Gallery

Etching, acquatint & pencil sketch

Ilse loves to listen to music while working. Here music has inspired her to turn sea shells into various elatborate and fantastical underwater palaces. 

Etching & aquatint

Once again inspired by music, mere frogs have turned musicians. They can be seen playing various Malay/Indonesian gamelan instruments. Frogs in various poses play the rebab, seruling, gentorak, nafiri, bonan and gamelan.

Etching & acquatint 

Prawns take on a number of guises from various Malay legends. There is the Warrior (Pendekar), three pirates (Tiga Lanun), the young princess (Puteri Bongsu), the storyteller (penglipurlara) and the midwife (Bidan). 

Etching & acquatint

What was going through the artist's mind when creating the Letter Series? In 'Perpisahan' (Separation), is it a tale of loss? In 'Susunan' (Compilation), what kind of order needs to be kept?

Etching & acquatint 

Ilse has a great love, not only for music, but also for poetry. Here, she has dedicated four etchings to four well known beautiful Malay poems. 

One of these says:

Air di kali; gilang gemilang

Indah  disinar bulan purnama

Gajah mati memingalkan tulang

Manusia meningalkan nama

The full moon shines splendidly

Setting the river aflame

An elephant dies leaving ivory

Man dies leaving his name

Etching & acquatint

An invitation to a concert and a mystery event plus a letter that has been posted pose more questions than answers.

Etchings, aquatint & pencil sketch

Various etchings of buildings both public and private. Include mansions, palaces, mosques and long houses. Twenty four of the etchings were commissioned by Shell Malaysia for a calendar in 1987, others are private commissions. 

Etching & acquatint

In 'Bunuhku, aku akan tetap menyanyi' (Kill me, but I'll keep on singing), a dead bird sings and dances. In 'Taman Bahagia' (Garden of Happiness), two ginger stems are about to embrace or are they Japanese warriors in the midst of battle? 

Etching & aquatint

Are these landscapes to esccape to or from? What mysteries do they hide? 

Silk screen 

These silk screen works were produced when Ilse first emigrated to Malaysia. They show her love for the tropical landscape of the country.