2023 SHOWCASE
Kau Pondan?
Kau Pondan?
2023
459.4 x 84.1 cm
Poster Printed Installaltion
“Kau Pondan?'' is a series of posters that discuss Rafandi’s religious and strict upbringing in a Malay Muslim household. “Kau” means “You” and “Pondan” itself is a derogatory Malay word which is a term that is often used for describing a homosexual, a transexual woman, or a man that is feminine gestured, it also can be considered as a slur. Growing up and seeing female idols as role models, He uses photography and image manipulations to create his own version of idol posters that represent empowerment which is something that his 10-year-old self could admire. The work contains symbols and texts that transcribe his experiences with discrimination and quotes that question his identity as a queer man.
His objective is to use symbols and text to talk about the restrictions in a religious environment, constantly being surrounded by the culture of objectifying a queer person because they are not acting what “god” wanted them to be or perhaps not according to the social norms. Combining two different elements which is religion and identity creates a series of poster that talks about discrimination that goes along with being queer and different. This project is part of his final submission and was featured in The LASALLE Graduation Show 2023.
