ADDRESS
BY
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
SULTAN NAZRIN MUIZZUDDIN SHAH
AT THE
LAUNCHING OF HALIMAH MOHD SAID ARTWORKS
DATE: TUESDAY, 16 AUGUST 2022, 3.30 PM
VENUE: THE ROYAL SELANGOR GOLF CLUB,
KUALA LUMPUR.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
- First of all, I want to say how pleased I am to see so many of you here today as we celebrate and launch the art of our wonderful and accomplished friend, Datuk Halimah Mohd Said. As we look around the exhibition later on, we should remember Datuk Halimah’s many other achievements. These all precede and amplify what we are celebrating here today in this introduction to her artwork. Her art also reflects the various paths she has taken in the past. In its subject matter and range, it demonstrates above all her enduring search for harmony and unity.
- The art Datuk Halimah has created is a testament to the interesting and varied life she has led to date. It has developed out of her lifelong passion for art, and for the Arts. It began as the hobby of someone engaged in other pursuits, as an academic, as a civil society organizer, as a writer, and as a devoted wife and mother. But it is also the art of someone who has always had a very keen eye in this field, as seen in her extensive and diverse personal collection. And as this exhibition shows, Datuk Halimah’s own art has now evolved into the accomplished output of someone who is clearly passionate about her craft.
- Her commitment to her art, and her dedicated production of it, have enabled her to reach this exciting point – the holding of this event to launch her art into the world. I want to warmly congratulate Datuk Halimah for having reached this laudable milestone. And by using this means to raise money for charity, in this case to support the provision of art education for the under-privileged, Datuk Halimah is once again leveraging her own capabilities in order to serve the community more broadly. As with her other projects, she is turning her skill and dedication in this area also to the public good.
- The pictures that are on display here today show the range and depth that Datuk Halimah has achieved in this relatively new area of focus for her. It is particularly remarkable to see the range of subjects that are covered in the artwork on display here, and to experience the joy that is sparked by the many varied and delightful paintings.
- Datuk Halimah organises her work into themes, which range from nature and places, to spirituality and religion, to more abstract shapes. Her artwork also carries on the themes of her own life, including her love of country. She portrays our landscapes very evocatively, drawing on the Impressionist and Romantic sensibility that has always underpinned her love for art. Her paintings also reflect her intellectual concerns, with their themes of multiculturalism, religion, and the contrasts she highlights between nature and buildings. The paintings show sensitivity and thoughtfulness, while the consistent use of light and colour in the many different thematic areas helps to mold them into a cohesive whole.
- Many of the paintings have a simplicity to them that is in itself striking. The scenes of buildings; the skies with different coloured cloud formations and light; the trees and forests she again depicts in unusual and varied colours; and the more abstract shapes. Common to them all is a very simple and pleasing beauty. In this, they promote a feeling of peacefulness, and even of spirituality. Datuk Halimah has indeed displayed considerable skill by generating such emotions through her paintings. They remind us of the power that art has to move us to feel genuine emotion.
- The pictures are also very personal to the artist. They give us an inkling, an entry, into her perspective on the world, as she sees it. Her art reflects herself, her concerns, her viewpoint. What skill she employs in presenting her world to us, the viewers, what joy in reflecting so effectively and so passionately, the beauty of the world, as she so clearly sees it. And how brave of her, to share so much of herself in this way. Once again, this generosity of spirit displayed in these paintings is fittingly in keeping with the theme of Datuk Halimah’s life as one of service, and a dedication to making the world a better, more peaceful and beautiful place.
Ladies and gentlemen,
- So once again I would like to heartily congratulate Datuk Halimah for the wonderful achievement and joy that she has created in this exhibition surrounding us here. And I want to commend her for dedicating her own art to helping others, by donating the proceeds of the exhibition to charity. And with that I would like to declare this exhibition open for you all to peruse and enjoy!