LOT 18
RADUAN MAN
B. Pahang, 1978
Blue Army, 2016
Mixed media on canvas
92 x 92 cm
Private Collection, Singapore
Signed and dated “Raduan Man 2016” on lower right. Signed, titled and dated on the verso
RM 5,000 – 9,000
In Blue Army, Raduan confronts the enduring presence and threat of war within modern society. The work features his signature blend of shadowy, textural layers juxtaposed with stark silhouettes of fighter planes. The visual tension created between the murky background and the sharply defined aircraft foreground suggests a commentary on the hidden yet pervasive influence of militarism in contemporary life. The repeated imagery of warplanes, stark, symbolic, and almost haunting evokes the collective anxiety and desensitisation associated with conflict and surveillance in today’s globalised world. The artist’s technique is equally significant; he often employs printmaking and layering processes to generate a tactile, weathered aesthetic, adding a sense of history and memory to the work. Blue Army is not merely a visual depiction of war but a philosophical stance against violence and the industrial mechanisms that sustain it. It is both a critique and a mirror challenging the viewer to reflect on the systems of power that continue to shape, and often unsettle, urban and global identities.