작품 상세

The odd conjunction of the rumbia, a sago palm, and the irritably thorny ilalau makes an allegory of life with its blessings and travails. Rumbia represents life's sustenance, a staple food rich in carbohydrates taking some 8 to 15 years to mature, indicating a tedious process of industry, while ilalau is prickly sharp and hamper movement if stuck on clothes. Rumbia can be grown on non-arable land. Life, where Awang Damit Ahmad came from, in a small fishing village and farming community called Kuala Penyu, is tough but stoically bearable. So here, ilalau represents the harsh challenges of weather and land. The composition is infused with a lot of ash grey, but there seems to be a pesta or festival going on with red and blue flotsams on the bottom, with the middle core sprouting with triangular shapes and organic circles. This painting is from Awang Damit Ahmad's seminal series, Essence Of Culture (E.O.C.) or Intipati Budaya, which had a mesmerising spell between 1985 to 1995. Awang Damit Ahmad has made a quantum leap from a late-starter at 27 to one of Malaysia's successful artists today. The E.O.C., a heart-aching tale of farmers and fishermen and the struggle between Man and Nature, was first shown in Shenn Gallery in Singapore in 1994. He first got noticed when he was selected among the country's elite artists in the Contemporary Paintings of Malaysia exhibition in Pasadena, the United States, in 1988. His career got a big fillip when he won the Major Award and also a Consolation Award in Salon Malaysia III in 1991. This came on the back of the 1984 Bakat Muda Sezaman, 2nd Prize in the Malaysian Bank Association art competition (1988), the Gold Award in the Ecorea Jeonbuk Biennale and the Olympic Fine Art in London, both in 2012. Awang Damit graduated with a Masters at the Catholic University in Washington, United States, in 1990. He was also a senior academician, retiring from the Universiti ITM in May 2011 as Associate Professor.