It was a
momentous time for the Johor Sketchers when two of their books were launched,
just two days apart in October 2018, as this proud achievement was the
culmination of much effort and commitment to their passion.
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| Two books, Garis [Left] and Warisan Bergambar Selat Johor Barat [Right] proudly presented by the Johor Sketchers |
The
books, Warisan Bergambar Selat Johor
Barat or The Illustrated Heritage of West Johor Strait, is a joint publication
by Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) and Universiti Teknoloji
Malaysia (UTM), while Garis, An
Anthology of Sketches by Johor Sketchers, is published with the support of
Think City Johor Baru.
Formed in
June 2013, Johor Sketchers is a group modelled after the US-based Urban
Sketchers.
In 2013,
I met the founding members of the Johor Sketchers, a group who have been
meeting regularly to capture on paper, some of the most iconic scenes that are
unique to Johor.
These
individuals who were already into sketching and painting in various mediums on
their own, were brought together by their shared passion in capturing scenes
from observation.
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| A photo that I had taken of the Johor Sketchers with the folks at Kampung Bakar Batu Tampoi was featured in the Introduction pages of Garis |
I told
founding member, Taib Aur, that I would like to join them on a sketching outing
and when the Sketchers had arranged to go on location to sketch at Kampung Bakar Batu Tampoi, I
found my way there too.
This fishing village of the indigenous people known as
Orang Seletar, is situated on the edge of the Danga River.
I can still remember the experience with the
fisher-folk in rustic scenes of morning
activities with stalls selling fish bait, women shucking mussels and boiling
them in a nearby cauldron heated by firewood as children and dogs played and
loitered about.
This was where I met with members
like Buz Walker Teach, who was
then an American art lecturer with Raffles University Iskandar, Mohd Hafizal
Nordin, Eric Ng Han Meng and Ghazali Bunari, who also goes by the moniker, Tok Rimau.
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| Cover design of Warisan Bergambar Selat Johor Barat |
Ghazali, a senior lecturer with the Faculty of Science
and Humanities, UTM, is the author of Warisan
Bergambar Selat Johor Barat or The Illustrated Heritage of West Johor
Strait, a coffee-table book presented bi-lingual in Malay and English with a
collection of impressive coloured photographs.
In his
alter-ego as Tok Rimau, he was a co-founder of the Johor Sketchers and also an
art activist who has a penchant for creating stories for books, comics and
short films.
Warisan Bergambar Selat Johor Barat was
launched in a simple ceremony graced by IRDA Chief Executive, Datuk Ismail
Ibrahim and Johor State Executive Council, Chairman of Youth, Sports and
Culture Committee, Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar.
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| Warisan Bergambar Selat Johor Barat was launched by IRDA Chief Executive, Datuk Ismail Ibrahim [Left] and Johor State Executive Council, Chairman of Youth, Sports and Culture Committee, Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar. |
When
we met again at the launch event, Ghazali told me that this book project was
initiated by the IRDA Head of Social Development Division, Suhaily Abdul Hamid,
who found the Johor Sketchers online via their Facebook and Instagram sites.
After
Suhaily discussed the proposed book project with Ghazali, she invited him to
submit a proposal to IRDA for their consideration.
This
started Ghazali on a 12-month research programme while he handpicked several
Sketchers members to form the production team to work with him on this book.
Familiar
with their artistic styles and personalities, Ghazali soon formed this team and
they committed themselves to the task in their various responsibilities as
graphic designer, photographer and videographer, among other roles.
At least
20 villagers in Kampung Sungai Melayu and Kampung Sungai Temon were interviewed
to garner information about the history of the Orang Laut, indigenous people
whose livelihood depended on the sea.
He
confessed that it was a challenge to meet the villagers, most of whom were
fishermen, and did not have a specific time when they might be available for a
chat.
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| Some sketchers of old buildings featured in Garis |
When
Ghazali and his team approached the villagers, they were initially rather
cautious and suspicious of them but after he explained about their book project
with IRDA, the villagers became more willing to talk and share their stories
and also pose for photos.
“We
seemed to be racing against time,” said Ghazali and explained that most of the
villagers were elderly and if they failed to share their memories and experiences,
all these may be lost when they died.
In fact,
one of the elderly villagers passed on just before this book was launched.
The Orang
Laut have no written record of their long history and this book, Warisan Bergambar Selat Johor Barat, will
be a valuable documentation of this people group for future reference.
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| Garis, an anthology of sketches by the Johor Sketchers was launched in October 2018 |
Graphic
Designer, Jaie Ramlee, who worked with Ghazali on this book project, was also
responsible for coordinating the production of Garis, An Anthology of Sketches by Johor Sketchers.
In this
book, the eight Johor Sketchers artists featured, each sketched or painted in
various mediums like pencils, coloured-pencils, water-colours or oil-paint, to
showcase their observations of scenes in Johor.
I
remember receiving a message from Jaie a few months ago, seeking permission to
use a group photo that featured some of their members with Orang Seletar
children, which I had taken and used with my story on our visit to Kampung
Bakar Batu Tampoi.
With my
permission, this group shot was used in Garis with the
Introduction
of the Johor Sketchers.
On
the same page, a poignant quote from Buzz Walker read: “When we sketch
the urban environment, as in Johor, we are recording the vanishing
architectural history that is being lost to modern development.”
Jaie was
all smiles when she turned the pages of Garis
to show me the sketches and admitted that it was a challenge to maintain the book’s
theme with sketches that only depicted Johor – not flowers or lovely scenes
from elsewhere.
She said
it was also a challenge to follow-up with the various artists so that she could
complete and design the book layout. But as Ghazali and Jaie talked to me about
their books, I can tell that it was all worth the effort.
Buy these
books online via website: http://emall.iskandarmalaysia.com.my/my/ for Warisan Bergambar Selat Johor Barat (RM100)
or from IRDA office, and website: www.sketchers (RM40 West Malaysia; RM43 East
Malaysia).
For more
info, visit website: www.johorsketchers.blogsot.my, Facebook page: Johor
Sketchers and Instagram: @johorsketchers and #garisbyjohorsketchers.
A version of this was published in the December 2018 issue of The Iskandarian
