Born in 1980 in Singapore, Ryf Zaini graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons, 1st class), Interactive Media Arts, from Lasalle College of the Arts in 2007. Ryf explores everyday societal issues such as history and technology, using materials and imageries that are at times evocatively curious and also engaging. He has exhibited in various venues such as the Esplanade and the Malay Heritage Centre, in Singapore, and the National Art Gallery of Malaysia. In 2011, he participated in the Busan Biennale Sea Art Festival and the exhibition, ‘Hari Raya Standees’, at the Singapore Art Museum.‘Disarming the Lion’ depicts the head of a courageous lion with its proud mane. Transformed by Ryf into a cold creature cladded with a metal armour to shield itself from the harsh external world, this representation reflects mankind’s reliance on technology to achieve the qualities of a lion: strength, dominance and valour. However, the lion has been decapitated, thus suggesting that such attempts are ultimately futile.
