Triptych

triptych, originally uploaded by mincaye.

Triptych: [‘trip-tik]
A set of three associated artistic works intended to be appreciated together.


Art forms, by nature, are designed to stimulate the senses: most are directed at one, while some others, two. Take, for instance, the orchestra. There is visual and aural pleasure to be experienced at a live concert. On the other hand, an audio recording is merely sound minus sight.

Then we have sculptures, whose aesthetic value lies along both visual and tactile dimensions. Photographs, however, only appeal to our vision.

With Triptych, photographer Tate Ghazi achieves a whole new language for communicating both thought and feeling by fusing tactile and visual stimuli, creating textured pictures by printing digital images on various surfaces.

In his own words, “Technology now allows us to take the captured image to another dimension, enabling us to create an internal synergy between the image and the surface it is printed on. Triptych is a study of such synergy, where the combined effects are greater than their separate effects.”


The exhibition at The Photographers’ Gallery in Starhill features six themed sets of three photographs each, printed on six different surfaces.

Grow is a leaf motif on raw silk, while Trunk is printed on wood, as its name suggests. On pulp, rounding up the organic pieces, Shade resembles Chinese ink paintings.

Then there are the inorganic ones. Buildings is a road’s-eye-view of skyscrapers printed on aluminium, and Highway is a sturdy composition on concrete. Finally, there is Spirals: three shots of a spiral staircase on stainless steel.


Taking the novelty even further, the inorganic pieces are displayed very creatively. Spirals is set on the floor of the gallery so as to heighten the depth of the staircase, which was shot from the top down.

Too heavy to be hung on the wall, Highway’s slabs are propped up on reinforcement bars, further complementing its construction site appearance.

The most modern of the lot, Buildings’ three photos are printed on a single aluminium frame, and attached to the wall using only—believe it or not—very strong double-sided tape.


Yet the most striking thing about the exhibition is that these images go beyond merely describing a scene or an idea. There is a certain presence about them that transcends both physical and mental dimensions, transforming the tiny gallery into a microcosm of today’s world.

Here, in this hypothetical universe of the artist’s imagination, the force of man’s advancement is pitted against the fragile simplicity of nature in a dynamic tension.

On the whole, it appears that fewer and fewer boundaries now stand in the way of artistic expression. And this is probably good news for artists whose dreams are too great for the provision afforded by conventional media.

In the spirit of true innovation, a member of the audience asked, during the talk given by Tate on 16 April, if images of people would be printed on skin. He replied, as any witty artist would, “We tried, but the girl just wouldn’t fit into the printer.”


The exhibition was launched by Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, and is on until 31 May 2006. For more information, or to view the pieces, visit www.thephotographersgallery.com.my. Prices of the works range from RM 3,000 to RM 15,000.

(Thanks Tien for the flyer! And thanks Li-Shia and Samantha for joining me and my family today.)