Menuju Estetika Timur: Merentas Ruang dan Waktu by Awang Damit Ahmad (2024)

Mastering the Canvas: A Visionary’s Voyage Through Eastern Aesthetics and Intuition

Segaris Art Center proudly presents a mini-retrospective exhibition for Awang Damit Ahmad, an illustrious Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) alum, at CIMB Artober from October 24 until 27, 2024. In addition to his prolific career as an artist, Awang Damit significantly contributed to arts education in Malaysia. In August 2024, he received the Malaysian Public University Icon Alumni Award, a prestigious award from the Ministry of Education, Malaysia.

Awang Damit was a lecturer at the Faculty of Art and Design, UiTM, for over two decades. Beginning as a lecturer from 1990 to 1993, he advanced to senior lecturer from 1994 to 1999 and was appointed associate professor in 2000, a role he held until his retirement in 2011. Beyond teaching and mentoring emerging artists, Awang Damit also took on leadership roles, serving as curator at the UiTM Art Gallery (1993-1994) and as head of the Fine Art department (1997-1998).

His influence extended beyond the classroom, shaping the broader Malaysian art landscape. Upon retiring from academia, Awang Damit dedicated himself entirely to painting, culminating in his fourth solo exhibition, “Dari Iraga ke Payarama: Awang Damit Ahmad (2003–2014)” at Segaris Art Center, Kuala Lumpur, in 2014.

 

A Journey Through Time, Culture, and Intuition

Titled “Menuju Estetika Timur: Retrospektif Awang Damit Ahmad – Merentas Ruang dan Waktu” (Towards Eastern Aesthetics: Awang Damit Ahmad’s Retrospective – Across Space and Time), the mini-retrospective exhibition celebrates the life and work of one of Malaysia’s most distinguished contemporary artists. This special showcase will not only trace the evolution of Awang Damit’s expressive artistic language but also provide a deep dive into his major series—Essence of Culture (EOC), Iraga, Payarama, Marista, Garismega, and his most recent collection, Estetika Timur.

Over four decades, Awang Damit has carved a unique niche as a notable abstract artist in Southeast Asia. His work, deeply influenced by his experiences, cultural heritage, and connection to the natural world, transcends the purely visual. It encompasses rich narratives of time, place, and the human condition, capturing fleeting moments of intuition and memory through bold, gestural abstraction. This extraordinary career balances the cerebral with the instinctual, making his work a must-see for art enthusiasts.

 

The Essence of Culture: Foundations of a Vision

Awang Damit’s early series “Essence of Culture (EOC)”, produced between 1985 and 1995, marks the foundation of his artistic vision. Drawing from his rural upbringing in Kuala Penyu, Sabah, where the landscapes of paddy fields, ocean shores, and local traditions left an indelible imprint on him, “EOC” became a visual and tactile tribute to the artist’s roots. In this series, Awang Damit distilled the essence of his cultural identity into complex compositions of colour and form, combining abstract expressionism with symbolic references to Malaysian culture.

The use of earthy, textured layers of paint in “EOC” suggests agricultural processes, such as paddy harvesting and traditional crafts, embedding in the canvas a tactile sense of labour and life. His compositions often featured a blend of organic forms, reminiscent of the natural environments he grew up in, and abstract patterns, echoing the rhythms of traditional rituals and village life. This blending of the natural and the abstract is a hallmark of Awang Damit’s work, and it became the guiding force for the following series.

 

Iraga: Shifting Seasons and Human Experience

Between 2003 and 2011, Awang Damit developed “Iraga” (meaning “Changing Season”), a series that delved into the impermanence of human experience, much like the shifting seasons that influence the rhythms of rural life. The work in “Iraga” explored the cyclical nature of time, using swirling, dynamic strokes to evoke a sense of movement and transition.

While continuing to reference the landscapes of his youth, Awang Damit began incorporating more abstract, gestural elements, suggesting the passage of time and the fleeting moments that shape human existence. His bright, vibrant colours juxtaposed against darker hues conveyed the tension between growth and decay, joy and sorrow—universal themes that resonate across different cultures.

Awang Damit’s method in “Iraga” involved layering paint, creating a sense of depth and complexity in the textures. Each mark, whether deliberate or instinctual, represented an encounter with time, with his palette evoking the colours of nature—blue skies, green fields, and the warm tones of the earth. The tactile nature of his work invited viewers to engage visually and emotionally, drawing them into the cyclical narrative of life and change.

 

Marista and Payarama: The Path and the Journey

In the mid-1990s, Awang Damit embarked on the “Marista” series (1996-2002), titled after a fictional path to an unknown destination, representing his ongoing search for answers in his artistic journey. This series marked a period of self-reflection and exploration of the metaphysical, where Awang Damit began questioning the nature of existence and identity. The work in “Marista” was notable for its abstract forms, geometric shapes, and contrasting colour palettes, symbolising the uncertainty and mystery of the path ahead.

This exploration continued into “Payarama” (2012-2015), a series named after the “North Easterly” winds, representing a new direction in his work. As an invisible force, the wind served as a metaphor for unseen energies and the artist’s search for meaning in his practice. The artworks in “Payarama” became more fluid, with softer lines and gentler transitions between colours, reflecting a sense of calmness and acceptance. The vibrant blues and greens in the series evoke the sea and sky, while the shifting forms suggest the constant flow of nature and time.

Both Marista and Payarama signalled a maturation in Awang Damit’s work as he began to fuse the intellectual with the intuitive. The balance between control and freedom became increasingly evident in his brushstrokes, and his growing reliance on intuitive gestures—his “rasa dalaman”—marked a transition toward the later phases of his career.

 

Garismega: The Language of Lines

Garismega (2013-2020), meaning “The Great Line”, pushed Awang Damit’s exploration of form and abstraction to new heights. The series focused on the power of lines and structures, where the composition was held together by forceful, almost architectural lines that defined the spaces within his works. These lines act as boundaries and connections, creating a visual tension that speaks to the artist’s engagement with the formal elements of abstraction.

In “Garismega”, Awang Damit’s compositions became increasingly structured, suggesting an internal dialogue between order and chaos. The lines created a framework for the expressive gestures within, containing the brushstrokes’ energy while guiding the viewer through the visual narrative. This series reflected the artist’s evolving relationship with abstraction, as he sought to construct a visual language that communicated both the immediacy of the moment and the permanence of form.

 

Estetika Timur: A Return to Intuition

Awang Damit’s most recent series, “Estetika Timur” (2021-present), represents the culmination of his lifelong exploration of Eastern aesthetics and abstract expressionism. In this body of work, the artist re-engages with the intuitive gestures that have characterised his practice but with a newfound maturity and confidence. Every brushstroke in “Estetika Timur” is deliberate, yet born from an intuitive connection to his “rasa dalaman”—the inner sense guiding his hand throughout his career.

In “Estetika Timur”, Awang Damit reflects on Nusantara’s landscapes and cultural traditions, particularly the West coast of Sabah and the East coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The bold, vibrant colours of the series echo the lushness of the Southeast Asian environment, while the fluid, gestural marks convey a deep sense of connection to place and memory. The works embody a sophisticated interplay between form, colour, and texture, each painting a moment in time that captures the artist’s reflections on existence, nature, and the human spirit.

 

Towards Eastern Aesthetics: A Lifelong Journey

As we journey through the mini-retrospective “Menuju Estetika Timur: Retrospektif Awang Damit Ahmad – Merentas Ruang dan Waktu”, it becomes evident that Awang Damit’s work is a continuous dialogue between past and present, form and intuition, memory and abstraction. From the early foundations of “Essence of Culture” to the intuitive gestures of “Estetika Timur”, Awang Damit has crafted a visual language that transcends boundaries, merging Eastern philosophy with universal themes of time, existence, and the natural world.

His use of colour, texture, and form speaks to a deep understanding of the physical and the metaphysical. Each mark on the canvas reflects a moment—a “detik”—a gesture towards something more significant than the individual, yet deeply personal. As we stand before these works, we are invited to see, feel, and engage with the art as an ongoing process, a journey across space and time that connects us to the core of human experience.

We can see beyond the surface and feel the underlying currents of thought and emotion that drive Awang Damit’s work. His journey across space and time invites us to engage with art as an ever-evolving process that speaks to the core of human existence, memory, and intuition.

We are not merely witnessing the works of a master artist—we are embarking on a journey with Awang Damit, exploring the rich interplay between culture, nature, and the intuitive forces that shape his extraordinary creations.

 

Sarah Abu Bakar

14 October 2024

 

 

Sarah Abu Bakar with Awang Damit Ahmad after moderating a “Bicara Seni” session with the artist and a panel of speakers titled “Masih Ada Ruang” at Galeri Puteh, Kuala Lumpur on 24 February 2024.
Sarah Abu Bakar with Awang Damit Ahmad at “Estetika Timur 2021-2023”, a solo exhibition by Awang Damit Ahmad at Galeri Puteh, Kuala Lumpur (13 February – 3 March 2024).