Spiritual Zoo is a recent project by Hasanul Isyraf Idris for his latest solo exhibition at Richard Koh Fine Art. This body of work comprises a series of intricate, vibrant, and ‘unearthly’ drawings laden with narrative potentials that have come to be the visual signature of the artist. These evocative imaginings and imaging draw their momentum from a multiplicity of sources as Hasanul reflects upon the death of some of his family members. While pondering on the journey of their passing souls, he encountered in a bookstore a collection of Buddhist death poems and the much-studied Mantiq Al-Tayr (The Conference Of The Birds). Spiritual Zoo is a sustained plea for understanding, healing, and redemption. It is a plea that began long ago in Hasanul’s art, memory, and history which continues to find its articulation through lines, colors, and creatures, again and again.
