Expanded Printmaking Development in Malaysia through The Go Block Exhibition

Mursyidah Zainal Abidin; Sabzali Musa Kahn; Nurhasliza Abdulah; Jehaabdulloh Jehsorhoh

doi:10.21834/e-bpj.v11i36.7805

Authors

Mursyidah Zainal Abidin Academy of Malay Study, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia
Sabzali Musa Kahn Academy of Malay Study, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia
Nurhasliza Abdulah Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Jehaabdulloh Jehsorhoh Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Prince of Songkla University Pattani Campus, Thailand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v11i36.7805

Keywords:

expanded printmaking, Go Block, Malaysian printmaking, printmaker

Abstract

This study argues that the Go Block exhibition series has redefined contemporary printmaking in Malaysia by accelerating development changes in practice, language, and its presentation. Using an analysis of the artwork-driven editions of Go Block from 2009 until 2025, this study maps how participating artists progressively moved from conventional print-as-image toward hybrid media, unconventional matrices, artist books, spatial performances, and programme-driven publications. This conceptual and material shift introduces a revised terminology of 'matrix' and 'foreground experimentation' as defining conditions for printmaking. This paper contributes to a typology for reading the development of printmaking as expanded through the Go Block exhibition series.

Keywords: expanded printmaking, Go Block, Malaysian printmaking, printmaker

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