• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.8
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• pp.185-215
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• 2009

In Malaysia, figurative painting has increasingly become a means for artists to pose questions about presumptions of power and assumptions of history. The body, its potentially breached boundaries and defenses, forms an integral component of the battle for political influence. The degree of control over one's own and other people's bodies has become a measuring stick to determine the power of potential political leaders. Anxiety about boundaries and access to powerful bodies is intertwined with the questions of who has the right to hold power; the relevance of moral bodies and of what comprises an ideal self or selves. These questions are raised in intriguing ways in contemporary Malaysian art. While eschewing a direct take on current politics, Malaysian artists have increasingly turned to the body to address issues in Malaysian history, culture and the distribution of power. This paper will explore some works by three artists in particular, Wong Hoy Cheong, Nadiah Bamadhaj and Ahmad Fuad Osman use the figure to problematise dominant narratives in Malaysian history. Their work variously challenge political, racial and gender hierarchies and in so doing, reveal them as social constructions.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.819-836
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• 2016

The development paradigm based on modernization theory and economic growth since the WWII reached an impasse in the 1980s. As an alternative, the new perspective on development as a whole social development beyond economic growth has emerged, and culture as an important method for as well as a approach to development has been emphasized. Post-development theories destruct the European development concept and suggest alternative developments emphasizing culture restoration, endogenous growth, diversity, and neopopulist developments movement emphasize community, gender, ownership, and participation. International Organizations such as UNESCO have also examined and developed the relations between culture and development. Although different from that of the past development paradigm, acknowledging other cultures, however, this elaborated concept of culture has some limitations and need to be reconceptualized through applying the geographical concept of 'relational place.' The concept of relational place can help recognize internal diversity within culture and community and link them to a broader economic and political contexts.