Dear Friends,
Sutra Foundation’s media launch of Meniti Cakerawala together with the inaugural painting exhibition of Cosmic Connections (in association with Museum of Asian Arts, UM), by newly established SPEKTRA (an association of independent artists), went splendidly with good media attendance and a crowd of visual arts & theatre aficionados.
Meniti Cakerawala will soon undertake its 8-City Malaysia National Tour, premiering in Melaka (18 July) and subsequently in Seremban (19 July), Kuala Lumpur (25, 26 & 27 July), Johor Bahru (2 Aug), Klang (9 Aug), Penang (15 Aug), Kuching (17 Aug) & Kota Kinabalu (7 Sept).
Representative co-partners – Padma Nrithyalaya Arts (Seremban) and Soka Gakkai Malaysia, SGM (Klang & Penang) were present.
Tan Sri Mazlan Othman, Datuk Ramli Ibrahim and Sutra Dancers performed anecdotes from Meniti Cakerawala.
Ramli bantered with creative collaborators, music composer, Dr Valerie Ross and lighting designer, Sivarajah Natarajan.
Poet Laureate Prof Emeritus Muhammad Hj Salleh and Journalism Laureate Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar, whose voices were featured in Meniti, gave support in promoting the production.
Many, too, felt the poignancy of remembering the late actor Mano Maniam when his voice rang in his last theatre involvement with Meniti Cakerawala. Chacko Vadaketh’s smooth voice took audience into the cosmic realms of the gods.
Geethika Sree and Jagyandatta Pradhan performed the stirring dance of creation in full costume created by Leslie Variyan of Variante.
Also present was vocalist and rebab master, Kamal Baisah, whose ancient voice would give Meniti Cakerawala its powerful ending.
No doubt the bonus of the evening was the painting exhibition inspired by Meniti Cakerawala. Puan Zahirah, director of Museum of Asian Arts, UM and curator of the exhibition, together with artist Siva Nair, founder of SPEKTRA, each illuminated the underlying message of the artists.
About thirty paintings created by the 9 visual artists of SPEKTRA lifted the spirit of the media launch to a high, enveloping the exhibition with an inexplicable aura of monumentality.
Each artist stirred from within the depth of his or her inner landscapes, to express the multi-layered metaphors of our existence in the vastness of the cosmos, in their attempt to distill the essential meaning of Life. This was the spirit palpable in all the works. The grandeur and cosmic allusions of the Universe were manifested, thus, creating a sense of wonder in the viewers who were caught in amazement.
Truly, Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate and to inspire…
Sutra.