From Tradition to Modernity: A Formalist and Postcolonial Analysis of the Work Tulisan (1960) by Syed Ahmad Jamal

This essay presents an analysis of Syed Ahmad Jamal’s seminal 1960 painting, Tulisan (Writing), positioning it as a foundational work in the development of a modern Malaysian artistic identity. Methodologically, this study adopts a dual analytical framework that integrates Formalism and Postcolonial theory to examine Tulisan as both an aesthetic object and a cultural text. A formalist analysis is conducted to investigate the visual structure of the painting, specifically focusing on line, texture, composition, colour, and spatial organisation, while Postcolonial theory, particularly Homi K. Bhabha’s concept of hybridity and the Third Space, is applied to interpret the work within the socio-political context of post-independence Malaysia. This combined methodological approach enables the study to reveal how Tulisan simultaneously functions as a formal experiment in modern abstraction and as a postcolonial assertion of cultural identity. Created shortly after Malaysia’s independence, Tulisan is argued to be more than an aesthetic experiment; it is a potent cultural artifact that embodies the nation’s struggle to define a modernity that is both globally engaged and authentically local. The essay concludes that the painting’s legacy lies in its successful negotiation of tradition and modernity, offering a model for creative resistance and identity formation.