The earlier part of 2008 saw 12 host a portion of a survey exhibition on the MATAHATI art collective. Organized by Galeri Petronas, the exhibition highlighted the oeuvres of MATAHATI’s five members - Ahmad Fuad Osman, Ahmad Shukri Mohamed, Bayu Utomo Radjikin, Hamir Soib@Mohamed, and Masnoor Ramli Mahmud – who first met at the Universiti Teknologi Mara in 1987 as students. The collective is among the most familiar names in contemporary Malaysian art.

Taking Issue With Art featured a small but potent range of artworks from the five artists and the exhibition drew together the artists’ works that evidenced a more sociopolitical nature.

Audiences saw the covers of international publications like Newsweek and Time satirized, archival photographs of Malaya deconstructed, and the artists’ significant contributions to local aesthetics were recognized through the addition of mixed media works and installations.

Other than Galeri Petronas and 12, the survey exhibition was also held at House of MATAHATI (HOM) and The Annexe Gallery.