by GINA SUBKI

Situated in downtown KL, be sure to explore and discover this jewel of a creative hub in the heart of the city’s bustling Chinatown as it reinvents itself.

Twilight features a trilogy of stories rich in design, texture and colour to relish, providing a multisensory feast for sight and senses.

“With Twilight, we aim to nurture a creative pipeline in Malaysia while deepening the community’s exposure to immersive art,” said Sebastien Jurkowski, CEO and Creative Director of RXP.KL. “This season gathers Malaysian and international artists to create a unique, collaborative environment that honours the storied past of REX Cinema in Kuala Lumpur.”

Hanya Batik especially stands out with its stunning immersive digital experience, narrated through Arif’s eyes. The show transitions from traditional longhouse interiors and historical events, such as the establishment of the Malacca Sultanate to modern Malaysia’s vibrant urban scenes and cultural celebrations. Prominent Malaysian figures narrate their contributions, symbolising the nation’s cultural continuity and progress.

The talented illustrator behind the concept and artwork is Arif Rafhan, a freelance, award winning artist and art entrepreneur that transcends different genres, industries and platforms as he magnifies the beauty of batik to the next level.

This unique collaboration also features artists Fahmi Hosnan, Ian Kit, and Cuurley who present a narrative that interweaves everyday life, historic milestones, and cultural celebrations, seamlessly connecting Malaysia’s pastoral past with its dynamic present.

We managed to catch up with Arif to gain some insight into his experience in bringing Hanya Batik to life.

1. What was the inspiration behind Hanya Batik?

Hanya Batik’s has locals and tourists as its target market, so I was thinking of something simple, concise yet impactful for the audience. The show starts with a simple history of Malaysia but our focus is more on the hopes and dreams for Malaysia. 

The concept of Hanya Batik is to bring the audience into a magical journey and brief history of our country, thus moving forward with our hopes and dreams as better Malaysians in the future, through the eyes of Malaysians and in Malaysian format, and what better format to bring the narration alive other than Batik itself, our national pride since the 1300s which originated from the east coast of Tanah Melayu.

I hope that with Hanya Batik, we enjoy the immersive experience whilst absorbing our country’s rich history, culture, and struggles in our journey to gain independence. Most importantly, we experience the narrative while appreciating our Batik in all its wholesomeness.

2. Can you share some highlights and challenges from working on this project?

The highlights would be the premiere of the show where I finally manage to experience it fully. It was one of the best moments in my career. Challenges would the timeline as we had only 4 months since the ideation part. However, I got to work with an amazing team; Fahmy, Ian, Bo and Sebastien where everybody knows their part and we were complimenting each other during the project.

3. How would someone who loves what you do, get started themselves?

Start small. Push yourself bit by bit, learn and relearn while adjusting accordingly with your capabilities. Better start at something you are intrigued with rather than contemplating about it but not starting at all. You’ll be amazed with what you can actually do.

4. What are your hopes for the future of your creative art?

I hope that I can experiment more with technology and new media to promote our culture and amazing traditional art.

Hanya Batik is supported by the MyCreative Ventures Group through the Matching Grant Scheme (Skim Dana Padanan). Catch it while you can at REXperience, RexKL now showing till 28 February 2025. You can get your tickets here.