LOT 93
AHMAD SHUKRI MOHAMED
(B. Kelantan, 1969)
Untitled, 2005
Signed and dated “Ahmad Shukri Mohd 2005” on verso
Mixed media and collage on canvas
120 x 300 cm (Triptych)
Provenance
Private Collection, Selangor
Acquired from Galeri Tangsi Contemporary Art, Kuala Lumpur in 2007
SOLD – RM 24,640
At first glance, this painting seems playful – childlike, even. It is spontaneous, colourful and casual. However, once one looks past the nonchalance that is the mood of this piece, one will start to notice the thoughtful details Ahmad Shukri decorates the canvas with. It is anything but casual afterwards.
Aside from the colours that adorn the canvas, there are recognizable bits and pieces of the things we see in our lives – fish, bats, chicken, radioactive signs, text and even sightings of children’s popular cartoons. One can also detect stars, explosions, planes and many more, which catches the mind and attention of viewers. Ahmad Shukri uses mixed media to create this collection of the elements that make up the nature and modernity that we see now. In a way, it is a direct reference to the colourful life that we are all living now, what with the expansion of the world, globalization and discourse between man, modernity and nature. All things considered, this painting of nature and balance is lighthearted yet meaningful.
Ahmad Shukri Mohamed lectured at UiTM but decided to focus on being a full-time artist, while still taking on part-time academic work. He is also the co-founder of Matahati, a collective art group. Preferring to have absolute freedom over his style, materials (he forms his work with aluminium foil, paint, paper, oil, to name a few) and subjects, he declared, “the only constant thing in my art is change”.