KUALA LUMPUR, Drawing inspiration from popular singer Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza and Japanese artiste Kana Hanazawa gave Nur Zulaikha Musfirah Mohd Ariff a lucky break when she won an international award in the visual arts festival.
Nur Zulaikha Musfirah, 17, who is a student at Sekolah Menengah Barol Pial, Pasir Mas, Kelantan, won a medal and received a certificate of merit as Best Representative Artist for her work entitled 'Kana Hanazawa and Siti Nurhaliza' in the 24th International High School Arts Festival (IFAC -Japan) in Japan in August.
The student from Rantau Panjang said Siti Nurhaliza who is her idol and Hanazawa are ideal figures to represent the storytelling of Malay and Japanese cultural heritage in her paintings.
"Through this painting, both beauties look demure in traditional attire with Siti Nurhaliza wearing a baju kurung and a scarf while Hanazawa wears a kimono to depict the identity of their respective national heritage.
"This is to tell that the Malay and the Japanese cultures are very protective of a woman's modesty through their heritage clothing, but it is also related to the customs and beliefs of both countries," said Nur Zulaikha when contacted by Bernama.
In her painting, Nur Zulaikha applies a harmonious colour scheme against the background of an organic motif that is delicately drawn and filled with yellow while the two figures are dressed in traditional dark brown to add contrast to the work.
According to her, the painting took two weeks to complete before it was sent for participation through the 2023 National Primary and Secondary School Visual Arts Festival organised by the Ministry of Education which started from April to May.
The painting 'Kana Hanazawa and Siti Nurhaliza' which uses the characteristics of realism and pop art was selected as the winner through the festival starting from the district, state and national levels and then representing Malaysia at the 24th IFAC-Japan with the work exhibited at The National Art Centre, Tokyo, Japan from Aug 2 to 15.
Elaborating further, Nur Zulaikha Musfirah said the idea for the painting resulted from a discussion with her mentor, Suriani Mat Sa'at, and together they did a study to fulfil the requirements of the cultural heritage theme in Malaysia and Japan.
"In the beginning, my mentor had no idea that I could draw Siti Nurhaliza well because I was not a visual art student but after I convinced her with the portrait works ordered by my friends, she gave me the green light to go ahead," she said.
Sharing her success, Nur Zulaikha who comes from a low-income family was thrilled and did not expect to win the 24th IFAC-Japan festival.
"I didn't think I could win because I was competing with talented students, especially those from great art schools," said Nur Zulaikha who started drawing human figures when she was five years old.
Nur Zulaikha Musfirah also expressed her appreciation to the family and all relevant parties, especially SMK Barol Pial who helped a lot in terms of financial and moral support to achieve international victory.
Concluding the conversation, Nur Zulaikha who will be sitting for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exam in December, is determined to score all A's in SPM.
"I aspire to be a dentist but I will also make art my part-time job in the future," she said.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency