Peranakan Imageries in Malaysian and Singaporean Modern Art, 1980s-2017: Between Gendered Representations and Modern Expressions

The revival of interest in the Peranakan community in the past few decades has largely concentrated on the cultural imagery of the Nyonya lifestyle rather than political narratives of the Straits Chinese of the early twentieth century. In particular, the hybrid elements of Nyonya culture, includi...

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Main Author: Abdullah, Sarena
Other Authors: Tan, Sooi Beng
Format: Book Section
Language:English
Published: Universiti Sains Malaysia 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.usm.my/31264/1/2019%20Eclectic%20Cultures%20Peranakan%20Imageries%20Chapter%207%20merged.pdf
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author Abdullah, Sarena
author2 Tan, Sooi Beng
author_facet Tan, Sooi Beng
Abdullah, Sarena
author_sort Abdullah, Sarena
collection USM
description The revival of interest in the Peranakan community in the past few decades has largely concentrated on the cultural imagery of the Nyonya lifestyle rather than political narratives of the Straits Chinese of the early twentieth century. In particular, the hybrid elements of Nyonya culture, including Peranakan kebaya, jewellery, porcelain, embroidery, cuisine and lavish weddings, have been portrayed in books, museum exhibits, tourism brochures and the popular media as unique examples of cultural mixing that promote multi ethnic harmony and can attract tourists to the region (Worden 2003; Hardwick 2008; Teoh 2015). A similar phenomenon can be seen in the modern art world. Visual art showcasing the Nyonya in her traditional costumes and engaging in domestic activities has been exhibited in established art institutions and commercial galleries and sold commercially. Some examples include Redza Piyadasa's Malaysian series produced in the 1980s, Martin Loh's Naive Images of Days Gone By in 1992 and other exhibitions at the Substation Gallery in Singapore in the 1990s. In 1998 Sylvia Lee Goh had her first solo exhibition at the Malaysian National Art Gallery entitled Two Decades of Art 'From the Heart'1978-1998
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spelling usm.eprints-312642022-01-28T03:24:05Z http://eprints.usm.my/31264/ Peranakan Imageries in Malaysian and Singaporean Modern Art, 1980s-2017: Between Gendered Representations and Modern Expressions Abdullah, Sarena NX1-820 Arts in general The revival of interest in the Peranakan community in the past few decades has largely concentrated on the cultural imagery of the Nyonya lifestyle rather than political narratives of the Straits Chinese of the early twentieth century. In particular, the hybrid elements of Nyonya culture, including Peranakan kebaya, jewellery, porcelain, embroidery, cuisine and lavish weddings, have been portrayed in books, museum exhibits, tourism brochures and the popular media as unique examples of cultural mixing that promote multi ethnic harmony and can attract tourists to the region (Worden 2003; Hardwick 2008; Teoh 2015). A similar phenomenon can be seen in the modern art world. Visual art showcasing the Nyonya in her traditional costumes and engaging in domestic activities has been exhibited in established art institutions and commercial galleries and sold commercially. Some examples include Redza Piyadasa's Malaysian series produced in the 1980s, Martin Loh's Naive Images of Days Gone By in 1992 and other exhibitions at the Substation Gallery in Singapore in the 1990s. In 1998 Sylvia Lee Goh had her first solo exhibition at the Malaysian National Art Gallery entitled Two Decades of Art 'From the Heart'1978-1998 Universiti Sains Malaysia Tan, Sooi Beng 2019 Book Section PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.usm.my/31264/1/2019%20Eclectic%20Cultures%20Peranakan%20Imageries%20Chapter%207%20merged.pdf Abdullah, Sarena (2019) Peranakan Imageries in Malaysian and Singaporean Modern Art, 1980s-2017: Between Gendered Representations and Modern Expressions. In: Electric cultures for all: the development of the Peranakan performing, visual, and material arts in Penang. Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, pp. 241-267. ISBN 978-967-461-407-2
spellingShingle NX1-820 Arts in general
Abdullah, Sarena
Peranakan Imageries in Malaysian and Singaporean Modern Art, 1980s-2017: Between Gendered Representations and Modern Expressions
title Peranakan Imageries in Malaysian and Singaporean Modern Art, 1980s-2017: Between Gendered Representations and Modern Expressions
title_full Peranakan Imageries in Malaysian and Singaporean Modern Art, 1980s-2017: Between Gendered Representations and Modern Expressions
title_fullStr Peranakan Imageries in Malaysian and Singaporean Modern Art, 1980s-2017: Between Gendered Representations and Modern Expressions
title_full_unstemmed Peranakan Imageries in Malaysian and Singaporean Modern Art, 1980s-2017: Between Gendered Representations and Modern Expressions
title_short Peranakan Imageries in Malaysian and Singaporean Modern Art, 1980s-2017: Between Gendered Representations and Modern Expressions
title_sort peranakan imageries in malaysian and singaporean modern art 1980s 2017 between gendered representations and modern expressions
topic NX1-820 Arts in general
url http://eprints.usm.my/31264/1/2019%20Eclectic%20Cultures%20Peranakan%20Imageries%20Chapter%207%20merged.pdf
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