Has your upbringing influenced your art?
Definitely. I was born in Perak but never lived there. I grew up in different cities, such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Zagreb, Khartoum and Muscat, due to my father’s job. Being a “third-culture kid”, my work’s themes and concepts stem from my upbringing. Identity and sense of belonging have been in the narrative of my art-making, as I question my own. If you ask me where I am from, I don’t know.
I've always felt that lost sense of belonging since returning to Malaysia for university, after living in different locations with Muscat being my last. My parents are Malay but I don’t label myself as from a particular race or culture. I always feel that my identity shifts back and forth, floating around. My fluctuating sense of belonging is always an underlying theme in every aspect of my work.
How do you link those themes of identity into your art?
To reconcile with the condition of disorientation, I paint through conceptual and allegorical play of landscapes, female figures and body parts to question my sense of belonging, roots and identity. Re-constructing maps of my own, re-shaping my perspectives of the world’s landscape and terrain, is to mirror my own unsettling nomadic experience. In my paintings, I try to fix myself in a territory by constantly playing with contouring in map-making, to define and to re-define who I am and where I really belong.
How was your experience as an artist during the CMCO?
I want to be a full-time artist, but currently I have to do other jobs. I do freelance writing, where I write curatorial briefs for exhibitions. I’ve also been an assistant curator, a part-time lecturer, and work part-time at the Cult gallery.
It’s difficult to be a full-time artist, especially as someone new in the art industry. For example, if I sell a painting for RM5000, 50% of the earnings goes to the gallery and I get RM2500. It’s still good money but it has to last for four to five months until the next time I sell another painting. I’m also uncertain when the next work would be sold.
It’s good to have side jobs. I’m grateful that I’m capable of teaching and working in a gallery, and that I have work experience outside of the art world.
How do you remain creative in this pandemic?
When I have canvases, I paint non-stop. I can’t lose my momentum as it’s hard to get back into it if I leave it for too long.
What are your future plans?
Next year, I’m planning to do a group show with other young artists. I’m trying to be more active in submitting my work to exhibitions and to be more courageous.
If you are interested to know more about Hana’s art, you can follow the artist on Instagram at @han.m.z