French artist presents 'Pantun Forest' in M'sia's first Art in the Park
Published on: Friday, October 31, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR: French artist Marie Hugo's sculptural work "Pantun Forest" can be seen at the Perdana Botanical Gardens, in what is Malaysia's first Art in the Park exhibition. Pantun Forest is inspired by the Malay poems popularised in 19th century Europe by her famous ancestor, Victor Marie Hugo. Victor was a French poet, novelist and dramatist of the romantic movement, best known for his work Les Miserables.
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The art installation, erected in the middle of the field in the park, features a structure made of bamboo sticks as walls and a roof of bamboo leaves.Inside the structure are lighted pillars or "trees" with the poems carved onto its trunks and the leaves hanging from its branches. The pantun are written in Malay, French, English and Jawi scripts. Each "leaf" has a keyword to help visitors navigate from tree to tree. Written in Indian ink, the pantun themes revolve around humanity and nature.
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She said the inspiration for Pantun Forest was not only from the pantun collection of her illustrious ancestor Victor, but from the bloodline formed through intermarriages in the post Melaka sultanate period. Her installation was initially showcased to international visitors during the 2013 Marseille-Provence European Capital of Culture festivities but has been brought to Malaysia for the exhibition. It is also presented in conjunction with the Federal Territory level National Language Month celebration.
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Marie, who works and lives in London, was born in south of France.She studied lithography and engraving at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Montpellier, France in the 70s. At the same time, she was also working with her father, the famous French painter and author Jean Hugo. Upon completion of her studies, she travelled extensively throughout Asia. She even settled in Hong Kong for a while before returning to Europe and London in 1982. Her early works were gouaches and oil paintings of gardens and views through windows, drawings of imaginary animals and plants inspired from her travels. She also did a series on the landscapes of the Camargue (a natural region in France and a designated Ramsar site). In the late 80s, Marie started using a mixture of oil, egg and pigments in her personal work, a technique used in iconic art. Besides her very personal "Inner Landscape" series, she also produced large-scale mural paintings for hotels and public spaces in some Asian countries. In 1998, Marie started focusing on different media and subject matter. Her work revolved around the natural environment and its elements such as stalks, leaves, bamboo, lotus, insects, earth, water and stone. Using mainly Indian ink and water, she transforms models into calligraphy using flowing hand gestures. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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