"Talisman: FUCK" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: FUCK" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: FUCK" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: CIBAI, PUKI, PEPEK, CIPAP" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: TWAT" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: CIBAI" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: PUSSY" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: "KLEPTO, CUNT" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: SIAL" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: HELL, NO" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: BABI" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: ARTIS" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: PUNDEK, SAMPAH, BOHSIA, HARAM" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: SHIT" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: ZOMBI, SADO, TETEK, PUAKA" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: LESBO" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: PUNDEK" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: PONDAN, CIPLAK, HANTU, MURTAD" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: GRRR" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: TERUNG, BUTU, KOTE, PELIR" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: COCK" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: EMO, POYO, LANSI, BASI" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: TIEW" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: SOHAI" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: AYAM, BABI, BUAYA, LINTAH, LALAT, LIPAS, KATAK, KUMAN, ULAR" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: F.L.O.M." (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: TU JE YG KO ADE?" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: SITI KASIM'S MIDDLE FINGER" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
"Talisman: SITI KASIM'S MIDDLE FINGER" (2016) Acrylic on canvas with polyfill 10cm x 8cm
Handstitching the "Talisman" after stuffing it with polyfill
Priming the "Talisman"
Painting the "Talisman"
T A L I S M A N I
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.
The most popular of the Talismans was “Siti Kasim’s Middle Finger” which I made in commemoration of an incident involving prominent Malaysian human rights lawyer Siti Kasim flashing her middle finger at a far right religious conservative during a press conference in an an act of civil defiance.