KOTA KINABALU: Wonders of Wilderness (WOW 1.0) - The Oceans will be the first and biggest 2D and 3D community and digital art installation in the country, and is set to open tomorrow.
Located at the site of a former colonial building in the heart of town, the project's main artist Japson Wong said the "open gallery" does not only feature paintings but also life-sized marine animals and the underwater environment, as well as digital element art.
"This exhibition covers the history of the ruins and arts that were done there before, and the latest being WOW 1.0.
"WOW does not only involve paintings but also 3D sculptures and digital art all over the site, (which is different from previous) Pillars of Sabah that focused mainly on paintings on the walls and pillars.
"We are hoping to collaborate more on similar projects that combine creative art and science education with the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry and Sabah Creative Economy and Innovation Centre (SCENIC)," he said in a statement, adding that the artists hoped to continue bringing art to the next level.
Wong added that the project also involves community art and educational outreach.
The lead artists Wong and Rosmaini Sunarjo, as well as supporting artists Penny Chong, Azlan Dulikab, Cannie Tan, Lim Sheng Haw, Oliver Kah, and Yahz had worked on the project since April last year.
Sabah Art Gallery director Sara Ahmad said looking back on how Covid-19 has challenged people's lives, art should move forward with technology and innovation.
"At Sabah Art Gallery, we believe that great works of art should benefit the public. We will continue to support our local talents by inviting everyone to discover and experience art, creativity and shared humanity through the WOW Project."
STI minister Datuk Yakub Khan will be launching the RM95,000 project on today (Saturday). It will also be attended by SCENIC general manager Viviantie Sarjuni.
The exhibition will be on display for a year until Jan 15, 2023.
Meanwhile, Viviantie said there are so many abandoned buildings that can be turned into a common place where science and arts activities can be organised for the public.
"We need to strengthen the public-private-community partnership to execute this.
"The non-governmental organisations (NGO) are ever ready to work with the authorities as they have the expertise which we in the corporate and government sector might not have.
"Let's bring in the 'soul' to the building and maximise whatever resources we already have."
Viviantie added as a state government agency that drives industry technology, innovation and creativity, SCENIC is hoping existing talents will be able to sustain themselves in the long run and help to inspire others.
She said SCENIC is responsible for uncovering more grassroot talents in Sabah who can be nurtured to the next level and eventually help the state with its economic recovery.
Viviantie added that the centre is consistently communicating with stakeholders in the ecosystem especially in the grassroots.
"As spelled out in our blueprint, apart from reskilling and upskilling our talents through various capacity building activities, we must have a roadmap for them to generate income.
"In SCENIC, we have programmes to train our talents on business acumen including seeking funding and investment opportunities."