In Between Worlds by Amir Zainorin
curated by Anna Cuomo
Kapallorek Art Space
19.12.2024 – 23.2.2025
From December 19 2024, to 23 February 2025, Kapallorek Art Space will host In Between Worlds, an exhibition by Malaysian-born Amir Zainorin, a transdisciplinary artist based in Copenhagen since 2002. Curated by Italian researcher Anna Cuomo, the exhibition delves into themes of identity, belonging, and cultural hybridity through a diverse array of works, inviting visitors into an immersive exploration of the diasporic experience, identity and heritage issues.
Drawing from his personal journey as a diaspora artist, Zainorin weaves the narrative of In Between Worlds to create a reflective space where belonging and belief intersect. Through interconnected works, the exhibition explores the challenges and opportunities of navigating multiple cultural landscapes, shedding light on the intricate nuances of displacement. Including mixed media installations, digital art, and performance, Zainorin’s practice creates a layered investigation of multiple cultural intersections reflected in the own language of every different medium. Through storytelling, symbolism, and humor, his works evoke both a sense of connection and distance, inspiring viewers to reflect on their own journeys and their experiences of identity. The exhibition showcases eight works, each exploring different facets of the diasporic experience, from the tension between cultural roots and adaptation to new environments, to the nostalgia for a homeland and the outcomings of this life path.
The journey begins with Gang Kelinci-Kapallorek Installation Series (1), located on the stairway of the space. This work functions as an introduction continuing Amir’s series initiated in Jakarta, transforming discarded plastic into art using silk-screening and heat-pressing techniques, depicting his figure holding iconic asean objects and incorporating everyday life plastic wrappers collected in the streets. The installation highlights environmental sustainability while bridging narratives between Indonesia and Malaysia.
In the main gallery, Amir’s two worlds converge in Stateless Mind Pavilion, an interaction space reflecting his past and present through elements that shape his being. The Kompang: Rhythms of Identity (2) features a series of modified kompang – traditional Malay frame drums realized by Gema Seni in Merlimau, Melaka – where X-rays of family and friends replace the traditional goat skin surfaces. This homage to his father, a renowned Gazhal musician, and his sister, a radiologist, transforms the instruments into storytellers, each producing a unique sound that resonates with personal memory. These medical images emphasize the fragility and complexity of the human experience, offering glimpses of the body in a vulnerable state. Their inclusion in the kompang transforms the drum into a vehicle for narratives, each beat carrying with it layers of intimate reminiscence.
Continuing the exploration of tradition, Across Borders (3) showcases new collaborations with artist Ronnie Bahari, Indigenous Semai photographer and cultural leader. Together, they use pandanus leaves to create handmade paper, later drawn with hematite and charcoal to weave the rich textures of Malaysian heritage, fostering a dialogue between local communities and visitors.
On the opposite side, Echoes of History (4) presents a series of ink-on-paper painted works exploring Malaysia’s history from 1941 to 1968. Using archival news clippings and publications, Amir constructs a layered installation where historical events become part of the surrounding space, offering a glimpse into the country’s past. A video installation, Navigating History located in Amir’s private studio at Kapallorek – that became a part of the exhibition showing the artist’ creative process – complements this narrative by inviting viewers to critically engage with fragmented histories and reflect on how media shapes collective memory.
Occupying the main room, the dialogue between the works Contemporary Ode to the Daily Mundane, Ilyas and Malika and The Triumph of Failures. Contemporary Ode to the Daily Mundane (5) employs silk-screen techniques combining photo-performance elements, maps, and text. The prints feature images of the artist holding objects symbolic of his identity, such as a mortar, a wok, or a globe, representing the voluntary and involuntary displacements that define his life and work. In front of it, No Idea (6) offers a subtle but profound reflection on stateless minds. Composed of a simple silkscreened text, the work forms an “Atlas of being,” using language to chart a new emotional and existential cartography. Finally, Ilyas and Malika (7) is a photographic series blending moments from Amir’s residency in Malaysia with his life in Copenhagen. Digital-printed images of his children interwoven with personal objects and daily rituals create a mosaic that captures the emotional complexity of dual identity and cultural hybridity.
In the hidden rooms, Daily Triumph (8) a work based on the pages of a Danish atlas for children that the artist enriched with personal thoughts that become statements together with the drawing on them, realized mostly with poppy seeds and salt – two typical danish ingredients. Two additional videos, The Kompang: Rhythms of Identity and Archive from Stateless Mind Festival complete the experience. The exhibition also features a workshop with students from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in Seri Iskandar and two new performances debuting at the opening.
In Between Worlds offers a profound meditation on the diasporic experience, bridging local and global, personal and collective perspectives and offering them to the public to arise new reflection on what every human being can feel to be.
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Amir Zainorin (b. 1963, Malaysia) is an interdisciplinary artist and curator who has lived and worked in Copenhagen for over two decades. His journey as an artist began at the age of 32, following a pivotal encounter with Jeri Azhari, a Malaysian Pop artist, in Kuala Lumpur. His practice often includes participatory elements, reflecting his commitment to community engagement and social dialogue. Amir’s work has been showcased internationally, including at the KL Biennale, the National Art Gallery of Malaysia, the Museum of Contemporary Art Roskilde (Denmark), and the National Art Gallery of Singapore. He has also curated major events, such as the Stateless Mind Festival in Copenhagen and Malaysia’s Pera+Flora+Fauna at the 59th Venice Biennale. In addition to his exhibitions, Amir is the founder of Jambatan, an artist collective that fosters cultural exchange between Malaysia and Denmark. His contributions to the arts have been recognized with grants from institutions such as the Danish Art Foundation, the Nordic Culture Fund, and Cendana Malaysia. His works are part of the permanent collections of the National Art Gallery of Malaysia and the Immigrant Museum in Denmark.