Roslisham Ismail a.k.a. Ise was born on September 1972 in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Ise was often regarded as a global traveller and one of Malaysia’s hardest-working artists with an international reach. A big part of his career, after he graduated with a Fine Arts degree from UiTM Shah Alam in 1997, was spent improving his craft and exhibiting abroad.
His foreign art residencies and fellowship awards, which began in the early 2000s, including cities like New York, Tokyo, Berlin, Sydney, Seoul, New Delhi, and regional stints in Jakarta, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok.
In June 2012, Ise decided to go back to Kelantan (his hometown) after staying in Kuala Lumpur and traveling abroad for quite some time. He wanted to look back and study about old Malay traditions in the East Coast of Malaysia. There, he’s met with Azzaha Ibrahim (from Varna Art Research & Gallery) a researcher who is interested in old Malay Art and Heritage.
Meeting with Azzaha was Ise’s starting point that changed his method of creation art through “research and study”. They agreed to collaborate in an exploration of the ancient Malay kingdom at Southern Thai and East Coast of Malaysia, named Langkasuka Kingdom.
Throughout this phase, they turn Varna Art Research & Gallery as their workplace to explore and study about Langkasuka. As part of the research, Azzaha brought Ise to Southern Thai territories of PATANI, Yala and Narathiwat several times, where they were still under intense political turbulence. Their main focus was on the culinary history and culture. Through the research, they realized Langkasuka people have had a great and extended culinary heritage and values.
In one of the journeys, they were accompanied by one of Malaysian prominent artist Chan Fei Meng and the videographer Imran Taib from Varna Art Gallery to document the exploration and findings. During this expedition, they decided and agreed to transcribe their journey into an artwork in the future: Langkasuka Cookbook at APT7 (2013) and Langkasuka Cooking Sessions followed suit.
The exhibition Langkasuka: Journey Part One is part of the story on how the Langkasuka Study started before it grew and developed into a multilayered subject and storytelling. This exhibition considered significant and valuable since it has become Ise’s final artwork before his passing on 23 July 2019.
Photo source: homeanddecor.com.my
