Extract from "Masterpieces from the National Art Gallery of Malaysia"
《Dialogue 2 (Don’t Play During Magrib)》 1966 Mixed Media 221cm x 1120cm
Born: 1962
Education:
1985 - School of Art & Design, University Technology MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam
1989 - Faculty of Art & Design, Manchester Polytechnic, United Kingdom
Zulkifli Yusof is one of our significant younger artists and he has produced a prolific body of work. This very large and complex installation work entitled Don’t Play During Maghrib was shown at the Venice Bienniale in 1997. It is a complex work made up of multiple compositional components and it forces the viewer to enter into its spaces and interact with his multiple forms, images and environments. This artist’s large installation works are geared toward social commentary and critique and they incorporate many kinds of artistic mediums and modes of treatment. A first look at his forms will reveal a somewhat “primitive” feel about his installations as if they had come from a tribal culture of long ago. There is also the “rawness” in the execution of his works. On another level, his drawings remind us of the crude graffiti scribbling on walls or the drawings of mad people. That his works have an assertive, overwhelming presence is undeniable. Entering his installation situations is like entering a specially charged space.
This particular work deals with the theme of Maghrib or that time at dusk when the Muslims perform their evening prayers. Muslim children are told not to play outside the house at dusk as that is the time the spirits and evil forces come out. The work’s evocation of the possible fears and images contained in the minds of small children is exteriorised in this work which includes a number of ceramic sculptures of evil spirits as well. His works incorporates drawing as vital element in their conception and construction. His multi-dimensional installations engage the viewer forcefully.
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