Young Malaysian artist going places after winning Space Foundation contest

KUALA LUMPUR: Give a little girl a box of crayons or colour pencils and a piece of paper and what is she likely to draw? Flowers or dolls, perhaps? Not Nurul Eeman Mansor though as she preferred to draw toys that boys usually enjoyed playing with.

In fact, as a preschooler her very first drawing was that of Ultraman, which was not really a surprise considering that she had two brothers whose toys probably had an ‘influence’ on her.

“Looking at her first drawing, we knew she had talent,” said Nor Azimah Bakar, 56, of her daughter who beat about 70 participants worldwide to grab the first prize at last year’s Space Foundation International Student Art Contest (in the 17-18 years category).

The contest is organised annually for students in different age categories around the world by Space Foundation, a non-profit organisation and global leader in space awareness activities, which is based in Colorado Springs in Colorado in the United States.

Now aged 19, Nurul Eeman — who is currently pursuing a law foundation programme at the Universiti Teknologi MARA campus in Dengkil, Selangor — said besides the art materials that came as part of the first prize, what she found most meaningful was having her artwork exhibited at the Space Foundation Discovery Center at the Space Foundation’s headquarters.

Her winning entry has also been uploaded on its website (https://art.spacefoundation.org/winners-gallery/2017), along with the entries of the other top winners of the various categories.

Nurul Eeman’s work will also be exhibited at the 33rd Space Symposium to be held from April 3 to 6 at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, which will draw astronauts from all over the world.

Speaking to Bernama, Nurul Eeman said she had entered the competition through her former school Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Taman Tun Dr Ismail, here, which always encouraged its students to participate in various contests to challenge themselves.

The bespectacled and slender teenager has participated in various art contests and has won prizes as well, including the third prize at the Hong Kong-based International Year of Family Farming Art and Design Competition 2014; and bronze medal at the World Competition for Children’s Drawings 2014, organised by Little Zograff Foundation in Bulgaria.

Nurul Eeman is especially proud of her illustrations that have been immortalised in the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia’s (Suhakam) booklet on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), published in 2014.

According to the boolet — which is used as an educational material for school teachers and students — the illustrations were done by the winning team of the 2013 Human Rights Booklet Competition from SMK Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Nurul Eeman, who was only 15 when she entered this competition, is cited as the lead illustrator for the booklet.

The competition was organised by Suhakam under its Human Rights Best Practices in Schools programme. The booklet has been translated into 25 languages.

This talented girl’s creativity does not stop at drawing and painting. She also loves assembling and designing Gundam model kits, a hobby she had obviously picked up from her brothers.

(Gundam refers to advanced, high performance mobile suits or humanoid combat vehicles. Gundam started as a Japanese anime television series in 1979 and now includes a thriving toy and hobby franchise as well.)

“I used to enjoy watching my brothers assembling and fixing the various small parts (in the kit) until the entire Gundam robot is constructed.

“Eventually it became my hobby as well… in fact, I found it a great way to release the stress and pressure of studying,” she said.

As a matter of fact, Nurul Eeman has represented Malaysia six times, the first time when she was only 11, in the Gundam Model Kit Contest organised by Japanese toymaker Bandai Japan and Malaysian retailer Litt Tak Sdn Bhd.

She emerged first in the junior category of the Gundam Model Kit Mid-Year Contest in 2013 and was placed second in the same category that year at the year-end edition of the competition.

The participants were judged on their painting skills, body decoration, modification, creativity and originality.

She said initially she assembled the Gundam from the components available in the kit. Later, she made use of her creative skills to produce miniature dioramas or models that looked unique and interesting.

“I find this hobby very challenging because we have to create a Gundam model that’s different from the others. We all start with the same kit but how we assemble it depends on the individual’s creativity,” said Nurul Eeman, who now has 200 Gundam robots in her collection, having purchased all the model kits with her own savings.

Young though she may be, Nurul Eeman — who says she inherited her creative streak from her mother — is not only an ambassador for Staedtler (which manufactures writing and drawing instruments) but is also often invited to sit on the judging panels of art competitions and speak at related workshops.

This future lawyer is also roped in by Suhakam and UNICEF Malaysia to speak at their events involving students.

In 2015, at the age of 17, she became the youngest recipient of the Maulidur Rasul award in recognition of her volunteer work.

And, earlier this month, she received the Ahli Cemerlang Semangat Jerai Kedah award from the Sultan of Kedah, in conjunction with his majesty’s 89th birthday celebration, for her involvement in community activities in Langkawi, Kedah.

Nurul Eeman has not allowed the accolades to get into her head and humbly attributes her success to her parents, brothers, teachers and the people around her.

“I wouldn’t have got the awards without their support,” she said, stressing that she looked at her involvement in community and social work as a responsibility and that she was not under any kind of pressure to ‘continue gaining recognition’.

She added: “As my mother always tells me, giving back to the community is a good and noble thing for all of us to do.” — Bernama