AT the Pause 202X Exhibition this year at the Tun Perak Co-Op in Kuala Lumpur, multidisciplinary artist Nawwar Shukriah Ali’s exhibition put on display what she felt and experienced during last year’s lockdown, being forced into isolation and what she had to do.
“I could not create at all the whole of last year, because I was not really in the mood to create. I could not even hold the pen. I even went through therapy throughout the lockdown (to try and) face my issues and heal. The exhibits were a lot about that,” the artist said.
Known professionally as Bono Stellar, the work that she created this year was from last year’s experience, a reflection of what she went through in therapy.
“I did hypnotherapy and I learned to explore more.”
BALANCING MEDIUMS
Having been trained in art since the age of three due to her art teacher mother, Bono pursued architecture due to it being more serious and rooted in technical design, she explained.
“It moulded my head to think in a more technical and structural way. It influenced my art, how I compose and balance forms, objects and shapes.”
Famously recognised for her angular and circular artworks and installations that feature plexiglass and iridescent film, Bono said she is not really obsessed with the two mediums.
“I’m using (both) because I’m trying to learn and understand the possibilities that I can create with the materials. But I’m open to experimenting with a lot of other mediums. I’ve even added other mediums to plexiglass,” she said.
“My main medium is with light, space and shadows. Like my Pause 202X exhibit, I use a combination of the two to create depth.”
GIVING BACK
At the height of the initial lockdown last year, when the air of uncertainty weighed heavily on everything, particularly the art scene, Bono established the “In the Time of Corona” platform under her existing Make It Happen cause to gather artists under one roof and introduce their art to others.
On its success now that almost a year has passed, she claims that response was surprisingly great.
“Honestly, I built that website just to help artists because I could not imagine what other creatives were going through, like myself. We did not know what our future was going to be,” she said.
“The platform was created for other artists to help them sell their works, and at the same time, we gave a portion of the sales to charity. It was win-win. People would buy and still feel good because they would own the artwork while also giving to charity.”
Bono noted that her surprise also stemmed from how she did not expect purchases to occur, due to the financially constrained period. She also claimed that the artworks were affordable, which most likely aided sales.
“It was a passion project, and right now we’re on hiatus. Because I’ve been too busy and I’m focused on taking care of my mental capacity. I’ll return to it when I’m ready.”
SORTING THE PAST
On her therapy last year, Bono revealed that like artists of yore, she too is hounded by personal demons.
“I was always going through healing throughout the years. I was silent for years when I was younger. Finally and slowly, I’ve been kupas (peeling) the onion layers, trying to understand the core of myself, those things that are hidden at my core which need to be healed,” she said.
Without elaborating, and rightfully so, Bono merely refers to “those things” as abuse, trauma and loss.
“That’s why I went to therapy. All these years I’ve been busy and distracting myself with work. But I was not healed, and I locked those problems away.”
“I had nothing to do, so I forced myself to go through it. I told myself it would be horrible and hard, but I needed to get it sorted out and heal myself 100%. Not saying I’m healed now, but it reduced the intensity of my trauma and all that.”
At the time of writing, Bono had just wrapped up her part in the Pause 202X Exhibition, and had already started on her next project.
