‘The amazing
growth of our techniques, the adaptability and precision they have attained,
the ideas and habits they are creating, make it a certainty that profound
changes are impending in the ancient craft of the Beautiful.’
PaulValery, Pieces sur l’art
The
Malaysian artist Shukor Yahya has combined a love of graphics with ways to
represent the Kufic Square and this has become an important motif in his work.
Having been born in Kluang, Johor he now resides in Petaling Jaya Malaysia
having studied graphics there and then at Leicester University, UK for an MA
As
both artist and graphic designer he has been working for 30 years and has been
exhibited all over the world. We were excited to host such innovative work at
Lahd Gallery.
Some
may know little of Kufic Calligraphy. However, if you are unfamiliar with the
name, you may well have seen examples, without realizing, as it is a modified
form of a 7th century script called Nabataean script.
Its name stems from its birth place: Kufa in
Iraq. But what makes this form of calligraphy so important? It was actually used
for four centuries as the principle script when copying the Qur'an. Those employed
professionally, to reproduce the Qur’an,were known for their very specific type
of Kufic form.
There is actually evidence of this craft all over the Ottoman Empire
within books and on coins.
Yahya’s
work is highly individual and he has gained a reputation as an innovator. This
is ironic perhaps, when you consider the long history of the chosen form.
Yahya’s use of the ancient has metamorphosed into a graphic which exudes
contemporary nuance.
Visual
language, where the meaning is made by the visual appearance of an image and the
text is one aspect. Verbal language, on the other hand,is the word itself, and
often becomes enmeshed with other emotions in a viewer.
Yet
no one would doubt there is a profound relationship between the message words
convey and their transmission through their visible form. Yahya is acutely
aware of this interplay.
The
implications of his choice of ‘typography’ do have a significant impact on
meaning. Or at least, it does, in the framing of the narrative arch through
which his work is viewed.
Cultural
and religious background can affect perception too and therefore Yahya’s Kufic Squares are still embedded in uncontrollable aspects such as pre-existing knowledge,
religious expectations, preference and culture. This is what makes these
paintings so provocative and exciting on many levels.
Yahya’s
choice of Square Kufic is a contemporary simplified form of that used often in
Iranian decorative tiling. The words spell out sacred names for Muhammad and
the effect achieved is almost unnerving as they appear in Yahya’s choice of
form.
Two of his works
Al Ikhlas Rhapsody and As-Shahadah joined the Lahd Gallery during the London
Olympics 2012 and attracted a massively diverse crowd of visitors.
The first, AlIkhlas Rhapsody is acrylic on linen in a 100x100 cm square and re-introduces
the attribute of God as explained in the Qu'ran with the following meaning:
“He is Allah, One, Allah, the Eternal
Refuge.
He neither begets nor is born,
Nor is there to Him any equivalent.”
The second piece
is called As-Shahadah which is the same size
as Rhapsody and also acrylic on linen and directly linked to
the first piece.
The Shahadah’s meaning is a verse which states: “I bear witness
that there is no God worthy of worship but Allah and I bear witness that
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”. The verses of the Qu'ran are represented
in a Kufi Square font, which gives the painting a contemporary and geometric
style. These forms interfere with the transmission of the text by the feeling
of ‘now’ they promote.
For More Information on Shukor Yahya visit us at www.lahdgallery.com
