Image size: 122.0 x 244.2 x 3.0 cm
Zulkifli Bin Mohd Dahlan is a self-taught artist and a member of Anak Alam, a collective of young, socially-engaged Malaysian artists who promulgated a multi-disciplinary practice and produced works across the visual arts, spoken word, poetry and theatre in the 1970s. During the mid-1970s, Zulkifli produced some of his best-known works: Kedai-Kedai (Shops, 1973) and Realiti Berasingan: Satu Hari di Bumi Larangan (Separate Reality: One Day in the Forbidden Land, 1975) although majority of his works are in ink on paper. Ruang Tengah Sa-Buah Rumah (Centre of a Room) is one of the five paintings submitted by Zulkifli Dahlan for the inaugural Bakat Muda Sezaman (Young Contemporaries) competition organized by the National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur in 1974 which he won the Best Artist award. The painting is executed in bright enamel paint and ink on a broad plywood surface, depicting nude figures, furniture and walls rendered flat with no illusion of receding space. Application of drips across the surface and ‘printed’ textures in sections of the painting creates a rich layer of texture to the overall composition.
