langkawi magazine
Culture SECTION
Ibrahim Hussein: Up Close and Personal
The Ibrahim Hussein Museum and Cultural Foundation sits on the northwestern fringe of Langkawi overlooking the beautiful waters of the Andaman Sea.
Built on the edge of the rainforest, the foundation is a stunning place that is full of light and is a perfect home for the works of the great man himself, as well as other Malaysian artists. The centre is also the living quarters for Ibrahim Hussein and his wife and muse, Sim.
Can we start by talking a bit about the Ibrahim Hussein Museum and Cultural Foundation and your reasons for wanting to be start such a foundation?
Well, this is a difficult question to answer. In order to understand my motives for this you have to know a bit about my past and the way this has influenced me today. I come from a poor family in Kedah. My father could not read or write and money was always tight, so even when I was a small boy things were fairly tough.
Then later, in my early twenties, when I was a young aspiring artist all I ever wanted was the freedom to express myself in the way that I wanted without any expectation from anyone, and yet there were always so many pressures - financial and other. I was pressured to accept jobs that I didn't want to do, I was sent to schools I didn't want to attend, and when I went to study at the Byam Shaw Art School in London, it was an incredibly difficult and lonely time.
I was the only Asian student in the whole school, at one point all of my worldly belongings were stolen, I completely ran out of money and had to work as a postman, a movie extra, and god knows what else. In fact I did everything except wash dishes to survive! It was really a really hard time and a time that I will never forget.
So one day many years later, I was swimming in the pool at home in KL and thinking about what had happened to me and the struggles I had gone through to get to where I am now, and I suddenly realised how lucky I was, how I had been blessed with a fame and success, and that I had met so many fascinating people - writers, artists, politicians and what have you.
So I said to myself, maybe I could make use of my situation to help others and create a living centre for the arts. I wanted to show the world that art is the most important and unifying force that there is - and that it is a celebration of life that can help nations, races and religions come together as one.
When I had this idea I screamed out loud and realised that I had to go ahead with it. So I then started pursuing this idea. All my friends thought I was completely crazy and that my work would suffer. The idea of a foundation for the arts was something that had never been heard of in Malaysia before.
But we persevered (Sim and I) and starting working on this idea in the late 80s and it all came about from there.
What are you aspirations for the foundation's future?
Well like I say, I want it to be a living centre for the arts. A place where artists will be able to live and paint and where visitors will be able to come and meet the artists in residence and watch performances. But this is not an idea that many people understand. Some people think I am only after self-promotion and this makes me feel very sad.
There is also an on-going problem with funding. The past funding, both corporate and individual, was raised by Sim and I, but the future is tough. The NST has agreed on some sponsorship for the future so that is good but there are still problems. 
Why did you decide to build the foundation on the Island of Langkawi?
Well, the PM heard about my ideas for the foundation and encouraged me to build it on the island of Langkawi. So I came here with the architect in 1988.
There was nothing on this side of the island yet. It was really wild then, not like now with the Datais and what have you everywhere. It was a dream really. And we were given to permission to build. But there were lots of delays, most of them political and this went on for eight years! Anyway, the foundation was formerly launched by the PM in 1992 and we opened in 2000.
The idea was that the museum would be built with minimal ecological disruption to the environment - we wanted it to be a living museum in the rainforest, which it is.
Can you tell me a bit about your involvement with the 2000 Langkawi International Arts Festival (LIFA)?
Well the idea for this came from the fact that I saw Langkawi as an island being squeezed by two famous islands, Bali and Phuket.
I thought that Langkawi could become equally famous. I wanted to create an international art event and use my friends and contacts to make Langkawi known globally and for it to host artwork from all over the world.
I contacted the PM about this and he agreed that this was a good idea and approval for Government funding was given. So we started meeting with Ministry officials to discuss plans for the Festival. We met many times and after a few meetings I realised that these guys had no integrity what so ever and that they wanted to change the nature of the festival and make it touristy and tacky.
They started to change the direction of the whole project. They asked me to compromise with their plans but I said no way and asked for a meeting with the PM. We met and discussed the project and I said that my integrity as an artist could not be bought - however many millions you give me.
It was then that I realised that we had to do this on our own - independently of the government officials. This was a tough decision - we only had one month to raise the funds and bring all of these international artists to Langkawi. This was a really stressful time for Sim and me - I lost much weight and was full of anxiety. But you know, it all happened. Many great artists came and it was a huge hit. We kicked the officials out and had a success!
How about the Festival now?
Well the latest festival was organised without informing me at all although they still used the LIFA term. Now it is no longer my concept. It is for tourists and is full of pseudo cultural groups. It is a typical 'citrawarna' event. It is really disappointing to realise what kind of politicians we have in this country. They have really destroyed everything.
But you know, I carry on and get strength from all the people who still come to visit the Foundation. People come and are really moved - so I take strength from that and think there must be something good here.
Some of your work can be seen as quite political with recent paintings focusing on September 11th and the aftermath and some of your earlier work focusing on the events in Malaysia around 1969.
Actually my work is not political. I have always just recorded events around me. I don't have a message for the world and just respond to what is going on around me. Even when I was nearly put behind bars in 1969 with my painting, May 13th, which defaced the Malaysian flag, this was not meant to be a political statement. I was just responding to what was going on at the time.
You know, there was so much opposition to this painting that I had to meet with the whole of Tun Razak's cabinet to discuss this issue. Anyway, eventually they let me exhibit. You see, people are shocked by things they are not used to, but I believe that if you are pure in what you do you can overcome all adversity because you have faith and are not afraid.
Who or what are your artistic influences?
This is very difficult to say really. My main medium is one that I have created called 'printage', which is a mixture of printing and collage. I guess I am influenced by my immediate surroundings and environment and that I use these to create a story.
The idea of 'printage' came from the time that I was living in New York City when I was surrounded by huge billboards and bright vibrant colours. Whereas since I have been in Langkawi, I have started working in timber and rock as these are my immediate natural surroundings. My approach to art is very spontaneous - it just comes.
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