Our National Art Gallery has seen some considerably huge exhibitions over the years, including the latest Leonardo Opera Omnia, which just ended on the 15th of August.
The Bakat Muda Sezaman (Young Contemporaries) award show exhibition has taken its place, showcasing submissions by participating artists, though unfortunately, Malaysians don’t seem to have shown the artworks on display the respect they are due.
In multiple online postings, Malaysians can be seen crossing lines in order to get that perfect Instagram-worthy shot, which in turn damaged a piece of artwork and caused it to be removed.
Chong Boon Pok took to his Facebook page and Shufitri (@shufitri) took to his Twitter page to call out the irresponsible people who refused to follow basic ethics just for the sake of a photo.
Source: Facebook
Chong shared this image he found on Instagram while captioning the post with, “How can this happen in a national level gallery?”
This piece is called Meeting I, by Mesita Jee Mei-Jane, where a rock is suspended over a mirror placed on a floor by a piece of rope. When approached on Instagram, the girl in the picture had said that she witnessed many others doing the same and that there were no signs saying she couldn’t.
Eventually, due to the crowd’s irresponsibility, the mirror broke and the artwork had to be removed. Unfortunately for Mesita, she had to succumb to the terms and conditions of the competition, which states that the organisers will not be responsible for any losses or damages done to the artworks.
The actions of these irresponsible and disrespectful people cost Mesita the art she poured her heart and soul into, as according to The Star.
Source: Twitter
Several other pieces experienced similar disrespect, though luckily no other artworks were damaged.
Source: Facebook
For example, this person squeezed his way into the middle of Muhamad Nizar Sulaiman’s Obey installation for the sake of 78 likes.
Source: Facebook
This girl, on the other hand, removed a part of Ho Mei Kei’s Pengenalan Diri framed works from its place for this ‘necessary’ shot.
Source: Facebook
Another visitor had decided to pretend to climb Samsudin Wahab’s winning piece, Rambu-Rambu Memori, while others sat on Haffendi Anuar’s Member-Member.
Source: Facebook
That’s not even it as some even stole thumbdrives from a video installation!
Come on, guys, we’re supposed to be better than this. Just for the sake of a picture, a piece of art was sacrificed.
This is why we can’t have nice things.
Also read: Fireman Pays Tribute to Fallen Comrade Adib by Painting Mural to Remember His Sacrifice
