Introducing the ADVENSHARE series. Intimate dialogue sessions to cultivate a culture of creative conversations. Discussions revolve around topics of design, travel, photography and youth activism. Initiated as part of the Canon EOS Youth Ambassador Programme with support from Perbadanan Perpustakaan Awam Selangor.
ADVENSHARE SESSION 08
QAISY JASLENDA
Artist, Metaloci
A video of this session is available here (link) and is embedded at the end of this post
A graduate of Barlett School of Architecture, Qaisy Jaslenda shares his journey through Metaloci, encompassing of his life explorations through numerous fields, including arts, architecture, design and travelling. He is currently working as an architect in London.
So you present your work under the movement, Metaloci. What exactly does Metaloci mean and what is it about?
The thing is, my architectural journey is not very linear or straightforward. Ever since after high school, I've worked in a few practices that were not necessarily architecture. I worked as a set designer for KLPac before I went to study, and afterwards, I worked in a design firm, I worked as a mural painter, amongst a lot of other things. Metaloci sort of encompasses that whole journey. Meta means beyond, loci means place. What I'm trying to express is that it's beyond place.
I like how you understand that a life journey encompasses learnings throughout a diverse range of experiences. People normally categorise themselves or others into one sort of fixed profession, title category.
I think we can do so much more than be defined as a profession. Because I think to define ourselves within a parameter really limits the ability to fulfil our potentials. What I'm aiming to do is to go beyond a profession. Architecture, for the time being, is my tool to develop myself in terms of craft, critical thinking.. and more. To equip myself to explore whatever may be next in the future.
I suppose it's more like growing into whatever you can be, rather than finding a fixed definition and moulding yourself to that definition.
Exactly. We don't want to aim for a fixed title, then, once we achieve it, feel settled. I think the moment we feel settled, that's when we should really be careful. I always remind myself to try to not achieve a title but rather ask myself, what else can I do, learn, explore? I feel that it's always good to keep that hunger.
Speaking of exploration, I saw that you went travelling for 5 months after your degree, after you worked for an architecture firm. What was that about?
I decided to stop working because I wanted to travel. I didn't really plan for how long it was going to be. I had a rough idea but it turned out completely different. I started in Calcutta, India, then travelled up north, then to Nepal, Tibet, Bangladesh, some parts of Europe, England, Scotland, Russia, and then I came back to Malaysia through China, on the Trans Siberian train.
That's incredible. Would you say that was life-changing?
People might think so, but I never looked at my travels as life-changing, but rather, it's just one step at a time. One step of learning about myself, as most of this was done solo. So during the period I had time to reflect, think about myself, and what's going to be next.
I appreciate that. People normally have this conception that when you go off to travel, you should take whatever lessons or experiences, and come back to contribute, change, or improve your home. But the reality of it is, as I understand, sometimes the biggest impact of travelling is more inward, something you can't visibly channel outward..
This might sound really pessimistic, but I don't think we are capable of changing that much. What I'm trying to say is - there's only so much that we can do. For me, humility is the biggest chunk of understanding yourself. Humility has to come from knowing your scale and reach. To go somewhere thinking that we can change the world, to me, sounds a bit idealistic.
I suppose to some, travelling is a huge deal, so they may expect huge returns from someone who wanders. Understandably, not everyone has the opportunity to get out of their comfort zone. You also just completed your studies at the prestigious Bartlett School of Architecture. How was your journey getting there and getting through it?
I had to defer my offer for a year because I couldn't afford it. In that year I gave myself to work out, however possible, a way to earn money. I painted 20 murals, which was just enough to cover for the first semester. So I collected whatever I had, tawwakal, and went to the UK. I told myself, if I still couldn't find anymore funds, I would defer for another year in between the semesters. Alhamdulillah, during my first term, I was offered a scholarship under Yayasan Daya Diri. It was really a blessing.
It takes a lot of guts to be able to go forward with it though, like flying off to another country to study even when you didn't have enough funds?
I think it takes a lot of humility. As I said, there's only so much that you can do, so much that you cannot do, so the only thing to do is to have the guts to surrender yourself to whatever the universe has to offer. From one of my favourite books, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, it says that when you put your heart into something, the whole universe conspires to help you achieve it. I think it's such a beautiful quote.
That's beautiful. Sometimes some people are racked with doubt so they take a step back, and feel like they don't deserve whatever good comes their way. But you're right, it comes back down to being humble, surrendering yourself, and doing your best through the challenges. Talking about challenges, how was your journey like, studying in the Bartlett?
To be honest, when I got there, there was a part that told me, just get my masters done and over with. But to my own surprise, Bartlett taught me a lot of things, as if I was a child who didn't know anything. It allowed me to think of architecture in a completely different way than what I was used to. It was such an exciting place to learn, so encouraging, so competitive. At one point it got really intense and i was shocked that that's how they work, that's how they demand, expect, and hope of you. But if anyone's thinking of enrolling, I seriously would encourage it.
You were taught by your studio masters CJ Lim and Simon Dickens and mentioned about how critical the design journey was. I guess that's what separates design and art. The former is creating something with purpose, and the other is more lenient towards expression. Design was part of your university life, but you did a lot of sketches on the side too..
For me sketching is basically a way for me to express, curate, and capture the moments around me. For example I can go to a place where I pause to take a minute. This is so beautiful - the smell, the air, the way it feels on your skin, the lights, the people, the sound, the noise. I think the scene is just so much that I can't simply take a photo and be satisfied. So I'd sit there, for maybe an hour to sketch all the details. Some lines may not mean anything to anyone else. But to me, each stroke represents something, either a smell, or a flight passing by, or a dog that came up to me while I was sketching. I really enjoy expressing moments through these sketches.
Those sounds magical. Studying architecture, I feel like you always need an outlet to release some steam. It can be a really tough journey.
Of course there were times when I broke down. I was really lucky to have a circle of friends who were there for me. To have a peer support system is really important. But at the same time I think the core issue is to understand your reason. If that foundation is solid enough, come what may, it will not change you. I think that's one of the most important things to establish before you go anywhere really. If you aim for a bigger goal, all the issues along the journey becomes small in comparison. You know that these are just things to help you grow towards the right direction.
Can't have put it better myself! So you're working in London now, as an architect. Any words of wisdom to pass to the youths out there who might be reading this?
Trust your heart. Have that deep faith towards whatever you believe in, so that this faith can be the guiding light that will lead you to somewhere that is of greater height, insyaAllah.
You can keep in touch with Qaisy here:
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