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In 2003, Saiful Razman graduated from UiTM with a Bachelor of Fine Art. Since then, his work has been exhibited locally as well as in Indonesia, Singapore and Australia. Playful is one way to describe Saiful’s earlier style of work although later it became more serious in tone, expressing the artist’s personal observations of chaotic urban life and its stresses, using limited colour palette that is sobre in feel. Containing an orderly nature, the visuals Saiful uses has minimalist qualities coupled with contemporary design principles, bringing the world of modern art and design together in unique interpretations. He is a multidisciplinary artist working with video and installation as well as painting, and has worked with art groups such as Angkasawanegara - a group that does short films, performance art and music. Well established in the Malaysian art scene, his other past involvements include being a committee member of Notthatbalai, an annual fringe arts festival held at Lost Generation Space, Kuala Lumpur in 2004.

Saiful has been featured at Valentine Willie Fine Art for the ‘3 Young Contemporaries’ show in 2004 and 2006. Highlights of his career include being selected for an artist-in-residence programme at Rimbun Dahan in 2004 to 2005 and his first solo, ‘Pelan-Pelan & Bilik Gerakan’ at Annexe Gallery, Kuala Lumpur in 2008, where Terbilang was exhibited. Urban fatigue, psychological stress and pollution are the subject matter at hand in this work inspired by Saiful’s experience of working in Kuala Lumpur.

Made up of layer upon layer of heavy, decisive strokes of bitumen and pigment using paint rollers, Terbilang conveys the chaos of the city as well as the stagnation of air, the oppressive smog and overwhelming pollution that inflicts Klang Valley in particular. Using line, shape, texture and principles of repetition, he conveys meaning in a minimalist approach that communicates the blurring of boundaries, degradation of atmosphere and structure - political as well as social.