18@8 virtuevice

18@8, Vice & Virtue

Wei-Ling Gallery’s fourth installation of their annual 18@8 exhibition, takes on a new twist with the introduction of the theme ‘ Vice & Virtue‘.

With a move away from the selection of 18 artists, only 9 artists have been invited to take part in this exciting exhibition, where each artist has been asked to create two works based on the chosen theme.

The nine participating artists have been selected on grounds of significant contribution to the local arts scene in the preceding year, or, in terms of pronounced artistic development.

The exhibition’s premise is to explore the characteristics of commonly perceived values. Each artist will present individual interpretations indiscriminately selected from a list of nine positive and negative values. Each artist selected their values randomly through a process of drawing lots, and challenges the artists and mimics the accidental manner in which they encounter each value on a daily basis.

The first list of values takes a cue from the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’, taxonomy of negative values. To the values – lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride – we add hatred and intolerance. Each denotes the element of excess and damage, the absence of good, and, an erosion of humanistic qualities.

In opposition, the positive values selected are justice, courage, wisdom, moderation (the four cardinal virtues), faith, hope, love, charity, and truth. Socially, these values are upheld and represent the fundamental manner in which we taught to treat others.

Collectively, the list represents age-old teachings – still relevant today – of good versus evil. They are binary opposites and there is no questioning which prevails over the other – or is there?

The nine artists who will be presented in this year’s 18@8 Vice & Virtue are; Ivan Lam, Zulkifli Yusoff, Anurendra Jegadeva, Choy Chun Wei, Yau Bee Ling, Umibaizurah Mahir, Ahmad Shukri Mohamed, Izan Tahir, Chin Kong Yee.

18@8 Vice & Virtue features at Wei-Ling Gallery from 13th October -13th November 2008. Wei-Ling Gallery is located at No.8 Jalan Scott, Brickfields,Kuala Lumpur,50470,Malaysia .

Click here to read catalogue essay by Rachel Jena