SILHOUETTE by Taquddin Bahro

Hari Langsung (kenduri) - The Day (the wedding feast)
Air 7 Mesjid - Blessed Water of 7 Mosques
Silhouette Project - Document 1 & 2
Tepak Sirih Jawa - Java Sirih Set
Malam Berinai - Henna Night
Pelamin Nazli - Nazli's Dais
Kasut Hantaran - A Gift (shoes)

Silhouette

In normal term, "Silhouette" is a view of an object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior. Eponym named after Etienne de Silhouette, the finance minister of Louis XV who was noted with his stinginess in 1759 imposed such harsh economic demands uppon the French people, that his name became synonymous with anything done or made cheaply. These include portraits were designated a la Silhouette. In art a silhouette is a form of artwork. It is most commonly a human portrait in profile, in black. Most silhouettes are formed by tracing the shadows of the subject and cutting along the resultant outline. In graphic design, to silhouette is to separate (mask) a portion of an image so that it does not show. For instance, a background. (source: Wikipedia.org)

In Quddin's interpretation, silhouette painting is a view of an object consisting of the outline in an ambiguous space in a manner that reflects the essence of his art sensitivity and respect for material, craft, and the in-between as in our life of the spiritual and physical sustenance from man to his wife.

These silhouettes are then composed onto the surface of a nicely decorated akseline fabric, resulting in panoramic surreal minimalist composition. Just as the simplicity of the "akad" or the solemnization ritual, belies the tremendous responsibilitiesfor the groom to care for his bride, and this is reinforced in a marriage sermon delivered by the "kadhi", as what is expressed in Quddin's new piece.