Jurassic Malaysia? Artist imagines us co-existing with dinosaurs
If you have ever wondered what a world with dinosaurs would look like, Eugene Foo has a story to tell. This is a place where humans and dinosaurs play, eat and work together. It is where we navigate the joys and sorrows of life. It is also where we make friends, form alliances and realise that it can sometimes be a harsh world out there.
In Saya Seekor Dinosaur, which is Foo’s first solo art exhibition, he taps into childhood love for dinosaurs and brings these beloved creatures to life in a series of artworks that merges the fantastical with the familiar.
“Almost every kid goes through a ‘dinosaur phase’ but I think mine was probably more potent and longer than most. I still love dinosaurs very much but I am quite sad about their stereotypical portrayal in popular culture such as the famous Hollywood franchise Jurassic Park/World where dinosaurs battle each other to the death, like a great big ‘Jurassic Fight Club’. I much prefer David Attenborough’s depiction of dinosaurs in the most recent documentary Prehistoric Planet,” says Foo, 40.
The concept of dinosaurs co-existing with man has been explored at length in popular culture, and Foo credits his main influence to James Gurney and his 1992 publication, Dinotopia.
Foo's exhibition Saya Seekor Dinosaur, now showing at Awegallery in Petaling Jaya, is filled with works showing the bond between humans and dinosaurs in everyday settings in Malaysia. Read More...
