A SUIT-WEARING, banana-munching gorilla tries to call order over a group of bickering animals and among them, an ape is hurling expletives at a howling dog.

Behind the ape is a frog holding a fishing rod while another frog hops over.

Meanwhile, a group of chimpanzees depict the proverb “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” as they cover their eyes, ears and mouths, while the jungle behind them is on fire.

“Doesn’t this look like Parliament?” said Rizo Leong, of the artwork on a canvas on the floor of a studio in Seppangar, in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

The woodprint is the latest creation by Pangrok Sulap, a collective of Sabah artists who use art to criticise and protest against the bad they see in today’s politics.

“Politicians argue, shout and hop at will while the country burns in the background,” said Leong, 36, Pangrok Sulap’s founder.

The latest piece, titled ParLIARment, was done by eight Sabah artists. It has come to define what politics means to the collective, more so in the face of the state elections on September 26.

“This took us two weeks to create. One week to conceptualise and then another week to carve it out on wood panels.

“After that, we get people to print the images out on fabric or paper.”

Leong, who studied civil engineering, said it’s Pangrok Sulap’s way of getting more people to take part in creating art so that they, too, could have ownership.

“In the villages, for instance, we get the local community to carve and then to print.”

Woodcut print art is a technique where an image is carved onto the surface of a block to wood with gouges, leaving printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. 

The surface is then covered by ink before a fabric or paper-based canvas is placed on top, and the image is transferred or “printed”.

Pangrok Sulap gets the prints transferred by getting people to stand or dance on top of the canvas.

Pangrok Sulap’s roots go back to Ranau in 2010 and it includes musicians and activists whose aims are to help local communities in Sabah.

In local slang, pangrok refers to punk rock, while sulap is the Dusun word for hut.

According to Leong, their artwork is exhibited and sold in galleries. 

Among its exhibitions include the Sunshower: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia 1980s to Now in Tokyo 2017, the 9th Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Australia in 2018 and the Aichi Triennale in Japan in 2019

“We use the money to help local communities by conducting workshops for them to create other art items or build community centres.”

One of its last projects was to build an art centre in Kg Keiyip, Ranau. 

Pangrok Sulap, said Leong, did not start off as a political awareness campaign.

“We want to create awareness for local Sabah issues, environmental issues and social awareness.”

While the collective uses social media to promote its work, it does not do signature campaigns or rallies.

“We are just creating art, sharing them and raising money to help local communities,” said Leong.

McFeddy Simon, another artist who makes Dusun-Murut traditional musical instruments, said Pangrok Sulap is more interested in “people problems”.

“We just want to create some awareness about environmental issues and mainly work with communities,” said the 31-year-old from Ranau.

These problems are basic, such as poor road conditions, internet connectivity, access to education and economic woes. 

“When you look at it, aren’t all these problems connected to politics?”

Leong and Simon do not plan to vote when Sabah goes to the polls next Saturday.

“I have lost interest in politicians. Every candidate that has contested in my hometown (Ranau) has promised to repair the roads and improve our infrastructure.

“But nothing has been done. They hop, they shout, they promise but nothing is done in the end. After they are elected, they go missing,” said Leong.

Tambunan artist Adi Helmi will also boycott the vote.

“They only come for Kaamatan when there is a lot of drinking and feasting. But nothing gets done in the end. 

“The previous candidate Joseph Pairin Kitingan doesn’t even come to campaign because he is Huguan-Siou (Kadazandusun language for brave warrior). But he still wins and the same goes for his younger brother Jeffrey.”

Joseph is founder of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and is now its adviser, while Jeffrey is the Tambunan seat’s incumbent and president of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR).

Simon added that there seems little point in voting if politicians can switch parties later on.

“We prefer to help people directly with their problems. And through art, we believe we can do more good and raise awareness about these politicians.

“Each artwork we do has its own mission. And that is more meaningful to us,” said Leong. – September 18, 2020.