From Pop Art to Material Memory: Tracing the Evolution of Identity in My Work

At my solo installation at Budderup Odekirke, Rebild, Denmark-2013

Double Warhol, collage and acrylic on canvas, 1999

Shop til u flop, Collage and acrylic, 2006

 

From Pop Art to the Present: My Evolving Artistic Journey

Art has always been a means of exploring the self and the world, a reflection of both the personal and the collective. My journey as an artist has taken me through various phases, mediums, and concepts, evolving from my early fascination with pop art to a more layered, nuanced practice rooted in history, migration, identity, and materiality. This essay seeks to trace this transition, not as a linear progression, but as an organic unfolding of artistic inquiry, shaped by experiences, influences, and critical moments in my life.

The Early Influence of Pop Art

My initial foray into the art world was heavily influenced by pop art, and it was the work of Malaysian pop artist Jeri Azhari that first inspired me to make art. The bold colors, graphic aesthetics, and mass culture references resonated with me, particularly as someone who grew up in Malaysia surrounded by the imagery of Western consumerism. Even as a child in the 1960s, I was already immersed in pop culture—watching TV series like Lone Ranger, Bonanza, P. Ramlee films and Mickey Mouse, going to the movies to see The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Bollywood films, and experiencing the thrill of live music when my father, Zainorin Md Dom, sang at festivals and weddings. English pop music were also a major part of my world, like Tom Jones, Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

Pop art, with its irreverence and accessibility, provided an entry point for me to experiment with visual language and engage with the dialogue between high and low art. In the beginning, my work reflected the influences of Jeri himself and other pop artists and surrealists like Salvador Dalí, along with figures such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauchenberg and Roy Lichtenstein, who blurred the boundaries between fine art and popular culture. I was fascinated by the power of repetition, the appropriation of commercial imagery, and the ways in which pop art critiqued the commodification of culture. This phase of my work was marked by a playful engagement with familiar symbols, often drawing from mass media, making portraits of artists and singers, magazines, political iconography, and everyday objects. Yet, as my artistic journey progressed, I found myself yearning for something deeper—something that could bridge my personal history with broader cultural narratives.

The Shift Toward Personal and Cultural Identity

The seeds of transformation began when I moved from Kuala Lumpur in 1997 to live on Perhentian Island until the end of 1999 before returning to KL. During my time on the island, I started using discarded materials from the sea and incorporating sand into my work, which i continue my practice and artistic approach towards working with found objects and natural elements. In 2001, while doing my residency at Jaguar Motors in KL, I experienced the total loss of all my belongings—a significant event that deserves its own story. Shortly after, in 2002, I met my wife, Pia Poulsen, during a short visit to Yogyakarta. We married soon after, and I followed her back to Copenhagen. However, the transition did not happen immediately when I moved to Denmark. I continued collecting found materials and objects from the streets. My first solo exhibition in a library in Denmark consisted entirely of artworks made from found materials, old magazines, and newspapers, yet I was still using popular images reminiscent of pop art.

Over time, I began experimenting with different mediums, including digital art, video animation, experimental films, performance, and poetry reading. Slowly, I started incorporating photography and rubber stamps into my work, marking a gradual shift towards a more layered and conceptual approach. This period of transition deeply influenced my artistic evolution, prompting me to reflect more on my background and the complex interplay of cultural identity in my life. Growing up in Malaysia, studying in the United States, and eventually settling in Denmark gave me a unique vantage point on issues of migration, belonging, and displacement. My work began shifting from the aesthetics of pop art toward a more introspective approach that examined my own place within historical and contemporary contexts.

I started incorporating historical references, elements of traditional Malay culture and personal artifacts into my work. The use of old passports, maps, rubber stamps, and found objects became central to my practice. My engagement with printmaking, installations, and mixed media allowed me to layer meanings and challenge fixed notions of identity. The transition was not about rejecting pop art but expanding my artistic vocabulary to accommodate more complex, layered storytelling.

Materiality and Conceptual Depth

Over time, my focus turned to materials as carriers of memory and meaning. I found resonance in working with objects that had histories of their own—banknotes, atlases, coins, textiles, and musical instruments such as the Malaysian kompang. Each material introduced a new dimension to my work, allowing me to explore themes of migration, colonial history, and personal displacement in a tactile way.

For example, my kompang project, in which I replaced traditional drum skins with x-ray films, symbolized the merging of personal history with collective identity. The x-rays, sourced from my friends and family, carried traces of human fragility while also representing transparency and transformation. Similarly, my work with old passports and rubber stamps examined the bureaucratic constructs of identity, questioning the arbitrary nature of borders and belonging.

The Present: Open-Ended Narratives and Audience Engagement

Today, my artistic practice is centered on creating open-ended works that invite multiple interpretations. I am less interested in dictating meaning and more in allowing viewers to bring their own perspectives into the work through installation like The Worlds in Nyiru, an installation made of cardboards and pages from atlas, inspired by the Malaysian traditional tray (nyiru) used to separate grain.

This approach aligns with my belief that art should not provide absolute answers but rather pose questions, challenge perceptions, and create space for new ways of thinking. My transition from pop art to my present work has been one of deepening inquiry—moving from the surface appeal of bold imagery to the layered complexity of history, materiality, and experience.

Conclusion

My journey as an artist has been marked by shifts in aesthetic choices, conceptual frameworks, and mediums, but at its core, it has always been about exploration. From the pop art-infused beginnings that engaged with mass culture to the present where I investigate identity, migration, and memory through materials and performance, my work continues to evolve. Art remains a site of negotiation between the personal and the universal, a space where I can navigate my past, present, and future while inviting others to do the same. This transition is not an abandonment of pop art but an expansion—an ever-growing dialogue between the images, materials, and ideas that shape our world.

 

Silver, Acrylic on paper, 2010- from the Most Wanted Series

The Thinker, Collage on polyester, 2006

 

Lincoln, Postcards Assemblage on Softboard, 2013