Saturday, April 18, 2009

In aid of Force of Nature





I haven't updated my blog for such a long time. Actually, I have many stories to tell, just that I don't have the time! This entry should have been written in January, but I kept postponing it. Well, here it is now.

When my friend and art collecter, Bingley Sim, called to ask if I would like to donate a painting for the 7th Inter Malaysian Accounting Group's Golf Tournament 2008, which he was organising, I obliged. The above painting was to be the prize for the Hole-in-One winner of the tournament.

As it turned out, there was no winner for that category. However, during the golf tournament, I was introduced to Dato' Ali Kadir who was there for the prize-giving ceremony. He is a prominent figure in Malaysia's financial sector, and was among the few individuals called by our former PM, Tun Mahathir, to help the Government during the financial crisis.

Dato' was interested to purchase the painting in aid of a cause that he was supporting, i.e. Force of Nature Aid Foundation. Apparently, the Force of Nature Aid Foundation and PACE Art Gallery were working together to sell selected paintings to raise funds for the survivors of natural disasters. The artists involved included Ivan Lam, Yusof Majid, Ahmad Shukri Mohamed, Bayu Utomo Radjikin, and Ahmad Zakii Anwar. Dato' Ali Kadir had been invited to officiate the event.

To cut a long story short, on the night of the launch event, my painting was exhibited together with the works of other artists who had been invited by PACE Art Gallery. It was a rather awkward moment for me since my work wasn't part of the show's original lineup and only became part of it due to Dato's interest in it.

I hope I didn't step on anybody's toes on that night, and I sure didn't intend to offend the owner of PACE Art Gallery with the sudden showing of my painting. At the same time, I wasn't able to decline when Dato' Ali Kadir insisted on putting my painting, the one he purchased for the show, at the gallery.

It was, however, an honour for me to be part of the show and to do my bit to help out the survivors championed by the Force of Nature team.

5 comments:

j.in.uk said...

assalamualikum enal 'ow r u mate? hope all is marvellous!!! me ere not so good at the mo,back aching a bit and cant do much work,,dok rok ambe, kena gi pyshio treatment,,sengek sikik org gannu kate,,apart from that peachy i suppose,,spring already sprung so landscape become abit lively,,so do skimpy dressed young ladies!!!heheheheh,,well thats all for now my bloody back start to ache!!! cant type too much,, tua ambee,,cheeeriiioooo n take care mate

bingley said...

Not many artist would contribute all the proceeds from the sale of his painting for charitable cause, especially to one which is not linked whatsoever to the artist - Zainal you are an exemplary to all Malaysians (artists and accountants alike)for such generosity. Incidentally I had a call from Persatuan Penduduk Taman Bukit Utama yesterday and they said that the contribution had started a series of events to help sort out the landslide fiasco. FON was great to facilitate the whole event!

Zainal said...

Alaikumsalam, Jing. Thanks for writing. Sorry to hear about your back. Demo buak mende sapa sakit gitu mo? Senamang rima kalu demo buak molek ar. Im doing okay here. Just miss that nice old days at cherating when you were there. Cherating now is disaster!

Good to hear from you mate.

Zainal said...

Am glad that Im able to contribute, though not that much. Thanks Bingley, for that opportunity.

j.in.uk said...

assalamualikum enal,,senamang rima ke gajoh ke dok jjadi,,ini old injury but this year it make a comeback with a vengeance,,when i first arrived in uk,,i work in a factory,,every day same movement and alot of heavy lifting,,repetitive strain injury,,so suffer sikit lah yg worry nyer tu tadi ambe dok leh wak kerja tgn sikit shaking ada ketor..c5 n c7 joints at the base of my neck sula losak,,on going physio treatment,,tua ambe!!! well nok wak guana nya nok sakik sakning awang ehh,,dek pong aku ning jenih wak doorrrkk jer sakit sikik tahan,,extremely cold winter recently not at all helping,,dok apa lah tgn kanan buleh sampai ke mulut lagi kira oklah boleh makang!!! heheheh apart from that bloody marvellous look like good spring and summer (more doa than statement)insyallah,,that is all for now guvenor,,take care cheeeriiooo