Lot 064
Awang Damit Ahmad
b. Sabah, 1956
E.O.C “Kemudi Dan Gubang”, 1993
signed and dated (lower right)
mixed media on canvas
108 x 93cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Kuala Lumpur
ESTIMATE RM 80,000 – 130,000
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Kemudi Dan Gubang, from Awang Damit Ahmad’s seminal Essence Of Culture (E.O.C, or Intipati Budaya) series, is one more tactile than usual, though imbued with the crustiness associated with tough living and working with the soil and sea. It also takes a stark vertical veneer that challenges perspective and perceptions. Suffice to say, it’s something, the water vessel in this case, subjected to the vagaries of weather despite having some contraption of human control. The E.O.C series launched the art career of Awang Damit Ahmad, a late starter at the age of 27, covering a period from 1985 to 1994, stemmed from childhood memories of the tough life in his hometown, Kuala Penyu, in Sabah, as fishermen and farmers.
Awang Damit Ahmad won the Salon Malaysia major prize in 1991, for his work Nyanyian Petani Gunung. In 1988, he won 2nd Prize in the Malaysian Banks Association art competition. He got his BFA and Best Student award from the Mara Institute of Technology (ITM) in 1983, and his Master’s at the Catholic University in Washington, in 1990. He taught at ITM from 1985 until he retired as Associate Professor in May 2011.
Awang Damit’s works can be spotted at numerous art fairs in the Asia region; locally, the organiser of Art Expo Malaysia honoured him with a Tribute booth in 2017. His artworks in auctions also often fetch outstanding results. |
