Malaysian artist inspired by ‘Gundam’
Renowned Malaysian contemporary painter Awang Damit Ahmad drew inspiration from the Japanese military science fiction media franchise,
Gundam, for his latest works on display in Galeri Prima here.
His 10th solo exhibition, titled From Payarama to Garismega:
2013-2020, primarily features works juxtaposing the schematic and geomatric shapes of these robot anime characters in natural settings.
Out of the 57 paintings in the exhibition, 46 come under the “Garismega” category inspired by Japanese science-fiction art.
Jointly organised by Galeri Prima and Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers, the exhibition, which began on Friday, runs until April 7.
Awang Damit, 65, said the Gundam artwork left a deep impact on him during a visit to Japan.
“I started sketching them when I was in Japan. But when I returned to Malaysia, I thought about how I could emulate Gundam robots in a Malaysian context. From there, I began to use the scarecrow as the object and I translated it into my art by developing the character, composition and finally creating a series of paintings,” he said, referring to the traditional scarecrow in padi fields which is featured together with the Gundam robots in some of his works.
Awang Damit’s favourite piece
in the exhibition, titled Tribute...Tentang Ubi...Ingatan Buat Arwah Bapaku, was created in 2016. The painting is not for sale.
“I created it based on the stories from my grandfather and my father about World War 2, when the country was invaded. The painting signified how hard life was back then, when people had nothing to eat but tapioca.”
He said the Payarama part of the collection consists of works from 2012 to 2016.
“Payarama is based on the change of seasons often linked to the monsoon. It is about my experience working as a fisherman and farmer.”
Awang Damit is one of the most consistent Malaysian painters in terms of the point of view, objectives, philosophy, style and subject in his works.
Having been active in the local art scene since the late 1970s, he has showcased his works in solo exhibitions in Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan. They have also been featured in major art collections in the United States, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
He was also the recipient of the 1983 Universiti Teknologi Mara Best Student Award for fine art.
The artworks in this solo exhibition are valued from RM28,000 to RM224,000.
The gallery is open from 10am to 5pm by appointment only.
Awang Damit will give a talk with a Q&A session from 11am to 12.30pm on April 3 at Galeri Prima. The talk is open to the public.
Galeri Prima can be reached at 03-27248300 or at galeriprima@mediaprima.com.my.