1) Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is DK Musfirah Wajihah, also known as MUWADESU. I am currently a secondary Art & Design teacher and a BTEC Art & Design Level 1 assessor. When it comes to my art practice, I have experimented with other fields of art such as printmaking, sculpture, animation, sound and installation work, but I mainly work with drawings and paintings in both traditional and digital mediums in an illustrative or portrait manner. Most of my portrait work focuses on the female figure in either semi-realism or other experimental techniques. Some of my work also has some particular cultural influences, especially in terms of clothing or textures. The common themes people know of my work consist of themes surrounding mermaids, fantasy figures in cultural garb and Ghibli-teary eyed little girls.
2) Why do you do what you do?
It’s a mixture of what I grew up with, what I’m interested in and what I learned throughout my art practice and research. I feel that my artwork lightly but steadily evolves with what I choose to focus on for each process. I first started my art journey with anime and manga styled drawings with a huge influence on the Japanese kawaii culture, and as I grew older my artworks improved further in terms of aesthetic quality and content. Then came university – this was where my art practice was a huge challenge for me mentally and emotionally, but it also popped the biggest balloon of my comfort zone to its demise. I discovered more brilliant art movements from both the Western and Eastern front, particularly on Lowbrow, Pop Surrealism, Pre-Raphaelite and Art Nouveau combined with contemporary Japanese art and a huge phase of the “cute” art. I can’t really pinpoint what I do exactly now, but the results of years of influence and wanting to experiment has shaped my artworks to be in between recognizable or - if you're lucky enough to see them - unexpected.
3) What is your strongest memory of your childhood?
When it comes to art related memories, I had a few silly and a little strange one. I remembered strongly how at one point I really enjoyed drawing old witches (don’t ask, I also don’t know why) and I would start handing them over to my teachers when I was in primary school. I remembered them raising their eyebrows while receiving them but accepted them anyway. That, and how I was once so motivated to become an artist as a 11-year-old that I plastered my hilarious drawings all over my bedroom wall and insisted my parents come in and have a look. I also had other personal, more emotional memories that I believe have impacted the content or direction of my artwork.
4) How has that memory inspired or influenced the way you create?
When it comes to what influences my creations, I found that the sincerest works of art that I have were heavily driven by emotional bursts, whether they were silent and lingering, or loud and desperate. Most of my memories growing up weren’t too pleasant and I mainly projected two things: what I was sad about, or what I wanted to see. Apart from what I studied and experimented on with my art in a professional manner, sometimes I do catch myself just impulsively doing drawings or paintings when I am suddenly struck by interest or a particularly visual memory. I do try to be more thoughtful of my work nowadays, wanting to create new and hopefully better memories, be more inspired and motivated along the way.
5) What is your dream? And a dream project you have always wanted to work on?
As an artist I believe it’s almost impossible not to be influenced in one way or another by at least one of your other interests. At one point I was very interested in dioramas, sculptural and resin crafts that I mixed some of those mediums and techniques with my typical art practice. I also picked up the interest (and almost an unhealthy accumulation) of craft items like stickers and washi tapes to add as part of my traditional work. Sometimes your other influences can actually open your thoughts to wonderful creative outcomes.
6) Do your other interests influence your art?
As an artist I believe it’s almost impossible not to be influenced in one way or another by at least one of your other interests. At one point I was very interested in dioramas, sculptural and resin crafts that I mixed some of those mediums and techniques with my typical art practice. I also picked up the interest (and almost an unhealthy accumulation) of craft items like stickers and washi tapes to add as part of my traditional work. Sometimes your other influences can actually open your thoughts to wonderful creative outcomes.
7) Brunei’s creative industry in 10 years will be ….
… hopefully better, given the opportunities for local artists and creatives to flourish in what they are passionate about. From what I can see, there is a slow but steadily rising involvement of creatives locally through art or creative centered events, projects or even campaigns. I do believe that with the growing exposure of locals to the beauty and importance of art whether in everyday life or even in gallery settings, be it through local exhibitions or social media networks can help to eventually break the stigma and make them appreciate local creatives and the creative industry more. It takes two to tango – both the active involvement of the creatives and the audience to be open minded and supportive!