green tee represents the new generation of South Asian artists— resisting the colonial gaze and pushing for a more open art world. Playing with art historical symbols and imperial histories, Noor Mahnun Mohamed (or Anum) takes inspiration from both the Eastern and Western worlds. The figure on the dining table is her friend Leonard, mimicking the miniature boyish figure below the table that represents both a Chinese porcelain doll and Keith Haring’s iconic radiant baby. It is important to historically contextualise both these cultural motifs to understand the deep meanings present in the work. Haring’s radiant baby was born as a combination of street and high art in the New York subway system, in an appeal to resonate with a broader public audience. The radiant baby figure was a symbol of universality and connectivity. It represents the inherent potential of all humans and a promise of hope and rebirth. Haring would go on to constantly recontextualise the symbol in an attempt to transcend cultural barriers, democratising art by bringing it outside galleries. 

In a similar passion, Anum utilises the symbol and applies a Malaysian cultural reading to it by making it resemble a Chinese porcelain doll. These dolls, mostly representing women, have a deep colonial history—originally made in China from rare porcelain and imported for European royal families. With the rise of industrialisation, these dolls could be mass-produced in Europe and were no longer deemed as fine art but a common commodity. This also brought about the racialisation of the dolls, with Western beauty ideals being imposed on them to create a fetishised stereotype of East Asian women as fragile and ornamental. Anum explores such gendered colonial histories but subverts the gaze in green tee. While Leonard is on all fours representing subordination, his upper body stretches upward displaying agency. Just like Haring, Anum too retells the story of the helpless and dependent infant to a body of vigour and momentum.