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Shahrul Hisham Ahmad Tarmizi
Glorious Ride
1920px x 1080px, 30 fps Animation
2020

My reading of the narratives of Hikayat Raja Pasai bounded the repetitiveness of the movement. The glory of Pasai, for example in war, government and governance is remarked as historical evidence. I am inspired by the story of conquest I had come across:

"Hai segala kamu Menteri punggawaku, hendaklah kamu taklukkan dahulu jajahan-jajahan raja Hujung Tanah. Maka segala Menteri punggawa hulubalang itupun pamit menyembah Sang Nata, lalu ia naik kelengkapannya masing-masing; lalu ia berlayar menuju negeri Hujung Tanah.”

Hujung Tanah in textual context refers to Semenajung Tanah Melayu which is now called Peninsular Malaysia. I feel called upon to animate and visualize the head stone of Sultan Muhammad Shah I of Pahang which is the earliest Batu Aceh in Peninsular Malaysia as a proof of the conquest. Perhaps, I should draw myself riding a surrealistic horse to describe my journey as a never-ending one. The horse is pictured as a character influenced by steampunk comics and automata to bring across the story of human suffering, survival and living. In ‘Glorious Ride’ I also proposed myself as a jamèe which in Aceh means as a guest. Other than that, I animated the sea horse and corals with a woodcarving motif such as in awan larat to express the rapture of being alive.

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