NAZERUL
KHAIRY BEN-DZULKEFLIINSTRUCTIONS FOR STARTING ANEW ELSEWHERE
EXHIBITION
UNFOLD | IOTA24
MIDLAND JUNCTION ART CENTRE
14 September - 17 November 2024
Curated by
Kristy Scaddan
Other Artists
Monique Bosshard Curby, Bina Butcher, Vanessa Wallace, Norma Macdonald, Moira Court, Rob Kettles, Shanti Ghelmi, Louise Grimshaw, Sarah Hewer, Monika Lukowska, Matt Perrin, Kristy Scaddan, Paul Uhlman, Jo Darvall.
A wooden casket inspired by the Malay Tepak Sireh, usually a metal vessel with ingredients for the chewing of betel leaves, is often exchanged and offered between guests and hosts as a sign of welcome, humility and trust. It cradles tablets inscribed with whispers of trans-generational wisdom—voices of ancestors, cautionary tales for wanderers, and reminders of the delicate dance between humanity and the natural world – seen and unseen. Each tablet serves as a vessel for stories passed down through ages, urging a life of respect towards the flora, fauna, human, and chthonic spirits that shape our journey in a new land. This work is a prayer to and for the quiet guardians of our travels, inviting us to honour those who came before us, who pray for us from afar, they who dwell among us unseen, and to tread lightly as guests. It is a reminder that every step taken in a foreign place should be one of humility and gratitude, for we are but fleeting guests in a place that is very much alive in ways we cannot fully comprehend.
Medium
Earthenware, stoneware, ceramic stains, meranti wood.
Photo credits
Nazerul Ben-Dzulkefli
Publications & Interviews
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Earthenware, stoneware, ceramic stains, meranti wood.
Photo credits
Nazerul Ben-Dzulkefli
Publications & Interviews
+
+
