Frame size: 105.8 x 106.0 x 3.8 cm
Nirmala Dutt (b. 1941, Malaysia) was one of the most prominent artists to have emerged in Malaysian art scene in the 1970s. After her relocation from Penang to Kuala Lumpur in the early 1960s, Dutt attended painting classes with artists of Angkatan Pelukis Semenanjung (APS) founded by Hoessein Enas. In a lifelong pursuit of education spanning across decades, Dutt studied art, art history, psychology and printmaking in various art schools in the U.S. and UK. Eschewing the dominant abstract expressionist and minimalist tendencies amongst her peers in post-independent Malaysia, Dutt cultivated a practice that included painting, photography, silkscreen, and collage. These paintings from Tsunami series are from the artist’s last monumental series made in response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, comprising more than 30 paintings made over a few months. It emerged from the many hours that the artist spent watching media reports of homes destroyed and families stranded, which are interspersed with accounts of hope and the resilience for humankind. A newspaper clipping from The Star in 2004 showing photographs of the impact the Tsunami had in Penang and Kedah can be seen in Tsunami 2004-2005 XXIX. This series shows a new approach to painting in which she used large swathes of paint using a paint-roller, palette knife and wide brush. It was made at a time when the artist was also struggling with asthma and osteoporosis.
