limelight
Where in the
World
is Sazeli Jalal?
By David Everitt-Carlson
F
rom his technicolor carvings of women as art to
Newton-esque icons of feminine stoic power, to the
fairyland whisperings of coupled bliss, Sazeli Jalal
is certainly not of this world - or at least his camera
doesn’t see it that way.
There is a heaven, or possibly a hell as Sazali
Jalal’s camera sees it and that’s exactly how he’s
planned it all along. Worlds that travel the cusp of hyper-reality but
worlds all the same that tell us we could go there, never go there or
only the adventurous go there. This is Sazeli Jalal’s world and he’s
more than happy to lead the tour. “I am a storyteller, I like to create a
narrative which has a dialogue that speaks for itself”, says Sazeli. He
found his calling in the photographic arts quite nearly by accident
whilst working with the German-based art collective Artyfakt.
Beginning as a student in Interior Design at the Nanyang Academy
of Fine Arts in Singapore his influences from art, architecture and
film-making can be seen in every shot. “My direction is mostly very
stylized right down to every single detail, from making the set design
to getting the right props that fit that ‘dialogue’”.
And quite the dialogue it is. What do the thick white rope-bound
models say to the mannequins who put them in their precarious
way? What does the glowering, towering goddess of the garden, who
wears her hair like a Grecian pediment, say when she steps down
from her pedestal heels to be on your level? The gods only know,
and the god at work here is young, anxious and recently featured
as being one of the outstanding personalities in Singapore by the
online webfilm Awan- Awan.com, series “Kau Siapa Sia?” In 2010
Sazeli was awarded by the IPA (International Photography Awards)
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/ LUCIE Awards in New York and has been featured in Mooncruise.
com (international photo- magazine), Noovo magazine (Spain), Alt-
Neuöttinger Anzeiger Newspaper (Germany), Nikon focus magazine
(Singapore) and Grain photo Asia Culture magazine (Singapore).
Sazeli has also photographed for Cosmopolitan, Solitaire, Men’s
folio, Women’s Weekly and Cleo. In early 2007, Sazeli’s first solo
exhibition entitled “foreign bodies” was held in Alliance Francaise,
Sapporo, Japan.
“Creating something surreal creates an element of surprise in
my work but I always like to add a bit of reality, because that’s what
makes the rest of it a dream”. Sazeli’s ‘Paper Gangster’ series,
created for Singapore designer Sabrina Goh was inspired by Lady
Gaga and her music and seeks to invoke Gaga’s spirit as if she had
done the makeup herself. Asked if his real world was as fantastic
as his photographic creations Jalal responds, “My real world is like
anyone else. I love eating KFC, spending time with my cat, and
watching reality shows”. And in that sense, he could be any one’s
mom. But you wouldn’t know it from the pictures he paints. Step
into his worlds and look around, and tell us if Sazeli Jalal can be
found. What worlds endure, what worlds collide, if you could see
them from the inside. Sazeli Jalal can be found at http://www.
sazelijalal.com. n
David. E.Carlson@gmail.com
David Everitt- Carlson is a multiple New York Art Directors Show and Clio winner
who now resides in Vietnam. David currently works in marketing and writes the blog
The Wild Wild East Dailies. http://wildwildeastdailies.blogspot.com
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