James Kon
Local artists involved in the second phase of The Pedestrianisation of Jalan Roberts and Adjacent Alleyways expressed gratitude at being part of the special project to enliven the environment in the capital. The artists are creating Seven Padians murals on the floor of BIBD Ar-Rahnu Building.
Following completion of the first phase to repaint five pastel-coloured shophouses at Jalan Roberts, the project’s second phase sees the collaboration between two ministries and Guerilla Artchitects, as well as contributions from the private sector industry led by MISC (Manpower Industry Steering Committee) and the Institution of Surveyors, Engineers and Architects (PUJA) Brunei.
Seven local art groups – Guerilla Architects, Larvsh, SketchOne Studio, Petals and Palettes, DBP Team, HWNS Team and Maziyyah Yussof – came together to produce the floor murals, with each creating a Padian boat employing a distinctive style of art.
Pengiran Khamarul Zaman bin Pengiran Haji Tajuddin from the Language and Literature Bureau, who was working on his Padian mural for the Murut ethic group, said, “We started two days ago with brief painting and the undercoat. Today, we are close to completion. I feel honoured to be part of this project. This is the first mural project in Bandar Seri Begawan and I hope this will attract more people to the capital.”
Pengiran Khamarul Zaman, who was joined by Haji Mahaddi bin Haji Matzain and Faiz bin Haji Morshidi, said more mural projects are expected to be introduced in other alleyways in the future.
Petals and Palettes Art Studio founder Ainan Salsabeelaa binti Kassim said, “This is a very good project that provides an opportunity for the people to come and take pictures. This is also a great chance for us to gain exposure and experience. We hope more of such projects will be introduced in the towns of each district.”
On her Kedayan mural, she said, “We researched online for our mural. We focussed on the annual Makan Tahun festival celebrated after paddy harvesting. The Kedayans would get together to enjoy a feast. The painting also includes kelupis berjalin.
“We started painting the base last Friday, and started sketching on Saturday,” she said.
Instructor Nurun Nazihah binti Ahmad from Petals and Palettes Art Studio who helped paint the mural said, “It’s an honour and I am very happy that we got a chance to put up our work here.”