ARIYANA Ahmad's earliest memories never fails to transport her back to scenes of her weekly visits to Pak Wa's double-storey house in Kelana Jaya, Selangor. Three things then beckoned to her — Kak Chah's (Pak Wa's cook) fragrant Assam Laksa with petis that the whole family looked forward to; a secret space under the car porch, where she often imagined herself being a troll under the bridge; and Pak Wa's painting room full of artwork he'd stick on the wall.
Pak Wa was Ariyana's uncle, Othman Mahmud, and the little Ariyana would sit quietly looking on in awe at his fine brush strokes of mostly landscape, the sea and boats. Ari, as she prefers to be called, is today based in Dublin and is a designer, illustrator and artist with 20 years of experience in Malaysia and Ireland.
She has had numerous exhibitions, mainly in Dublin, and her work has been featured in various publications, murals, special projects, storyboards, signages, ceramics, and products among others.
It all began when the younger Ari first read Alice In Wonderland. While her uncle gave her invaluable insights into the art of painting, she found a bridge to the power of imagination through Lewis Carroll's whimsical book.
That was the moment she fell in love with illustrating. John Tenniel's black ink artwork of Alice, the Cheshire cat and The Mad Hatter fired up her creativity and she began dreaming about drawing her own world.
Ari read whatever she could get her hands on and would then proceed to illustrate, creating her own interpretation. At the age of 14, she loved animals in particular, especially orcas, dolphins and horses. She painted an orca and dolphins on the wall in her room, which made her room look like it was under the sea.
Her love for sports was something she inherited from her father, a "sportsman extraordinaire", who represented the country in rugby and decathlon at the SEA Games and the Asian Games.
He was also a great storyteller and would fill the young Ari's head with tales like Sinbad the Sailor. Around the same time, Ari's neighbour, Ummi, had a collection of Southeast Asian myths and magical tales from Japanese folklore. She would always end up borrowing them so she could have a read before proceeding to draw.
The Malaysian artist prefers to use black ink, fountain pens and ballpoint pens. Ari shares that she has better control when drawing with pens for fluidity to work on intricate detailing. Watercolour paper is thicker and textured, and Ari uses this to give the final artwork an old parchment feel.
MUHIBBAH AT BALLYROAN
Her recent exhibition, titled Muhibbah is timely, especially with this being Merdeka month and of course, especially being after Malaysia Day.
It was Giovanni Giusti, an art dealer for Gallery X, whom she had worked with on past exhibitions, who actually came up with the idea for Ari's Muhibbah exhibition held at Ballyroan Library. It coincided with the Culture Night initiative of the Creative Ireland Arts Council, a national movement which celebrates the richness and diversity of culture in Ireland today.
After a successful debut in North Clondalkin at the beginning of the summer, Gallery X endorses the work of "the greatly talented Ariyana Ahmad". A live performance stoked a type of artistic emotion to accompany her exhibition. On Culture Night 2021, Tales of the Shadows presented a live performance based on the Malaysian folklore that inspired Ari's work.
The artist's longing for home is palpable as she shares: "I picked Muhibbah as it means a feeling of friendship, camaraderie, tolerance, and understanding. It is commonly used in a multiracial, multicultural setting — like in Malaysia and currently in Dublin."
Continuing, she adds: "Dublin is fast becoming a melting pot of different ethnicities and cultures from all over the world. This is why this exhibition consists of illustrations from myths all over the world."
Puteri Santubong Puteri Sejinjang, Naga Seri Gemum and Gong Xi Fa Cai are among the Malaysian artworks she had on display for the exhibition as well as The Fates, based on Greek mythology and the Chinese-inspired Jing Wei.
"I love being able to interpret books I read or movies I watched through my illustrations," enthuses Ari, adding: "I absolutely adore the Golden Age illustrations and illustrators like Harry Clarke, Edmund Dulac and Arthur Rackham."
OF IMAGINATION AND DREAMS
It's not surprising that Ari loves the detailing, whimsical style that can be produced using pen and ink. "With illustrations there are no boundaries, anything is possible," she continues. "Being able to draw out your imagination and your dreams is like a holiday from reality. I believe art is a great medium that connects us. Show your art and anyone viewing it would lose their inhibitions and start talking to you. What drives me is leaving a legacy that my son can be proud of." Ari has a 13-year-old son named Finn.
"I fell in love with the Emerald Isle," shares the artist, a tinge of bittersweet in her voice. "Ireland has its share of myths and beautiful landscapes. It's inspiring to travel away from Dublin city and camp out. The view of the stars is amazing."
A qualified graphic designer and interior designer, today Ari works as a Tik Tok Quality Analyst. On her most satisfying work thus far, she replies: "I volunteered for a charity organisation called Jack & Jill Children's Foundation and produced Hares on the March. The Hare was adopted by Irish chocolatier Lily O'Brien's Chocolates and is currently displayed in their head office. I was then commissioned to design a limited-edition packaging for their chocolates."
Yes, Ari received a BIG box of samples of the to-die-for chocolates!
When it comes to illustrations, Ari shares that research, either through reading, movies or online references, is absolutely vital. She would then sketch out figures and outline them with a mechanical pencil before proceeding to the inking part.
If she feels the work needs colour, she would colour after pencilling then enhance with black ink outlines. She tries to imagine her coloured work as stained glass or batik. Needless to say, as Ari uses traditional methods and hand-draws, it is laborious work. She intends to explore illustrating digitally and has begun research on the wildly popular Non-Fungible Token or NFT.
Passionate about books and food, Ari admits that being thousands of miles away from Malaysia, she has learned to appreciate the little things, for example, eating al fresco at a mamak, teh o ais limau, thosai and family.
She aspires to share Malaysian myths and legends with the people in Dublin as well as enrich her son's life. Reading online stories of the Bunian people, Raja Bersiong and other superstitions remind her so much of home.
Illustrating artwork based on hikayat and Malaysian legends brings Ari back closer to home, and serves as her precious contribution to bringing Malaysia to the world.
