AOTM: My Way – Tengok by Ali Nurazmal Yusoff

What sparks an artist? More to the point, what sparks Ali Nurazmal Yusoff? A local Penangite (born 1978), Ali is a Malaysian artist who has claimed public applause since the ALISM 2012 show with his stupendous colourful figurative paintings, chiaroscuro techniques, and demystifying of Caravaggio’s paintings. Elements of the Malaysian way of life thread through his artworks. From as young as sixteen, Ali has been involved in art competitions and joined exhibitions with Malaysian art gurus such as Ibrahim Hussein and Anuar Rashid. 

After graduating in Fine Art from MARA University of Technology (UiTM) Malaysia in 2001, he swept up numerous awards in both national and international art competitions. Tracing his success from his ReALISM solo show at Art Stage Singapore 2016, his work, Resurrection, was internationally recognised as one of the few Truly Asia artworks at Art Stage Singapore 2016.

In Ali’s painting My Way – Tengok (2019), we can see the artist’s muse especially in the way the subject stares right back at the viewer. The subject smokes a cigarette in front of what seems like a Malaysian flag. The emphasis on the subject’s facial structure and almost carefree expression coupled with the interruption of realist features by free-form brushstrokes of a cloud of smoke give a powerful yet debonair character to this art piece. The daunting stare from the subject’s eyes appeal as though this painting has become a form of sign language of the artist’s concern about what lies in the future—yet merged with a distinct combination of surreal and everydayness, it exudes a dreamlike quality. 

The silhouette of the Malaysian flag in the background is a sharp imagery that represents the artist’s personal experiences and concern about the political changes that Malaysians desire and effects on the local socioeconomic situation. It is a projection of the artist’s concern about the “taste” of this political change and its implications on the future generations.