Mat Ali Mat Som’s Charcoal Drawing On Paper

Mat Ali graduated from UiTM Shah Alam with a Bachelor of Fine Art in 1998. Mat Ali uses sculpture as a vehicle to share his knowledge and enthusiasm of silat. He has learnt the martial art, studied its history and moves, and it has been a topic of fascination for the artist since watching a television documentary on the keris (a symbol and weapon for silat practitioners). Mat Ali has since painstakingly built up his abilities in the act of shaping metal and has taken it to new heights, pushing boundaries in the level of detail and complexities produced in his intricate studies of the human figure.

Since 2009, Mat Ali has had a number of shows at prominent galleries in Malaysia. He participated in ‘Young and New’ at House of Matahati in 2009 and later that year had his solo show ‘Dendam Tak Sudah’ at Metro Fine Art Gallery. Other shows include ‘Artriangle’ at National Art Gallery Malaysia in 2010, while 2012 has been Mat Ali’s busiest, showing his works at ‘A Meter Diameter’ at House of Matahati, ‘Lineage’ at Art Accent Gallery, ‘Pameran Pelukis Selangor’ at Galeri Shah Alam as well as at the grand opening of Rossella Gallery in Singapore.

As in all of Mat Ali’s works, Toh Gajah is made up of a silat warrior with bulging muscles and veins especially on the hands and feet, captivating in its minute detail and revealing to viewers the artist’s preoccupation with muscular contortions. The warrior is in a pose that indicates readiness of movement – neither defensive nor aggressive – but is as if the warrior is contemplating his next move while holding a shield and keris, which Mat Ali has taken great pains to depict in accurate detail. Undoubtedly, it is an example of the artist at his finest. Part of his solo exhibition entitled ‘Unsung Heroes’, it shows a few marked differences from Mat Ali’s earlier sculptures. Where previously the clothing of his warriors were indistinct and their faces without expression or depicted as blocks without particular features, this sculpture clearly shows a fabric around his waist with wrinkles and flow of movement, as well as pronounced facial features demonstrating the artists development and increasing adeptness in working with his material of choice.

Mior Rizzuan Rosli’s New Charcoal Drawing

Title – The New Beginning #5
Medium – Charcoal Powder On Paper
Size – 80cm X 120cm

亞洲龍魚（学名：Scleropages formosus）

亞洲龍魚（学名：Scleropages formosus），香港人稱之為龍吐珠，马来西亚人稱之為金龙鱼，是古代遺留下來的原始物種，在考古和學術上都有研究價值，可稱得上是“活化石”。

產地

亞洲龍魚分佈在馬來西亞半島、印尼（加里曼丹和蘇門答臘）、柬埔寨、越南和老撾等地。近年有些魚類分類學家把分佈於印尼的亞洲龍魚再分成另外三個獨立物種。

 

地位

因其外形華麗，酷似傳說中的龍，在東南亞和香港地區，受到華人“龍文化”的影響，把它當作能逢凶化吉、遇難呈祥、招財進寶的靈魚。

The Asian arowana comprises several varieties of freshwater fish in the genus Scleropages. Some sources differentiate these varieties into multiple species, while others consider the different strains to belong to a single species, Scleropages formosus. They have several other common names, including Asian bonytongue, dragon fish, and a number of names specific to different varieties.

Native to Southeast Asia, Asian arowanas inhabit blackwater rivers, slow-moving waters flowing through forested swamps and wetlands. Adults feed on other fish, while juveniles feed on insects.

These popular aquarium fish have special cultural significance in areas influenced by Chinese culture. The name dragon fish stems from their resemblance to the Chinese dragon. This popularity has had both positive and negative effects on their status as endangered species.

Asian arowanas are considered “lucky” by many people, especially by those from Asian cultures. This reputation derives from the species’ resemblance to the Chinese dragon, considered an auspicious symbol. The large metallic scales and double barbels are features shared by the Chinese dragon, and the large pectoral fins are said to make the fish resemble “a dragon in full flight.”

In addition, positive Feng Shui associations with water and the colours red and gold make these fishes popular for aquariums. One belief is that while water is a place where chi gathers, it is naturally a source of yin energy and must contain an “auspicious” fish such as an arowana in order to have balancing yang energy. Another is that a fish can preserve its owner from death by dying itself.