A coffee book featuring paintings of Hindu temples in Malaysia and Singapore has been published. The book, Sacred Structures: Artistic Renditions of Hindu Temples in Malaysia and Singapore, is the result of the effort of Professor Dr Krishna Gopal Rampal, who is professor of occupational health at the Medical Faculty, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Though not a painter himself, Dr Rampal has had a fascination with art and has collected artwork featuring Hindu temples for years.
Creative Pursuits
A professor’s love for sacred places has grown into a project that is a work of art in itself. What started out as a passing fancy ended up as a labor of love that lasted almost three years for Professor Dr Krishna Gopal Rampal.
“At first, I thought it would be nice to have a few paintings on Indian temples in Kuala Lumpur,” says Prof Krishna, 57, an ardent collector of Malaysian artworks since 1991.
“Since I knew friends in the artist community, I enlisted their help. My son suggested that I include the temples in Singapore. It ended up being a much bigger project and I had to sell a few pieces by senior artists from my personal collection to sponsor it.”
The professor of occupational health at the Medical Faculty, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, is no painter himself but has always had a fascination for art.
He obtained his medical qualifications from Agra University, India, in 1975 and has a masters degree in public health as well as a doctorate in philosophy from the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, in the United States.
He was a Member of the Board of Trustees for the National Art Gallery Malaysia from 1998 to 2004.
Prof Krishna’s fascination for Indian temples culminated in an exhibition of almost 200 pieces of artworks by 10 leading Malaysian artists at the Badan Warisan Malaysia in March last year.
The exhibition, entitled Sacred Structures: An Exhibition of Artistic Renditions of Indian Temple Architecture in Malaysia, was aimed at creating awareness of the artistic merit and beauty of Indian temple structures.
Painting by Long Thien Shih for the book Sacred Structures.
The artists whose works were on display included Victor Chin, Chong Hon Fatt, Lai Loong Sun, Peter Liew, Long Thien Shih, Pheh It Hao, R. Jeganathan, Soh Chee Hui, Tham Siew Inn and Lee Weng Fatt, and they were chosen by Prof Krishna for their track record of painting buildings and street scenes.
“I already had the temples in mind and wanted to cover all the major towns in Malaysia. After some consultation with Long and Victor, we decided on the size of the paintings.
“They were free to work in whatever medium they were comfortable with in their own distinctive styles so I have paintings in watercolor, oil and acrylic on canvas, and pen and ink.
“Some of the artists brought photographed images of the temples and worked on them, while others painted on the spot. They each came up with six paintings and one other bigger artwork,” he adds.
Sacred structures
This amazing collection is now featured in a coffee-table book entitled Sacred Structures: Artistic Renditions of Hindu Temples in Malaysia and Singapore. The book is a guide to the world of Hindu temples in Malaysia and Singapore, as seen through the eyes of the artists.
Beautifully illustrated with original paintings, the book takes the reader through the various phases of Hindu temple building from the fifth century AD up to modern times.
The works of art – a total of 101 temples, 83 from all over Malaysia and 18 from Singapore – clearly illustrate that these buildings are not only places of worship but magnificent works of art themselves. The total collection features more than 190 paintings.
The book includes essays by Dr K. Ramanathan, an associate professor of political science, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and Vineeta Sinha, associate professor at the Sociology Department at the National University of Singapore on the development of Hindu temples in Malaysia and Singapore respectively.
Lecturer at Universiti Malaya and author S. Manimaran writes on temple architecture and sculptures, while artist and senior curator at Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur, J. Anurendra writes on the artistic merit of the collection and styles of the various artists. Lee Weng Fatt, who has been painting heritage buildings for the last 15 years, contributed to the Journey series (the last quarter of the book which tells of the author’s journey through temples) with paintings of 100 temples.
“It’s taken a few years to complete the project. My daughter is now four years old; she was just a baby when I started! It began with the professor commissioning me to do 20 pieces but I had no idea that it would end up being so many,” says Lee.
“I’ve done old buildings before but haven’t had experience with Indian temples. But the more I painted, the more familiar I became and it grew easier. You can’t draw every detail, just flesh out the mind’s impression.”
One of Lee’s paintings also adorns the cover as it mirrors the essence of the book.
Long says he came on board the project because “I can’t say no to a friend.”
“I’ve never painted Indian temples before. I started in 2005 and it took a year to complete the paintings. All the temples were different and it was like painting a portrait of each of them. I had to keep going back as they were quite detailed.
“There was something mystical about painting the temples – it was almost too easy. It has been an enjoyable journey. Imagine, if any of the temples were to be renovated, the book would help in the reconstruction!”
Authenticity
Jeganathan feels the same way as his intention of coming on board the project was to help document the sculptures so it could be used as reference material in the future. He used his experience as an illustrator to draw each item in detail because he felt responsible for showing the subject in its authentic form.
“Our Malaysian temples are very different from the ones in India as people here improvised and added their own details. Indian art has been ignored for a long time as it was always thought to be religious. Now it’s been given a new perception.
“The exhibition and book were solely Prof Krishna’s dream, and credit has to be given to him for his ideas and efforts. I was impressed and amazed at the works of art produced by my fellow artists. In art, there is no race or creed as it unites us all,” he adds.
The book is the only “document” of its kind in Malaysia, if not the world, that records Indian temple buildings and delves deeper into the subject of preserving art, culture and heritage.
Prof Krishna’s next focus will be on developing a collection of Hindu temple paintings in the Asean region.
“People ask me why I embarked on this project, and some wondered if I had lost my mind,” laughs Prof Krishna. “It’s just that the whole thing evolved along the way. It was also my way of encouraging the Indian community to appreciate visual arts,” he says, adding that while the collection probably totals more than RM150,000, it has no exact quantifiable value, especially when you consider its uniqueness and contribution to society.
“None of the artists had seen each other’s works so it was interesting how it all came together. I’m also grateful to my wife who drove to many of the locations. The trips to these places, sometimes together with the artists, became our weekend excursions for two years!”
While he has no intention of selling the paintings, he ruminates on the possibility of giving up the Journey series (for a price) to a fellow collector who wants to share the works with the public and showcase them in a gallery for all to enjoy, “rather than have them stored away and gathering dust in my house”. A temple in Singapore has already taken up the Singapore temples collection.
* Sacred Structures: Artistic Renditions of Hindu Temples in Malaysia and Singapore was launched at the National Art Gallery in KL and is available commercially. For details, call Suresh (016-442 7032).
