Mohammad Din Mohammad, an artist of Malay origin, was born in Malaysia before his family migrated to Singapore when he was two years old. There, he studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (today University of the Arts Singapore), developing an artistic practice that brings together the clay-making techniques he taught himself in his youth as well as his interests in traditional Malay medicine and martial arts. A fervent Sufi practitioner, Mohammad Din also infixed Islamic beliefs and traditions into his work. His painting Sacrifice (1994), for example, uses vivid symbolism to reference the sacrifices made by many Muslims to celebrate Eid El-Kabir, the end of the yearly Mecca Hajj that recalls the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his own son to renew his faith. Encompassing paintings, assemblages, and archival materials, his work carries a poignant signature, addressing notions of scarcity and richness through an aesthetic that demonstrates the effect of time on organic material as well as on humans. In addition, he developed a theoretical framework he termed ‘the mystical approach’, which was particularly concerned with how shapes and forms come to be and are in turn used in the world. In the frame of the exhibition, Mohammad Din is remembered through the presence of his epic sculpture The Bull (2003), an assemblage that alludes to the animal’s significance as a symbol of strength and resilience. Soul Vehicle (2000) meanwhile embraces an understanding of the voyage as nourishment for the soul. Mohammad Din’s works seem to suggest that every voyage constitutes a healing path for not only travellers and guests but also the lands they set foot on.

Works in the exhibition: The Bull (2003), woodcarvings, horseshoes, wood, keris hilts, bull horn, plastic bottle caps, and wooden carvings signifying tiki sculptures, 90 × 57 × 32 cm; Soul Vehicle (2000), keris hilt, marjan (red coral), bezoars (buntat siput), palm leaf sheath, twine, and driftwood, 65 × 48 × 15 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Mohammad Din Mohammad