Din Mohammad’s paintings combine elements of action painting, bold strokes and the act of painting with his bare hands, indigenous mysticism, knowledge of traditional medicine and nature, and Islamic calligraphy. Din’s energetic colorful landscapes and Islamic calligraphy works brim with primordial energy, thick straight-from-the-tube acrylic melt in a cacophony of lines, colors and shapes. Rough surfaces and thick layered paint swirl in all directions, the paint intimately pushed around the surface of the canvas with the artist’s fingers. Din caresses the Jawi script with ardent respect and grave concentration, forming simple and powerful verses believed by the artist to hold talismanic properties. An artist obsessed with the mystical and spiritual, Din is an avid collector of local aboriginal art, Nusantara paraphernalia such as Krises and ancient coins, as well as natural objects that are said to contain talismanic magical qualities.

Ahmad Khalid Yusof was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1934 and passed away in 1997. Ahmad Khalid’s poetic jawi works, modern in its finish and approach, aptly illustrate the merging of Malay culture and traditional Islamic calligraphy. Love poems in jawi are painted in an all-over composition on mono-colored backgrounds, hinting contemporary art practice.  

Ahmad Zakii Anwar was born in Johor Bahru in 1955. He is a graduate of the School of Art and Design, MARA Institute of Technology, Malaysia. A well exhibited artist who’s main repertoire include figures, still life, landscapes and juxtaposed objects in a minimal and calm setting. Attentively and delicately rendered images are often placed singularly in a stark empty setting, exuding a humming visual noise. Ahmad Zakii and Mohammad Din Mohammad were artistic companions.

Yusof Ghani was born in 1950, in Johor. Originally a graphic artist, Yusof’s transition to fine arts started when he received a loan to study graphic design in the States. MORE>