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Mountain landscapes have always been a fascinating subject to one of Malaysia’s most respected artists, Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal.

This work, framed by a symbolic ‘gunungan’ triangle in the centre, was done after a trip that came with the Australian Cultural Award in 1984 when he visited the cherry fields of Cherryvale just outside Adelaide. It reminded him of the legendary Gunung Ledang (Mount Ophir) located in Muar, Johor which is also his birthplace. He was so fascinated by the vibrant landscapes in Cherryvale that he decided to paint it upon his return, from memory and photographs.

The many stories written based on the physical and mythical Gunung Ledang contributed to the significance it holds to the artist - culturally and historically - and they became part of his ‘make-up’. As the artist once described, “It is something in my mind, in my memory; it is distant and yet it stays there.”