090

Cats, somehow, have the infernal habit of getting themselves stranded on treetops and rooftops, so that their anxious owners could retrieve them. The long outstretched hands of the girl on the ladder exaggerate her anxiety to grab the startled feline to safety, while another girl stands by her side to steady the ladder.

A self-taught child prodigy who snared many awards since his teens, including gold medals from the then Raja Permaisuri Agong Tengku Budriah Tengku Ismail, and then prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, Dzulkifli was an artist especially keen on the re-enactment of ordinary domestic situations and pet fears. The artist once said, “I like to paint children, colourful games, and subjective paintings about my surroundings. Beauty is not important. Better common things that other people don’t see. Everyday happenings, children particularly, their gaiety and liveliness.”