16 Sep 2021
POS MALAYSIA AND WAR VETERANS
Last April, we were approached by POS Malaysia to work on a special series of commemorative stamps to pay tribute to our Malaysian frontliners and the sacrifices they have made in the fight against COVID-19. After months of planning, sketching and stenciling, we created four portraits of stamps made out of stamps. There's a collective effort shown in the artwork, with individual pieces coming together to form something larger than the sum of its parts. In many ways, our frontliners have been doing just that the past 18 months, uniting in their common goal to save Malaysian lives.
To our frontliners - thank you so much for all you’ve braved through during these crazy times. You can purchase these stamps from selected Malaysian post offices or from the Pos Malaysia website.
As we celebrate Malaysia Day today, the team and I are incredibly honored to have the opportunity to create and present three artworks to our nation's veterans. In collaboration with Astro and Naga DDB Tribal, the artworks were made in response to a documentary chronicling the struggles and difficulties faced by our veterans and their families during the era of Konfrontasi and the insurgency of communists.
We chose to focus on the concepts of Tanah Tumpahnya Darah Ku and Tanah Air Ku, to illustrate the unbreakable connection between our veterans and the land they chose to serve and protect. The artworks show three photographs of actual events, drawn in soil sourced from West and East Malaysia and sealed in resin.
Remembering Our Veterans On Malaysia Day
We had the privilege of talking to a few of our veterans in the research process and got to hear some incredibly inspiring and heartbreaking stories. Stories of not seeing families for months on end, missing the childhood years of their children and losing close friends in combat. They understood the cost but they also knew that someone had to do it. It was most touching to me to see how these veterans came from all different races, backgrounds and various parts of Malaysia - peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak. One of them told me, “Why would race matter when you’re fighting for your country?”
To all of them, their relationship with Malaysia is one of loyalty, servitude and love. Their sacrifices then secured our peace now. I hope we get to treasure their legacies and to follow in their footsteps in building a better nation - or nations - together.
- Red Hong Yi