Everyone’s A Critic

In Alexander, The Servant & The Water of Life, Eisner-nominated artist Reimena Yee adapts the 2,000-year-old Alexander Romance into a serialised webcomic. In it, Alexander the Great embarks on a quest for the elusive Water of Life, accompanied by his trusted Servant. The comic uses art and narrative to depict their wondrous adventures, while ruminating on his eventual historic legacy. We review the comic, and discuss where creations like this fit when it comes to “art”.

Image Source: Reimena Ashel Yee Tumblr

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SKIN, an experimental film by Luvenia Kalia and Theyvapaalan S. Jayaratnam, uses movement and performance to explore ideas of gender, migrations, and what it means to be accepted. We review the film and discuss how well it dives into its themes to tell a larger narrative.

Everyone's A Critic is jointly presented with CENDANA. For updates on Malaysian arts and culture, visit them on Facebook and Instagram.

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The title really says it all - this virtual play is a dark comedy where Seth, a guy with an axe, breaks into a family home during prom night, where teenager Nancy is stressing about the “most important night of her life”. To add to the complication, there’s Nancy’s mother Cherie and their obnoxious neighbour Edgar. We review the play and discuss whether its merging of horror and comedy hits the spot.

Everyone's A Critic is jointly presented with CENDANA. For updates on Malaysian arts and culture, visit them on Facebook and Instagram.

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The folks at Shakespeare Demystified have been presenting the Bard’s works for years, specifically with the aim of making the plays more accessible to a wider audience. Their latest “staging” takes on an additional challenge: being presented in real-time virtually. We review the Zoom iteration of Shakespeare’s tragedy, which tells the tale of a king who decides to step down from his throne and divide his kingdom between his three daughters.

Everyone's A Critic is jointly presented with CENDANA. For updates on Malaysian arts and culture, visit them on Facebook and Instagram.

Image Source: KL Shakespeare Players - Shakespeare Demystified Facebook

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Apa Pandang-Pandang is an interactive online exhibition of artwork created by children from B40 during the pandemic. Guided via online lessons, the art has been adapted into the digital format and curated to provide a glimpse into their lives, daily challenges, and hopes. We review the exhibition and discuss the power of art when it comes to bridging gaps.

Everyone's A Critic is jointly presented with CENDANA. For updates on Malaysian arts and culture, visit them on Facebook and Instagram.

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How can we reimagine ideas of the Malay archipelago? What sorts of worlds could we come up with when we move away from Western ideas of this region and begin creating our own versions? Online exhibition Constructing Worlds explores these questions by presenting works from three different projects that each engage with notions of “constructing” ideas of the Nusantara. We review the exhibition and discuss how storytelling, art, and the digital world come together.

Everyone's A Critic is jointly presented with CENDANA. For updates on Malaysian arts and culture, visit them on Facebook and Instagram.

Image Source: Constructing Worlds

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In this episode, we review two different dance videos: Skin to Nature by SueKi Yee, and Dikir Through the Lenses by ASK Dance Company. In Skin to Nature, body painting, visual art, videography, and movement come together to present a work that contrasts the natural and the constructed. Meanwhile, Dikir Through the Lenses presents a contemporary dance inspired by dikir barat, translated through the screen.

Everyone's A Critic is jointly presented with CENDANA. For updates on Malaysian arts and culture, visit them on Facebook and Instagram.

Image Source: Ryan Ooi & ASK Dance Company

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By curating 100 works of Malaysian art starting from RM400, 100 Pieces: Art for All hopes to make art collecting more accessible to the wider public. Featuring works by 26 established and up-and-coming Malaysian artists, the exhibition by Wei-Ling Contemporary is also an opportunity to take in a wide variety of local contemporary art, ranging from paintings, sculptures, and prints. We review the show and discuss both the works on show and what it means to “collect art”.

Everyone's A Critic is jointly presented with CENDANA. For updates on Malaysian arts and culture, visit them on Facebook and Instagram.

Image Source: Chin Kong Yee

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In Orang Bulan, a mother and son living in a moon colony face the prospect of being sent back to Earth as their jobs are replaced by robots. This dredges up some unexpected secrets. Written by Yusof Bakar and directed by Christopher Ling, theatrethreesixty’s latest play uses sci fi to explore some very human themes.

Everyone's A Critic is jointly presented with CENDANA. For updates on Malaysian arts and culture, visit them on Facebook and Instagram.

Image Source: TheatreThreeSixty

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The “Pause” series of visual arts exhibitions was born out of the pandemic. Curated by Sharmin Parameswaran, the shows bring together various artists’ works to capture and document their reactions to the pandemic and their isolation experiences. We review Pause II, the second exhibition in the series, discussing the works and how they depict the various facets of the past year. Everyone's A Critic is jointly presented with CENDANA. For updates on Malaysian arts and culture, visit them on Facebook and Instagram.

Image Source: Amani Azlin

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