More and more Malaysian contemporary artists are receiving international recognition that they deserve as a result of their creativity and the effort that they have put in to produce their amazing works of art.
Most recently, a Malaysian contemporary artist, Red Hong Yi, has forged a name for herself as she has created a work of art that is used as the front cover for TIME Magazine. As shared on her Instagram account, the Sabah-born artist explained the concept of the cover which will be launched on April 24. She said,
“My team and I spent two weeks sticking matchsticks non-stop for eight hours a day, and then we watched the piece burn down in two minutes. As the Covid pandemic continues to assail the world, we are reminded more than ever that no country is unaffected by global crises, whether it is a pandemic or economic collapse or, as this special issue highlights, global warming and climate change.”
Hong Yi explained that the challenge behind the whole thing was that they were aware that the artwork can blow up. Hence they made sure all the safety measures were in place. They even had firefighters on standby and did safety drills to prepare for the worst.
Interestingly, apart from the all-Malaysian team behind the artwork, the cover itself was photographed by Women Photographers Malaysia co-founder Annince Lyn, who told Malay Mail that it was an honour for her to capture the moment to be the cover of TIME Magazine.
Watch the behind the scene of the whole process here:
Congratulations to Red Hong Yi and her team for the achievement. Malaysia is proud of you!
Also read: Malaysia’s Own Human Calculator, Yaashwin Sarawanan Has His Own Comic Book!