006

EXHIBITED
Zulkifli Yusoff - Powerful Dialogue, The Art Gallery, Penang,
11 - 30 June 2000, illustrated on catalogue, page 34.

Zulkifli Yusoff was inspired by the Sejarah Melayu in his works in the 1990s. This is his contemporary caricaturist parodies on what the mythical Puteri Gunung Ledang wanted as betrothal gifts from the vainglorious Sultan Mahmud of Malacca. These included the hearts of mosquitoes and mites, and the blood of the ruler himself and that of his son. The pole-like figures reminiscent of the artist’s bandaged installations in the late 1980s later changed to more distorted forms.

Graduated from UiTM (Universiti Teknologi MARA), Zulkifli furthered his studies at Manchester Polytechnic, England in 1991. One of the best contemporary artists in Malaysia, Zulkifli works with various mediums in the forms of drawing, painting, sculpture and installation. He has received numerous awards including the Major Award in the Young Contemporary Artists Competition in 1988 and 1989; the Second Place in the 6th International Sand Sculpture Competition in Hong Kong; The Grand Minister’s Prize in the Third Salon Malaysia in 1992. He was also selected to participate in the First Asia Pacific Triennial of Contempary Art, Brisbane in 1993. He is now an Associate Professor at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris in Tanjung Malim, Perak.