Talisman is a series of works I’ve been making since 2016. The original iteration of the Talismans were my irreverent take on talismanic objects to ward off bad luck. I chose to paint curses, swearwords and other taboo words to imbue them with the disruptive energy of the language of dissidence.
I made a 100 pieces and sold them at an arts and crafts market, offering to customise about 50 pieces with words chosen by buyers themselves.
T A L I S M A N I
The most popular of the Talismans was “Siti Kasim’s Middle Finger” which I made in commemoration of an incident involving a prominent Malaysian human rights lawyer Siti Kasim flashing her middle finger at a religious conservative during a press conference.