Shaq Koyok – Land of a Thousand Guilts

Richard Koh Fine Art (RKFA-KL) is pleased to announce Malaysian artist Shaq Koyok’s (b. 1985) solo exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. Land of a Thousand Guilts is scheduled to run from 5th until 20th March 2021 at Richard Koh Fine Art, No. 34-1, Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The artist will present 14 recent works in his first solo exhibition with Richard Koh Fine Art.

In Land of a Thousand Guilts, Koyok responses to a dire situation faced by Malaysia’s indigenous people; the Orang Asal – a community which he belongs to. In this exhibition, the artist draws upon personal experiences of trauma in his youth, in which his own village faced when an unscrupulous land developer encroached the jungle surrounding his home village.

Koyok’s practice is an extension of his ongoing advocacy and activism. The works come together to discuss the plight of an indigenous village threaten by deforestation due to the degazettement of forest reserve plan by the Malaysian government. Viewers are presented with a contemporary view of the struggles endured by the indigenous people with the aim of understanding the complexity within Malaysia’s multiculturalism.

The works come together as a reminder of the negative effect modernity has brought upon humanity and the exploitation of the natural world. Will technological development help alleviate the conflict between economic development and environmental quality? Land of a Thousand Guilts serves as a social consciousness.

Shahar a/l Koyok aka Shaq Koyok (b.1985, Selangor, Malaysia) is a contemporary artist of the indigenous Temuan tribe of Selangor. He started painting with oil pastels at five years old, using his talent as a way to express his feelings about his surroundings. Koyok explores a variety of mediums, from contemporary painting to installation art.

Koyok has an honours degree in fine arts from the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). He has been awarded the Merdeka Award Grant for International Attachment in 2017, he is the first Orang Asli to receive this accolade which identifies outstanding young Malaysians, equipping them with opportunities to participate in collaborative projects at internationally-recognised institutions. His work has been shown in the UK, Australia and the USA.