.

“Borneo Bengkel is a platform that has been working with creatives from across the island for the past five years,” she said.

On ‘Dalam’, Sonia said the exhibition would feature many women and indigenous artists representing all the nations of Borneo.

“We really want to provide the space and opportunities for Kuchingites to engage in these conversations too,” she added.

The daily opening time for ‘Dalam’ is from noon to 7pm. Entry is free.

There will be an exhibition tour on Dec 14, commencing at 7pm.

Additionally, the artist tours will be conducted on Dec 17 and 18, to commence at 2pm on both days. They are a part of the ‘Seni Kita Festival’ programme, taking place at the Old Courthouse Kuching on the same weekend.

For more details on ‘Dalam’, go to http://www.catamaborneo.com/dalam, or look up @catamaborneo on Facebook and Instagram.