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Fatimah Chik: A Celebrated Malaysian Artist
Fatimah Chik, a celebrated Malaysian artist, educator, and mentor, passed away on May 26 at the Sungai Buloh Hospital in Selangor. She was 75 years old. Her passing was announced on social media by the National Art Gallery and Galeri Khazanah.
Early Life and Artistic Inspiration
Born in the coastal town of Pontian, Johor in 1947, Fatimah had a keen eye for art from a young age. She was inspired by her family, with her mother skilled in embroidery and tailoring traditional Malay clothing, and her grandfather a traditional house builder and woodcarver.
Education and Career
Fatimah began her journey into the art world as a textile design student in 1968 at the School of Art and Design, MARA Institute of Technology (now UiTM). She graduated in 1971, a time when local artists were encouraged to rediscover artistic heritage linked to Malay and Nusantara culture.
As a batik designer, Fatimah picked up the techniques of dyeing, printing, and designing. She was also married to artist-writer Redza Piyadasa (1939-2007), her former art history lecturer, and accompanied him to Hawaii in 1974, where she began researching textile traditions that would influence her work. She also visited batik centers in Indonesia, adding to her knowledge of indigenous and Nusantara art and design.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, Fatimah’s abstract works, which were richly textured, found their way into group exhibitions. She showcased batik, Shibori, screen print, and textile art. Fatimah’s progressive attitude towards the potential of the medium extended the parameters of batik art.
Unique Style and Technique
As an artist and art lecturer, Fatimah developed a unique style of abstract painting and technique that remains significant today. Her creative style employed traditional printing blocks used in batik printing technique, complex waxing and dyeing processes, as well as meticulous hand-colored finishing.
Her paintings stood apart from first-generation batik artists who focused on images of landscapes. Abstract in style, Fatimah’s paintings featured the “gunungan,” an ancient triangular motif used in South-East Asia, while works like Dinihari Nusantara (2002) featured the mandala, the symbolic circular motif found in Buddhist art.
Legacy
Beyond the canvas, Fatimah was also an art educator at her alma mater and later at the Malaysian Institute of Art. She served as a member of the judging panel for the Piala Seri Endon batik competitions.
In 2015, Fatimah debuted the “Fatimah Chik Collection” on the catwalk at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week, with her batik art printed on clothes, accessories, and tableware.
Fatimah Chik’s legacy is a testament to her dedication to bridging the worlds of fine art and fashion design. Her ornate textile and motif traditions harvested from the South-East Asian (or Nusantara) region continue to inspire and captivate audiences today.
- Malaysian batik art
- Fatimah Chik biography
- Malaysian textile artists
- Traditional Malaysian crafts
- Batik printing techniques
News Source : The Star Online
Source Link :Malaysian artist Fatimah Chik, known for her pioneering batik work, dies aged 75/