작품 상세

The Essence Of Culture (E.O.C., Intipati Budaya) series datelined: Kuala Penyu in Sabah, is about the Little Man’s daily struggle at eking a living on land and in the sea, sometimes braving the vagaries of weather, especially during the Monsoon periods. The works are invariably awash with sombre tones and heavy, dark blobs that hint at a terrain that needs to be reshaped and nurtured. But optimism and hope are in the air. The splatters of hooker’s green and isolated spots of more cheerful hues in this work, show that hard work and faith will prevail against all adversities, and at the end of the day, there’s the welcome respite with family albeit under a dim light. Such are the heroic tales of the unsung farmers and fishermen. When Awang Damit Ahmad launched his Essence Of Culture (Intipati Budaya) series in the mid-1980s, with a solo at Shenn’s Gallery in Singapore in 1990s, few were drawn to his unique iconography in a master narrative of Man and Nature. He continued the saga of his self struggle with series such as Iraga, Alun-Alun, Marista, Payarama, Garismega... He was a relative late-starter, at 27, when he switched from being a Telekom technician to art, first at the Mara Institute of Technology, and then for his Masters at the Catholic University in Washington DC, the United States. In 1988, he was selected for the Contemporary Paintings of Malaysia exhibition at the Asia-Pacific Museum in Pasadena, Los Angeles. That year, he won second prize in a bank-organised competition, but in 1991, he won the coveted 1st Prize (also Consolation Prize) in the prestigious national Salon Malaysia III competition organised by the National Art Gallery Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. He was also a highly respected art lecturer in UiTM, from 1985-1988 and 1990-May 2011, retiring as Associate Professor. Prices of his artworks often soar high in auction houses locally and abroad. In Henry Butcher March 2021 art auction, his Apa Khabar Ledang (from the same E.O.C. series) was sold for RM 224,000. His recent solo exhibitions include Garismega New Journey, Art Stage Singapore 2017; Special Tribute: Awang Damit Ahmad, Art Expo Malaysia 2017; From Payarama to Garismega (organised by Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers and Galeri Prima), Galeri Prima, 2021. The exhibition received great responses.