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.

​

​