LOT 22
ISMAIL MAT HUSSIN
B. Kelantan, 1938-2015
Bathing, 2000
Signed and dated “ISMAIL MAT HUSSIN 2000” on lower right
Batik
83.5 x 78 cm
Provenance Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
RM 28,000 – RM 36,000
The quiet calm flow of the water in motion due to diminutive waves, the faint and broken reflections of figures on the surface of the water and the soft atmosphere are successfully captured on batik here.
Known for encapsulating the everyday life of the country people in the East Cost, Ismail Mat Hussin illustrates a moment in which a group of women and their children are bathing at a river, clad in patterned sarong.
The simplicity of the scene coalesced with the heavy detailing that Ismail Mat Hussin features on this piece is definitely something to behold, not only because of how paradoxical the combination may seem, but also because he manages to make something so common and modest be pervaded with depth and a much profounder meaning.