A self-advocacy society for people with learning disabilities in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, United Voice (UV) has been around since 1995.
After successfully raising more than RM1 million through various fund-raising events and donations, UV finally managed to purchase their own space this year.
The ground floor is their showroom and training centre where baking classes and craft making workshops are held while the first floor houses an art gallery.
It was in this gallery that the works of Nurul A. Rahman, Tan Seng Kit, Nadiah A. Jalil, Damiem Wong and Ahmad A. Khairuddin were shown.
They can express themselves by making food, art objects, drama, or music.
Drawing and painting is a language of its own. We just need to look at the lines, shapes, colours and textures and how these artistic elements combine to make a picture or an object.
Ahmad, 22, is not just autistic but is also hard of hearing and communicates through sign language (many signs of his own making which only his mother can understand).
He also expresses himself through drawing complicated imaginary architectural structures.
In “Cityscape”, he details a group of high-rise architectural structures in various stages of completion using just a black ballpoint pen.
You have to appreciate the sureness of the lines and how the web of sensitive graphic thoughts become images of our concrete urban spaces.Does he approve of our progress as reflected through our modern architecture or is he cautioning us of our mindless drive to reach the sky at any cost? We’ll never know. He only smiles.
Nurul is 18 and her cheerful and warm personality comes through in her painting. She tells us in this acrylic painting that she likes looking at ducks swimming in the pond in its natural setting with an orange sky.
Expressions of joy and happiness are also a common language. But what could be behind Nurul’s portrayal of the ducks in the pond? Could she be telling us she would like to be a part of the classic children’s story about the ugly duckling? We wish her dreams will come true.
Nurul will give you a bear hug in any case.
So why do people like flowers (growing them, buying and giving them as gifts)? Why did Damien, 15, paint this acrylic painting of a bunch of flowers against a blue background?
My guess is he is using this visual representation as a gift to someone he loves. This was what the European artist Van Gogh did more than 200 years ago.
Van Gogh was too poor to buy flowers to decorate the room for his guest, the artist Paul Gauguin, so he painted the famous sunflower painting to hang on the wall to cheer up the tiny space.
Who could be the lucky person in Damien’s life? You just need to watch him with his mother and you’ll know.
Seng Kit, 20, moves about like a pigeon looking for food. He cannot settle down or draw or paint for a long period of time. He is on the move all the time or his hands are twitching or his legs are dancing.
This painting has a very busy and bright colourful background and over it he draws different birds of various sizes flying about. What could he be visualising?
His painting “Happy Birds” is perhaps his way of telling us to look at how birds go about their business and their freedom of movement in nature. If we do take time to see as Seng Kit does, we may begin understand our ecology better and then perhaps we’ll begin to understand his life and wishes.
Isn’t a happy life and a safer world what we all hope and wish for too?
Who says that the autistic people lack communication skills?
* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.
