A NATION IS, first and foremost, the story of an idea. That’s what we mean by “nation-building”—what’s being built is, in fact, a story of Malaysia, one that perhaps exists more distinctly in our heads than anywhere else. After all, reality is too messy and volatile to be contained by a single story. But what this story does is supply a sense of identity and direction—who were we once, who are we now and who do we want to be?
This story is taught through history textbooks, essay topics, drawing competitions and, of course, the national anthem. Now, the exhibition “negaraku” may borrow its title from the anthem, but its version of the story hardly toes the line of official sources—each artwork offers its slice of truth, which, put together, forms a more complete picture. Each piece gains its own political context and subtext, simply by virtue of its position herein.
