Calligraphy and graffiti are two different types of art. Each poised with their distinct identities and characteristics. However, behind Letterhythm, Dhiya Roslan’s work produced some of the most unique masterpieces.
Giving more life to words
The value of art lies beyond the abstracts and colours of one masterpiece. Though it appears simple and easy, the skills used were perfected over many years of experience with the art.
Sharing further, calligraphy artist Dhiya Roslan said that art should not be measured by how easy or difficult the work is.
“The value comes when you realise that the five minutes of labour is the result of five years of learning, experimenting, practising, sweat and tears, and ups and downs along the way to today,” he said.
Dhiya said that because art is made up of the artist’s journey, everyone’s art is the outcome of yesterday’s path.
“You are who you are today because of who you were yesterday. You change as you grow, and things change around you. Even if you don’t realise it, you’ve progressed significantly. Hence, five minutes of work equals a lifetime of results in mastering the art.”
Nonetheless, there will always be comments about a piece of work. Dhiya said that everyone has the right to think anything they choose.
“Because everyone has different interests, likes, and dislikes, the value of art becomes subjective. I’d rather have a small group that gets the value of it than a larger group that sees it simply because they don’t want to be left out.”
Having said that, Dhiya urges people to avoid taking screenshots of digital artwork to keep.
“Instead, obtain it through proper channels such as NFT, because every work published is copyright protected by default by the creator. NFT allows an artist to sell their digital work while keeping records of creation and transaction history for each sale. Meanwhile, the public, who own the NFT, can resell the digital work at any price. The artist would receive the amount of royalty they set for each sales transaction, and they would always be acknowledged as the creator of the specific NFT they mint.”
Why is it necessary to support an artist?
“Artists have spent years mastering their crafts. They are the ones who get up early in the morning, grinding when everyone else is sleeping. Because art is subjective, an artist’s journey applies to all types of art in different industries. If we’re talking about visual art, then supporting them allows the artist to continue producing,” said Dhiya.
As artists do not work a nine-to-five job, they rely on the proceeds from prior commission works to survive.
“The artwork we create is what helps us survive by paying the bills, buying food and others.”
Furthermore, being in the creative industry is tough since there is a constant pressure to be unique.
“And it necessitates a lot of thoughts along the way.”
Relating to the local art scenes and their woes and joys, Dhiya works as a designer during the day. But it is at night that his true kind of art manifests itself.
Better known as Letterhythm, Dhiya’s talent lies in the letters he drew to create a unique visual.
The 30-year-old calligraphy artist became interested in the art form in the early 2000s.
“While dabbling in graffiti and street art, I fell in love with calligraphy. By merging my graffiti knowledge and experience with calligraphy, I became focused in a new art form known as calligraffiti.”
Practising the art of calligraffiti
During his teenage years, he encountered the art of graffiti, its terms, history, and movies through YouTube.
Piqued by the culture of the United States, Dhiya remembered watching and learning about it via a slow internet connection. Despite this, he persevered since he was curious to learn more.
With that passion, he manifested his skills in his notebooks, on his school table, and even on the blackboard when his teacher was not around.
“I was praised on my handwriting while doing graffiti in class. Everything changed from that point forward. I gained confidence and was even commissioned by my classmates to write their names in graffiti.”
Young Dhiya would practise his talents on walls around Kuching, learning mainly from YouTube and his own graffiti experiences.
“There was no such activity here back then. I’d bomb and tag walls and empty spaces while no one was looking. I was naive at the time. Still young, daring, and eager to discover new things and cultures.”
Dhiya was introduced to calligraffiti, a blend of calligraphy and graffiti, by Neils Shoe Meulman after completing his secondary studies.
“With this skill, I went on to further my studies in art and design at a local university. I met like-minded people there. Everything about myself began to make sense, and I understood what my future would be like.”
He said that after realising his dreams, he began to learn calligraphy in detail.
“I was still doing commissioned graffiti, workshops, and exhibitions at the time. But it got to the point where I couldn’t afford to buy any more spray cans, so I switched to writing on paper.”
From there, he became more comfortable with the skill and began to learn other languages, scripts, and letterforms.
“All of these elements came together to make the type of art I do now.”
It is not a religious scripture
Dhiya’s calligraffiti art at first impression resembled a religious scripture. But that is far from the case.
Despite having features that resemble it, the artist behind Letterhythm clarifies that while it looks religious, “it is not Islamic, rather a combination of Arabic letters, infused with Gothic letterform. My work is mostly in English or Bahasa Melayu, in Latin spelling.”
According to Dhiya, non-Muslims are usually uninterested in his art, whereas Muslims will commission him to create the Surah or other Islamic verses.
“Whenever my art is exhibited or seen, people often relate it with Islam. But it doesn’t. I don’t do any Islamic artwork right now since it is regarded sacred and pure, which leads to sensitivity where you can’t make mistakes or play about with it,” he said.
That is why Dhiya only uses elements of Arabic calligraphy into his calligraffiti art form.
With goals of bridging the art of letters between continents, Dhiya’s masterpieces harmonise many cultures well as the intricacy merges to become one.
Letterhythm’s artworks are a unique presentation of simple to hardcore handwritten calligraphy on various mediums such as paper, digital, canvas, wood, fabric, walls, and now digital artwork as NFT.
Aside from exhibitions and workshops, Dhiya regularly uploads his work to his social media @letterhythm and website: www.letterhythm.com.
