Izah Azahari
The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Brunei Darussalam launched the first solo painting exhibition of Pengiran Abdul Wahab Hassan Al-Abbas at the embassy yesterday, displaying 194 paintings around three different but closely connected themes.
Titled ‘The Flowing Ancient River’, the paintings encompass themes across ‘spiritual development’, ‘nature’ and ‘Kampong Ayer.’
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin and his spouse opened the exhibition with a ribbon-cutting, which also marked the official launch of The Flowing Ancient River book.
Turkish Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Mehmet Suat Akgün and Pengiran Abdul Wahab delivered speeches.
The exhibition will be open to the public daily from today until September 20 at the Turkish Embassy Chancery located at No 27, Simpang 52, Kampong Manggis 1 from 9.30am to 5.30pm.
Side events will also be organised allowing visitors to benefit from Pengiran Abdul Wahab’s experience accumulated throughout his 42 years with arts.
These include interactive live painting session by Pengiran Abdul Wahab, Pengiran Timbang bin Pengiran Haji Tuah and Dr Haji Zakaria bin Abdul Hamid with young artists and art students at 10am today; a masterclass for emerging artists at 3pm today; art talks by Pengiran Abdul Wahab, Pengiran Timbang, and moderated by Osman Mohammad at 3pm on September 17; and a masterclass with children with different abilities at 4.30pm on September 18.
Aside from school visits, an exclusive visit will also be organised for frontliners in a show of gratitude for their relentless efforts in battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pengiran Abdul Wahab, as an artist and keen observer, has a few sketches and paintings related to COVID-19. His paintings titled Feasting and Appreciating Candle Lights have captured how the pandemic affects our life. Pengiran Abdul Wahab has pledged 20 per cent of sales proceeds to be channelled to charitable non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and 10 per cent towards animal welfare.
