Encountering Incompleteness: Archives, Institutions and Exhibition-Making

In this conversation chapter, Malaysian artist Wong Hoy Cheong and curators Ahmad Mashadi and Shabbir Hussain Mustafa discuss their projects related to art and archives in the context of contemporary art in Malaysia. Ahmad has worked with various archives, including those of Mochtar Apin (1923–1994), Mustafa on the archive of Mohammad Din Mohammad (1955–2006), and Wong on Ismail Hashim (1940–2013). They introduce their projects and initiate a discussion on the complexities of working with artists’ estates with regard to curating and exhibition-making. The conversation examines the challenges and opportunities presented by archives and the institutional, ethical, and aesthetic considerations involved in their curation and exhibition.