My journey as an artist

My journey as an artist has allowed me to interact with people from all walks of life. I’ve met successful people who started from nothing, single mothers who struggle to raise their children, communities who face issues that have yet to be solved, students who silently crave to pursue their passion but are pressured to continue their studies of their family’s choice, victims of abuse, travelling artists who stop by and tell me stories of their journeys and so on. There was one common element I realised from stories that are compiled, inequality.

As a young girl, I was taught to respect people no matter who they are. But here I was, listening to stories how people were discriminated because of their differences. Just because they did not conform to the general norm of society, they are shunned, talked down on. Basically, they were regarded as outcasts.

We call ourselves Malaysians, who pride ourselves of having various cultures and beliefs, this was suppose to open up our minds and be acceptable of others. But even to this day, racism, discrimination, and bullying are seen in our own society. I still have hope for our nation where one day people with body modifications are fully accepted into society without being judged, foreign workers and people who work in the lower class of society are given the respect they deserve, women be revered with esteem, the voices of communities do not fall on deaf ears. Everyone is equal; we all bleed the same colour.