Form and Meaning: Metal Feline Public Sculpture from Recyclables Materials at Kuching, Sarawak

Abstract

Kuching, Sarawak known as ‘Cat City’ is famous for its historical and natural tourist attraction and cultural diversity. The city is also rich with cultural and modern public artworks. One of the main attractions when in Kuching is the cat monument, which is located in the heart of the city. This monument can be considered as a public art which is an art form that exists in public area for public view. It can be in the forms of three-dimensional sculpture, statues, monument or two-dimensional forms, such as mural, graffiti or billboard. The objectives of this paper are to study the form and meaning derived from the form of the subject matter (cat) and material used in producing the sculpture (recyclable metal). Being the first of its kind in Sarawak, the Metal Feline public sculpture has gained popularity among the locals and tourist. The public sculpture (Metal Feline) is a benchmark in educating the public on art and success of the city in supporting arts using recycled materials. It is a collaboration project between Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Utara and the Faculty of Art and Design, UiTM Sarawak, to enhance the artistic ambience of Kuching City.