“I want my paintings to speak” – Mohd Sani Mohd Dom
 

Mohd Ali Mohd Dom affectionately known as Pak Sani is a veteran painter whose works capture the nation’s landscape in the manner of Realism. He held an exhibition at the National Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur in 2012 aimed to showcase an all-encompassing observation of a career that spans over 50 years. A member of Angkatan Pelukis Semenanjung (APS), Pak Sani is a self-taught artist who has perfected his techniques in both oil and watercolour medium. Fond of depicting natural surroundings, human activities and social-cultural elements in his paintings, the artist illustrates here a lone goat wandering on a land littered with tree branches and trunks. An earthy colour palette consisting of warm tones of brown, ochre and ivory are applied throughout the picture plane creating a rustic texture.
 

A native of Kampung Melaka Pindah, Alor Gajah, Malacca, Pak Sani was enrolled in Telok Mas Primary School then transferred to Alor Gajah Primary English School. He then continued his Secondary education at Alor Gajah Secondary English School and obtained excellent command in English language. In school, he was a keen sportsman but dropped out at the age of 16 in 1962 due to family issues. He left for Kuala Lumpur to seek for work opportunities and soon landed a job as a brew master at a Malayan Breweries at Jalan Sungai Besi followed by a job at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital where he worked until the 1980s.

Pak Sani did not receive formal art training however he participated in an art group such as Angkatan Pelukis Semenanjung (APS) led by Dato’ Mohd Hoessein Enas (between 1963 and 1964). In the early 1990s, he became a member of the Malaysian Watercolour Organisation and was elected as chairman (1992 – 1995) followed by President (1996 – 1997). He delivered a speech at the Conference by Watercolour Artist of Asia Pacific Region in Taiwan. His first exhibition was with APS in Kuala Lumpur in 1963 followed by an exhibition at the Malaysian Art Council, Kuala Lumpur in 1964 and at the National Art Gallery in 1968. Throughout the 1970s he participated in many exhibitions initiated by APS and in the 1980s he displayed his works with Persatuan Pelukis Malaysia in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and exhibited abroad namely in Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Sweden, India and Jordan. His watercolour piece titled Hutan Bakau (1991) which expresses the idea of recognising nature as an element of national heritage won the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank award in 1994. Among his other awards include Dunlop Industries, Kuala Lumpur (1982); Minor Award (Heritage), Public Bank, Kuala Lumpur (1995); and Second Prize Mosques Drawing Competition in Selangor, Muzium Seni Lukis Shah Alam, Selangor (1996).

 

REFERENCE

Md Sani Md Dom , National Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, 2012.