1. Liu Jyue Yow . 1007P74080
Pablo Idris Bin Badrul . 0321895
Schani Daniel Bharat . 0318788
Observing the Everyday
Introduction
The City of Kuala Lumpur is embedded with rich culture and history, evident within
its street and every corners; be it a rubbish filled alley with dripping sewage pipes, or the rainwater
trickling down the seamless glass on the skyscrapers. The city and its people are undeniably linked
and seen as one, due to similar characteristics. Growing and evolving much like people and society;
the touch of humanity brings life to an otherwise cold concrete jungle. Current trends can often be
applied to the times of past and present; often through the passing of time, the best and worst
qualities in people, cities and situations slowly reveals themselves.
Art itself is a very personal matter, both to the artist and the viewers. Often open to
interpretation, the initial outlines and appearance of an artworks gives off a first impression; and
then upon close observation, viewers start to pick up little details that tells a story in every
brushstroke. The relationship between art and emotion is tightly knitted; and often, the very
definition of a good art is one that triggers thoughts and feelings. Julius Raja Manickam, a Malaysian
mural artist oftens views people as ‘characters’ and through their eyes, translates their their
struggles and issues into two dimensional forms. Artworks can be perceived in countless ways;
however there would always be a strong core behind it, and Manickam sets out with the hopes that
people will be free to put their own stories behind their interpretations, but the final message of his
works will always be present.
During the visit there were various elements that stood out, however some of the most obvious
were:
- The relationship and unity of people with their surrounding architecture
- The juxtaposition of past and present
- The contrasting images within the exterior city scape and private streets
2. Observation
While driving into the city center, the ambiance began sinking in. Being stuck in
heavy traffic for close to two hours allowed us to fully absorb our surroundings, realising that the
movement of modernism in KL is now greater than ever. Upon reaching the site, we set up and
embarked onwards; astonished by the sight of a peculiar mosque connected to a police station,
with the colors of blue and white plastered amongst its walls. While we walked towards the
structure, curiosity and a sense of confusion begun to build up among us, without noticing it was a
friday, people were rushing all around us.
This was not your average Friday prayers. In the busy city of Kuala Lumpur, it’s as
though time has taken a halt and strenuous lifestyle has been pushed aside for this sole religious
purpose. As the mosque was entirely filled with people, crowds were gathering beyond the
pavements, on the tarred roads with mats and carpets; kneeling amongst parked cars. The unity
and dedication of an entire religion was so strongly evident that it was hard not to feel
overwhelmed in the presence of it.
As the crowd began to disperse after the prayers, we walked further and noticed
buildings under construction a few blocks opposite the police station. The overlaying of modern
architecture against older structures as such, was everywhere. Ironically, despite this being a
common sight, no one seems to pay much mind to it. In contrast, more often than not we would
pass by the same road everyday in our daily commute and not pay a single mind to the construction
around it; as though the process of the merging of old and new is no longer a fresh thought.
Being in such a versatile city as Kuala Lumpur, one turn into an alley and you’ll be
engulfed by a whole new aura. While the front still upheld its powerful enterprise image, the rear
side of commercial buildings were now converted into shop lots and street vendors and stalls
crawled amongst them. From the smell of food from Indian spices, the fumes of trucks whirring
between people, the burst of colours from textile stores to the illegal ads plastered along the walls,
not a single space was left vacant.
The obvious contrast between materiality of the structures and their architectural
styles is evident. The tall facade displayed on the outside was a stark difference from the livelihood
present within these alleys. Having various pockets of activities taking place in every direction, our
senses did not have enough time to truly adjust before another would take over.
One of the most dominant findings in our exploration was the way in which the
community has a very unique way of working together. Being a melting pot of Malay, Indian and
Chinese communities, through the years of coexisting, everyone understands their purpose and the
importance of accepting the different cultures and businesses that follows. Much like the street
vendors who open their business, the folks who commute to work and get stuck in traffic, and the
Muslim community praying outside down the street; parts of the city takes turn to go into hiatus as
it makes way for the various lifestyles of its residents. Like the conversations taking place daily
between people and buildings, one cannot exist without the other. Their community gave us a
sense of connectivity, and the unsaid conversations between the living and the surroundings, are
the most valuable aspects of Kuala Lumpur.
3. Invisible Cities, Chapter 9 - Italo Calvino, and the city of Kuala Lumpur
In Chapter Nine of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, we witness various cities of different
nature; some glamorous and lively, while others filled with death, but most importantly, no city is
entirely positive or negative. All beautiful cities hold an ugly side, while the unkept cities would
have beauty in every corner as long as you slow down and pay attention to the living.
Calvino wrote of the city of Laudomia in Cities and the Dead 5, where upon the edge
of the city lies an identical metropolis: the Laudomia of the dead, and upon it a third Laudomia, the
city of the unborn. The layout of the houses and the streets are indistinguishable, but to make way
for the living in Laudomia, the borders of the Laudomia of the dead gets pushed further in and
spaces become more and more crowded with every passing way.
Cities and the Sky 4 spoke of the city of Perinthia, an area so carefully planned, it
seems as though it was built by the gods themselves -
“Summoned to lay down the rules for the foundation of
Perinthia, the astronomers established the place and the
day according to the position of the stars; they drew the
intersecting lines of the decumanus and the cardo, the first
oriented to the passage of the sun and the other like the
axis on which the heavens turn. They divided the map
according to the twelve houses of the zodiac so that each
temple and each neighborhood would receive the proper
influence of the favoring constellations; they fixed the
point in the walls where gates should be cut, foreseeing
how each would frame an eclipse of the moon in the next
thousand years.”
Guaranteed would “reflect the harmony of the firmament; nature's reason and the
gods' benevolence would shape the inhabitants' destinies.” Perinthia was constructed with the best
intentions in mind, however the worst could be seen of it today. Cripples and dwarfs, hunchbacks
and outcast populates it and the astronomers must admit that their calculations were wrong and
they are unable to describe the heavens, or that “the order of the gods is reflected exactly in the city
of monsters.”
Similarly upon the streets of Kuala Lumpur, as you walk through the main roads,
you’ll witness the beautifully freshly painted architecture, the modern facades and shiny windows.
However as you turn into a little alley way onto a more hidden domain, the packaged layers of a
polished city starts to peel away, and you get a true grasp of the lifestyle that exists within these
walls. Welcomed by the hustle and bustle of carts and street vendors, the colourful projections
upon the alleys are the exact opposites of the exterior facades. Beggars are carefully tucked away
from the public eye and people of all colours and religions filled up the grids between the tall
architectures that forms the city walls, much like that of Perinthia and Laudomia.
Even though the city of Kuala Lumpur isn’t filled with outcasts and monsters, it is
filled with eccentric individuals, where not one person is alike. Perhaps, that itself is a modern
interpretation that a city that is meant to be lived in cannot truly be planned, for the living will
shape the buildings.
5. Modern architecture stands tall opposite the tight old alleyways, creating a sharply defined contrast.
Jyue
6. The city taking a pause from its busy schedule to accommodate for Friday prayers. Here the people are seen praying
on the roads as the mosque is fully occupied.
Jyue
10. Muslim community praying to Allah on the outside of a mosque on Friday prayers. The prayers call is played
through the speakers of the mosque.
Pablo
11. Food and culture frame people's mind set. Food and culture act together to unify people's differences.
Pablo
12. Hard work is what brings up the people of this place. The woman is seen washing dishes after a very long working
day.
Pablo
