UNPACK-REPACK: A Tribute to Ismail Hashim

OUR ArtProjects is excited to participate as project managers for UNPACK-REPACK: A Tribute to Ismail Hashim (1940 - 2013). Organised by Fergana Art, UNPACK-REPACK is a nationally unprecedented effort to preserve, document, and critically examine Ismail’s life, methods, processes, and work. This presentation is the culmination of (to date) 6 months of documentation and preservation of works from his estate, as well as works-in-progress and studio material (with generous and open support from Ismail’s family). 14,000 items were tagged, catalogued, and digitally stored across 14GB of digital cloud storage. 18 writers were commissioned to write for the catalogue, under the firm guidance of curator Wong Hoy Cheong.

The resulting documentation, analysis, and archival displays form the core of what will be a publicly-accessible archive and research hub for both the artist and the photographic medium, a first for Malaysia. In doing so, the research-driven exhibition hope to unravel, reveal, and gain an understanding of a lifetime of productivity, engagement, and activism.

UNPACK-REPACK: A Tribute to Ismail Hashim (1940 - 2013) is made possible with the generous support and collaboration with The Whiteaways Arcade and Think City. The project team also wish to acknowledge the family and the Estate of Arwah Ismail for their unwavering support and gracious openness throughout the project.