Ahmad Fuad's painting 'Aaarrgghh ... Get Your Filthy Hands Out Of Me!!!' (oil on canvas, 2000), which welcomes visitors to his 30-year career survey 'At The End Of The Day Even Art Is Not Important' at the National Art Gallery in KL. Photo: Handout
Ahmad Fuad Osman’s mid-career survey at the National Art Gallery spans three decades, a collection of work that is for the most part, visually bold and sometimes quite startling in its presentation.
Peer around the screen in a corner of the room, and what do you see? Flowers in a vase on the table, a man in bed with an IV drip attached to his arm. Beside him, a chair. Here, your nose is assailed by the smell of antiseptic. Hello, hospital room.
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Ahmad Fuad Osman at National Art Gallery
Ahmad Fuad's painting 'Aaarrgghh ... Get Your Filthy Hands Out Of Me!!!' (oil on canvas, 2000), which welcomes visitors to his 30-year career survey 'At The End Of The Day Even Art Is Not Important' at the National Art Gallery in KL. Photo: Handout
A Reformasi-era work from Ahmad Fuad called 'Hoi Hoi...Apa Ni?! Dia Kata Hang Salah, Hang Kata Dia Yang Tak Betoi...Sapa Yang Salah, Sapa Yang Setoi Ni?!!! Hangpa Ni Sebenaqnya Nak Apaaa???' (oil on canvas, 1999). Photo: The Star/Kamarul Ariffin
Visitors snapping a photo of the 'This Is Certainly Not What We Thought It Was' installation (2014). Photo: The Star/Kamarul Ariffin
Ahmad Fuad’s 'The Trinidad' (2016), a work which is part of his 'Enrique de Malacca Memorial Project'. Photo: The Star/Ong Soon Hin
Three of Ahmad Fuad's works: 'Kerauhan' (oil on canvas, 2014/19), 'The Birth Of Tragedy' (taxidermy crow on hoe, 2014) and Sidang Sunyi Para Siddartha (wooden sculptures, sawdust, 2012). Photo: The Star/Ong Soon Hin
Three panels from Ahmad Fuad's 11-panel 'Mr D's Last Meal' (oil on canvas, 2003). Photo: The Star/Ong Soon Hin
Ahmad Fuad's posters for 'Insomnia', a body of work that includes oil painting on canvas framed photographs, posters and LED display from 2011/14. Photo: The Star/Ong Soon Hin
Ahmad Fuad poses with his installation project 'Mat Jenin Is (Always And Always Will Be) Dreaming To Death' (fibreglass cast, hospital bed, intravenous drip, single-channel video with sound, side table, chair, wilted flowers, bowl of fruit, 1998, recreated in 2019). Photo: The Star/Ong Soon Hin
Visitors posing with the sculpture of Ahmad Fuad's 'Enrique de Malacca' before the entrance of the gallery where his exhibition 'At The End Of The Day Even Art Is Not Important' is being held. Photo: The Star/Kamarul Ariffin
A slide from Ahmad Fuad’s video projection work Recollections Of Long Lost Memories (2007). Photo: Handout
Ahmad Fuad with a sculpture of Enrique de Malacca at the entrance of his exhibit 'At The End Of The Day Even Art Is Not Important'. This heavily-researched work is part of the Enrique de Malacca Memorial Project. Photo: The Star/Ong Soon Hin
Cock Fighting, a painting inspired by Ahmad Fuad’s childhood years in Kedah. Photo: Handout
One of the maps featured in Ahmad Fuad Osman's 'Enrique De Malacca Memorial Project', which is the artist attempt to recover a lost historical figure. Photo: Handout
Part of Ahmad Fuad Osman's 'Playground, 1991-2019', a series of objects, books and drawings presented in a museology format. Photo: Handout
Ahmad Fuad's ''All That Is Solid Melts Into Air' (oil on canvas, 2018).
Visitors sitting at Ahmad Fuad's installation 'Keluarga Pak Mat, Baling, Kedah' (hardened clothes, steel wire, clothes peg, 2004). Photo: The Star/Ong Soon Hin
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