Kota Kinabalu: Art connects people across nations far better than diplomacy alone, according to Romania’s Ambassador to Malaysia and Brunei, Nineta Bărbulescu.
“No matter how different our countries are, we do have many things in common,” she said when officiating the opening of Ocean Spirit: Spirit of Archipelago, a solo exhibition by renowned Sabah artist, Dr Zaimie Sahibil, at the Sabah Art Gallery, recently.
Among the similarities she pointed out was an eight-pointed star pattern appearing in both Romanian embroidery and Malay weaving traditions such as bunga bintang and songket.
She also noted similarities between Romanian horse folk dances and the local kuda kepang tradition, estimating around a dozen shared features between the two.
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