To be seen
To be seen is a campaign to celebrate the work of Malaysian women in art and design. One reason I thought this cause was important is because women's work is regularly overlooked. Western design history canon is biased towards the achievements of men, with female designers rarely acknowledged for their contributions. Another reason is because I wanted to research who young designers like myself could call our "heroes". In Malaysia, our design history and knowledge is sparse, although several organisations working to change it exist. In light of that, I thought it appropriate to highlight and document several women who are doing great things in the local art and design scene, with writing about contemporary designers and their work as reference for future artists and designers.
To be seen Illustrated Book Cover
The Bulan Melayu Magazine Cover, 1931, Sourced from the Malaysia Design Archive.
For my project, I referenced a magazine published by Malay women in 1931 called Bulan Melayu. One of the first women's magazines written by and for women, it covered various topics to address women's roles in society. One particular cover struck me however, as it included an image of modern women working in different forms of enterprise. Believing the spirit of the design to be similar to what I wanted, I illustrated a pastiche that became the project's hero image. This illustration is used on the book cover, poster and Facebook page. The book, available in print as a PDF accessible online, includes profiles of women I contacted, wrote about, and interviewed. In addition, the book includes a short section on resources existing in Malaysia, aimed at supporting aspiring Malaysian designers. Ultimately, the book is hoped to encourage young designers, to let them have design heroes to call their own.
Interview with Ellie Yong, a Malaysian illustrator, mural artist and game concept artist.
Profile page of Reimena Yee, a comic artist, illustrator and founder of Unnamed: SEA comics collective.
Closeups
Close up shots of the poster and book designs. I thought it interesting that the original cover used blue, a colour typically associated with masculinity and “business”, in combination with various floral, more feminine motifs. Upon closer inspection and editing, I discovered that these floral patterns were actually of Hibiscuses, the national flower of Malaysia. In response, in this project, I pay homage to the use of blues and patterns of this flower.
Acknowledgements
This book could not have been completed without the contributions of all the women featured within this book. Thank you for taking the time to participate in this project and producing insightful answers to questions about the Malaysian art and design scene. I would also like to thank the Malaysia Design Archive, founded by Ezrena Marwan, for being an incredible resource for Malaysian artists and designers and a source of inspiration for this project! In addition, I would like to thank my tutors Adam Cruickshank and Alex Margetic for their support and feedback throughout the project. The final word of thanks goes to my friends and family for being there for me when I doubted myself!
The women who are featured in this book are as follows:
Charis Loke
Ellie Yong Sze Ching
Ezrena Marwan
Joanne Chew
Joanne Lew Vriethoff
Melisa Wong
Ming Ng Ai Beng
Reimena Yee
Sarah Joan Mohktar
Vivian Toh
To read the full e-book, click here.
