Dr Sarena Abdullah’s book explores how Malaysian art, especially by Malay artists, has evolved since the 1990s in what she terms the “postmodern situation”. Her central thesis is that there has been a shift away from earlier art grounded in nationalist, Malay, and Islamic centred identities toward a more critical and socially-engaged mode of art presentations.
She argues that modernisation, urbanisation, the rise of a middle class, and globalisation have changed both the conditions under which artists work as well as the themes that are considered meaningful. Artists are no longer looking back at heritage or tradition; instead many engage with contemporary concerns such as environmental problems, social inequalities, questions of identity in plural society, consequences of economic development, urban spaces, and immediate political/social issues.
Another major theme is the diversification of mediums and strategies: new media, video, installation, performance, appropriation, conceptual art, etc. These serve as forms through which artists negotiate tradition versus innovation, locality versus universality.
In summary, Dr Sarena views the last few decades of Malaysian art as reflecting a more complex, fragmented, dynamic landscape, less monumental in identity, more critical and socially engaged, and adopting strategies that reflect “postmodernity” rather than simply modernist aesthetics or nationalist projects.
Her framing of “postmodern situation” gives scholars a useful analytic lens to understand shifts in both theme and form. It’s not just descriptive; it places Malaysian art in relation to global trends while paying attention to local relevance.
She uses a lot of examples — of specific works, exhibitions, artists, new media — to show how the changes are real, not just hypothetical. Her discussion of how younger artists take up politically or socially charged content, or environmental/urban issues, is grounded in concrete artworks.
The book does well in exploring how identity is not a single flattened concept — Malay, Muslim, middle class, global, local — but is contested, negotiated and sometimes contradictory. That is important in Malaysia’s multi-ethnic, multi-religious context.
The treatment of new media, performance, installations, and assumptions on how artists adopt strategies is insightful. Dr Sarena shows how formal innovations reflect shifts in content and ideology.
However, there are minor drawbacks. Since her coverage is wide — covering many artists, many media, many themes — some sections feel more like overviews rather than proper case studies. A few artists or works are treated in less detailed critical engagement.
While the shift away from past traditions is emphasised, less attention is given to how older modernist traditions persist, overlap, or are reactivated.
The analytic framework may assume familiarity with Western art theory; some readers more oriented toward practice or local art scenes might find parts of the discussion abstract or theoretical.
Although focusing on Malay artists has its justification, the extent to which non-Malay artists (Chinese, Indian, indigenous etc.) are included is less clear, especially in terms of how their practices intersect with or diverge from this “postmodern situation.” It may leave some gaps in a full picture of Malaysian art overall.
Since the book was published in 2018, developments especially post-2018 such as digital art, social media, and political shifts can challenge some of the observations, so readers will need to think about what has happened since and how resilient the book’s claims are.
If Dr Sarena decides to revise and update the book, I would suggest she get the publisher to improve on the layout. Running the text across the page is not only horrendous in terms of design but also a challenge to read the heavy text. It would be better to have the text run in two columns instead of one.
The book, however, fills a crucial gap in Malaysian art history by providing a systematic account of art practices since the 1990s, under the rule of “postmodern situation.” Before this, most writing tended to focus either on modern art or on traditional/folk art.
Dr Sarena’s work helps show how Malaysian artists are not isolated; they are in dialogue with global art discourses, but pragmatic in how they adapt, resist, or localise them.
By mapping the diversification of themes and media, this work can help art institutions, galleries, educators understand what kinds of art are emerging, the expectations of younger artists, and possibly inform how Malaysian art is exhibited, taught and supported.
Malaysian Art Since the 1990s: Postmodern Situation is a highly valuable work. It captures a moment of transition and multiplicity in the Malaysian art scene: from identity centred largely on Malay/Islamic tradition and nationalist modernism, toward art that is more socially engaged, diverse in medium, and reflective of the rapid changes in Malaysian society.
For anyone studying or engaging with Southeast Asian art, or understanding how art interacts with social change, Dr Sarena’s work and analysis offer much insight.