Johor artist turns Nusantara spice trade into contemporary works

PETALING JAYA: Growing up in a Felda settlement in Segamat, Nor Azlan Ahmad found his playground in the forests bordering Endau-Rompin.

Long before he became known for creating abstract works using spices and sawdust, he was a curious boy fascinated by trees, soil, rivers and the stories hidden within nature.

“I grew up surrounded by rubber estates, orchards and forests,” the father of four shared. “I didn’t realise then that those childhood experiences would eventually shape my art.”

Those early encounters with nature have come full circle. Next year, Norazlan will present his latest works during Berlin Art Week and Theatre Magdeburg’s Festival eXoplanet, supported by the Steinbeis Foundation.

His works explore the history of the Nusantara spice trade through a distinctly Malaysian lens.

Although he loved drawing as a child, Norazlan initially pursued mechanical engineering before becoming a teacher. It was only later, after studying art education, that he began exhibiting professionally while continuing to teach.

Today, the 50-year-old serves as a senior teacher at SK Kempas in Johor and has spent more than two decades developing his artistic practice. His breakthrough came when he abandoned realism.

“With realism, the challenge is to make the painting look exactly like the subject,” he explained. “But once you’ve achieved that, what comes next? I became more interested in what lies behind the object.”

Norazlan began exploring the materials themselves. His fascination first centred on sawdust after watching traditional boat builders in Terengganu repair wooden vessels using an old sealing compound known as gala. Inspired, he replaced some of its fibres with sawdust and began experimenting.

“I realised sawdust wasn’t just waste – it carried the story of the tree it came from, the history of how humans used it, and eventually how we exploit nature.”

That eventually evolved into what he calls “material-based abstract expressionism”, an approach that treats materials not simply as artistic mediums but as carriers of memory, history and culture.

Rather than sketching an image beforehand, Norazlan first immerses himself in research. “I don’t study the subject, I study its history. I read books, I speak to people, and I fill my mind with everything about it before I start painting.”

Only then does he step before the canvas. “I don’t decide what image I’m going to paint,” he went on. “I express my thoughts and emotions through the material, and I leave the image to the audience.”

Visitors often see forests, islands, ports or caves in his abstract compositions – images he never consciously intended to create.

Beyond creating art, Norazlan is also committed to nurturing Malaysia’s art scene through the founding of Artgeng, D Arte Fren Colony and NoAh Artspace, which support artists, art projects and creative collaborations, respectively.

As for Berlin, Norazlan is researching the centuries-old spice routes that connected Southeast Asia with Europe and eventually drew colonial powers to the region. Rather than illustrating that history, he wants the spices themselves – turmeric, herbs and aromatic materials once traded across continents – to tell the story.

The process is as much scientific as artistic: he spends months experimenting with natural pigments and binding agents to preserve colours that would otherwise change over time.

Turmeric, for example, turns brown when mixed with epoxy unless treated carefully. “Those are the challenges I enjoy,” he said. “I’m constantly experimenting.”

For Norazlan, exhibiting in Germany alongside Lee Cheow Hee, Daeng Ramli Akil, Dayang Habsah Abang Saufi, Tian Chua, James Yip, and Siva Nair is about more than showcasing paintings. It is an opportunity to present a Malaysian perspective on art, history and civilisation through materials deeply rooted in the region.

“I’ve exhibited internationally before, but never in Germany,” he said. “Europe has its own history with the spice trade. I hope these works can start a conversation between their history and ours.”

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