I have pleasure in writing a brief appreciation of ‘Incomplete is Complete’; a group exhibition by Aminah Abd Rahman, Chook ok Choon, Shireen Lee and Wee Chiang Lung. Knowing them is like opening a new chapter from the best-selling author. It’s just grabbed me from page one and refused to let go until I read the last word . . . The title really make me smile and the first thing that entered my mind is about PUZZLE.

I was reading “Finding Your Way in a Wild New World” by Martha Beck’s last night and she talked about finding a metaphor for everything. For some reason, I started to think about a jigsaw puzzle as a metaphor of life. In the beginning there are so many pieces and it can be hard to figure out where to start. But you create a plan and start the journey. Many people start a puzzle by doing the outside pieces first. Some will sort the pieces into colours; others may sort them into shapes. But no matter how many pieces there are, it all starts when the first piece is in place and the puzzle gets put together one piece at a time. The journey of solving a puzzle sounds a bit like a life journey in that way, doesn’t it? Sometimes you’re working on a section and can’t find the piece to complete that particular section. It can be very frustrating. One thing about a jigsaw puzzle is that it takes time to put it all together. You usually know what the final product is going to look like, but you have to go through the effort of placing each piece into its rightful position. There are no short cuts.  One piece at a time, it’s always a work in progress right up to the last piece. According to Kendall, Parkes and Spoerer, (2008), “A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution.”

The same thing applies to the artists. How they complete the puzzle from an incomplete manners it’s all up to them. Every piece comes with its own story and history. The elements of surprise remain untouched and the unexpected juxtapositions images lingered for us to see and absorb. It is like a channel for them to tell the world how they interpret and explore the beauty in art. Story, journey and history are combined together to complete the whole picture and creating the harmony for us to enjoy. One thing for sure, their work has its own story and meaning. Their works tells who they are and why they create it from the first place. Together under one roof they make what is incomplete to be complete and this exhibition tells everything about them.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them for this group exhibition and wish them every success in their endeavor. May God shower them with endless blessings and may he continuously be guided to portray the beauty and magnificence of Creation bestowed by the Al-Mighty.

The exhibition was a great success. And below are some photos of the officiating ceremony held on the June 28th 2014 at 11.00am. Officiated by YBhg Dato’ Mahadzir Lokman, Chairman of Lembaga Pembangunan Seni Visual Negara.