Afternoon Exhibit

The third floor of Ruang hosted another photo exhibit during Urbanscapes. It featured local street photographers with KL being the theme. Six photographers were featured and I knew two of them personally. However another photographer, Azwan Mahzan which caught my eyes.

This way up ...A table-less, round table discussionHis captures were simple but his caption were great, perfectly summing up the photos and what he had in his mind.

Wide open areaBrowsing throughStill quietThe one which caught my eyes ....Great set of photographs all around and the curation was among the better ones I came across. Well done to the organisers.

El Patina

I suspected that the Urbanscapes folks ran out of ideas and organised a jumble sale at the House on a peak weekend. They called it El Patina and it featured an eclectic mix of post-modern hippie items as well as some local homemade creations.

Some of the items were quite interesting however, but it was a shame as I was not in the mood for any shopping. Browsing the stalls reminded me on my Sunday morning trips during my student days at car boot sale lots. Plenty of bargains and mostly second hand - or pre-loved as they called it now.

For the bargain hunters, there was always pasar karat at China Town ... only about five minutes away.

I wasn't sure if the event was a one-off or something that they were developing as a weekend fare. The items and the whole setup looked too organise for this to be an impromptu idea. I might visit hem again should I be in the mood for shopping in the future ....

Urbanscapes 2017

It was that time of the year again when Urbanscapes came to town. Not much of a frenzy this year. It may have been the economic slow down. It may also be because it was too near Ramadan. The event this year felt subdued compared to yesteryears.

But that did not mean that there was nothing happening.

Large format printingSome interesting lightworkThe notice was upIt was more of an art affair than performances. There was no concert in the middle of the town square like last year. It was a party atmosphere then. The event this time around were mainly indoors - at the aptly names Urbanscapes House., right by Medan Pasar.

I had only the chance to attend a couple of the sessions. First was having a look at some street photography exhibition, featuring works of local talent. Nice ...

Going upstairsMeeting the authorSome nice stripsThe second weekend I was there to attend a talk on the railway system in Johor. More about that one later.

I bought some comics, had a chat with a few of the vendors, listen in on a few dialoques and took some photographs. Space was at a premium, so not much food or drinks there. Not much open space to enjoy from years ago. It was party in the park atmosphere then.

"Sila selongkar"Some superhero stuffsMore happening downstairs I gather that some of the events were held at other venues scattered around town. There were a couple of guided photowalks which unfortunately I could not attend due to work. But overall, the organisers did cater for those keener to explore the town as urban dwellers and hopefully learn a bit more about the city they live in. Definitely would support it in the coming years and of course, the event had to adapt with changing times.

#Urbanscapes Closing Day

I returned to Urbanscapes House for the final day. They had a long list of events on the ready. Being at an open site and right smack in the middle of the city, there was no issues about access. In fact, I went there twice on the day, first alone in the afternoon to catch some music and later with Anita after dinner managing to catch the last leg of the "Open Mic Stand", a stand-up show hosted by a friend.

It was threatening to rain at late afternoon, hence the start of the festivities was delayed. The first stand-up session was done indoors instead rather than at the intended "nasi lemak" shaped stage - complete with free nasi lemak. The band started playing half an hour late but soon the schedule caught up. The weather also cleared, but the sun was shaded - which was just as well so that it was not too hot.

FluffyThe day's programThe crowd filling up the balcony at Urbanscapes House while the rigging for the concert stage was erectedPrakash was the MC for the "One Mic Stand" showsI took shelter at Central Market while things were starting, taking some tea.

There were all together 3 stand-up chows for the day - I caught the first and the last - featuring different comedians. And they were bold enough to have stand-up in Malays. The first few did not catch on, but the one - the headliner - in the final show was excellent. In fact, the last session was a riot - in the open at night - it was simply excellent. And yes, they tried giving away all the nasi lemak but there were no takers. Me and Anita was already done with our dinner.

The crowd started mingling while the stage was setThe balloons protecting us from the elementsHive of activitiesI also enjoyed the Tugu Drum Circle - where they got the public to participate - but I didn't join because of my tendinitis. More about the drums later. Security was pretty OK, and since Medan Pasar was popular with the foreign workers during weekend, the main job of the security was to make sure that there were no unwanted incident rather than true security. On the while, the whole place was safe, and I hope in the years to come, similar event was done here.

The Basement Vault

After missing the basement in my first visit, I returned to see what was going on down there.

The Urbanscape House used to be a bank. And the basement was where the vault and safes were located. The vault being huge, meant that when the previous owner evacuated, they did not bother taking the vault down. Too much hard work I would've thought.

Bathed in neon lightBadass!The morning ritual ...Like this also can ....The Urbanscapes organiser decided to utilise this space into an underground alternative art scene. Coupled with dimmed and neon hues, it certainly worked the charm.

But I found the work featured in the vault itself tonne fascinating. And they could've easily been confiscated as they did not mince words. Some direct reference onto the current political scene were on offer. Subtle again, but once you got it, they certainly put their point across succinctly.

Attack of the Ah LongHey! I got that T-shirt!Many gems in there!Melayu, Cina, India dan lain-lainStop stealing Rosmah's bag!!I would've dare suggest that those posters were put in public places. You'd expect some UMNO members in red shirts to come matching in yelling at us on how much we should respect our leaders. A funny spectacle though should that happen. Especially when I saw the emblem of the Youth and Sports Ministry at the brochure. Subversive!

So, should you be visiting the Urbanscape House in the next week, please be sure to check out the basement.