Lot 075
AJIS MOHAMAD
b. Selangor, 1964
MARINE PARADISE SERIES (TWO SEA TURTLES), 2013
Signed and dated 'Ajis Mohamad 2013' (lower left)
Oil on canvas
122cm x 182cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Selangor.
ESTIMATE RM 35,000 - 55,000 |
Painting marine creatures is one of the most challenging, what more, in a record of sorts doing it ‘life’ as Zainurin Mohd, better known as Ajis, has mastered. To him, it’s a great sensation to dive to see upclose creatures like the giant Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys Coriacea) or a barracuda. The studio/living room drawing artist referencing pictures has no idea of the intricacies of diving, sometimes up to 100 feet below sea level not only to physically see and sometimes even touch the creatures, but to feel the depths of cold and see the subtle underwater colour fields which he replicates with studious glazing and the alternating tonal hues of blue and red . For 30 years now since taking up diving and applying his meticulous techniques, Ajis has done a corpus of work that is like a giant canvas aquarium of exotic and common marine life, complete with its habitat rocks and plants. To him, turtles are the sentinels having been in existence since time immemorial and evolved for over 110 million years since the Cretaceous period. They are to be revered for its grandeur of size, shape and beauty. Thanks to his real-life ‘research’ and experience, the beauty of the marine ecosystem is brought to life before us.
Ajis, a self-taught artist, started out painting portraits and other subjects at the Conlay art colony in the Kuala Lumpur cultural complex. Although he had had his scuba-diving certificate by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), he started painting underwater in 2000, devising his own modus operandi. He had been in the forefront of conservation campaigns and awareness campaigns on sea corals. Among others, he was involved in the Inspirational Science Camp in Pulau Tiga in Sabah, Shell World Coral-Transplant Project, the Pulau Perhentian Earth Day beach clean-up (all 2005), and the Pulau Sibuan Darwin Project (with the Bajaus, on dangers of explosive fishing) (2010). In 2004, he was awarded the Youth Ambassador Award by the Sports Ministry. |