A Private Exhibition by Rumah Lukis Gallery in Kuala Lumpur
We are super excited to be given the opportunity to showcase Musotrees' stories, processes and its evolution at Rumah Lukis gallery in Kuala Lumpur. The exhibition was held from June till October 2019.
"On behalf of Musotrees team and all contributors, thank you for reading our stories, sharing our journeys and bringing new destinations. We are not here to be the best, but better. We are not here to be the first, but doer. You have allowed us to meet new niches, create cool connections and importantly teaching us the "adab" (manners) of travelling further. We are grateful for the opportunity. To all of you who have come and spent your precious time to check out Musotrees Magazine, we genuinely appreciate it".
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Message from Rumah Lukis gallery;
Alif — the "adab" (manners) of travelling commenced more than 1441 years ago by our beloved Prophet Muhammad PBUH.
Ba — Musotrees' manifestation may differ in their methods and manoeuvres, but some of the elements of Hijrah; tekun/perseverence, tabby/resilience, tujuan/destination are involved in the process and making of this journal, similar in the essence if not in the lessons.
Ta — Be grateful to the Creator.
*Special thanks to Ar. Pital Maarof & Maryam Saida.
Address: 11 Jalan AU5D/4, Lembah Keramat Hulu Klang, 54200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Email: galerirumahlukis@gmail.com
Phone: +6012 6084038
Here is snippet of photo collection by Syazwan A & Kerol Izwan.
More photos can be seen at Rumah Lukis.
WHY DO WE TRAVEL? - By Hana Zamri
Why do we travel? As Pico Iyer said in his essay Why We Travel, “We travel, initially to lose ourselves; and we travel, next, to find ourselves”. The definition of travel is pretty subjective to different people. As you get older, your relationship to it changes. To me, one of the reasons I love travelling is to escape from my habitual life. I love being unknown wherever I walk in to the streets of a new city, which gives me a new kind of freedom. Somehow, travelling allows me to experience the bliss of both anonymity and self-discovery. But most of all, travelling helps me to see and learn new things that inspires me to look at things in a new light, when I produce my art. As an artist, I see Kerol uses travelling as a vehicle in search of not only trying to discover himself but also to explore possibilities of his creative mind. But again, why does Kerol travel? And how did the idea of Musotrees come about?
I - What compelled Kerol to travel and what is the historic/social/cultural framework within which Kerol lived and worked?
Kerol was born in a middle-class household and never had the opportunity to travel abroad until he made good income for himself working in a private company as a microbiologist. Also, with the existence of low-budget airlines today, it has opened up opportunities for everyone to travel. However, growing up with not enough money to travel is not the reason Kerol started to yearn to travel the world. Perhaps, being secluded from the world, working in a laboratory, and living through a microscope pushed him to. Going through the daily life routine, Kerol is used to being disguised. Often, we afraid of being true to ourselves in fear of rejection by our family, friends and colleagues. Only after 8 years, of working in the same company right after graduating his bachelor’s degree, he decided to pursue travelling as a full-time job. Growing up and always trying to achieve the best results in school, to enter a university, to get a good job, Kerol was used to success. Having to deal with examining in the laboratory and expecting a result has somehow trapped Kerol into a very structured life and view of the world. With the passion Kerol has for travelling, he decided to do something more with it. It all started out with writing a journal, while sipping local coffee, on the train etc. Therefore, travelling is a new passion for Kerol that helps him depart from everyday regimen. With that he decided to develop his private documentation (journal) into a magazine, to be shared with the public about his travels. He named it Musotrees.
II - What is the crucial role of Kerol in the creation of cultural identity?
In today’s world, cultural identity is a multifaceted. Kerol has created Musotrees perhaps with the intention of just sharing his passion and experience of travelling, through mass media. Hence, without realizing he has created a material that influences and attract people in which they can feel belonged to or identified to without affiliating themselves to a particular race, nationality, gender, ethnicity etc. Musotrees speaks to people of different background. Originally, it would be easier to identify oneself in a stable cultural group but now everything and everyone can be dependent on spatial and temporal changes. I have always believed that identity is not static. Kerol has created a content that caters to different types of people and travellers. On the other hand, Kerol plays a vital role in inspiring the younger generation to pursue their passion, with a brand he created for himself. He has opened up a channel to the world to share his real life experience of his interactions with real life people when he travels. He, too, shares an offline experience online through photography. With that, he has set himself up with networks around the world that has helped him with the development of Musotrees.
III. How did Kerol developed his stylistic trend of Musotrees and how did it shape his identity?
Cross-cultural influence has contributed in the construction and development of Musotrees’ stylistic trend and design, which is also a catalysts of its social and cultural identity. Style is viewed as central in the creation of identities and gives prominence to the creator. The experience Kerol has gained from travelling to one country to another, interacting with the locals and meeting up with strangers over coffee etc. has opened up Kerol’s creativity. It also has helped Kerol in developing his own sense of identity. Travelling has made Kerol flexible personally and creatively. Looking at Musotrees, Kerol has invited the world into his private lenses of travelling.