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Lot description
Painted while Bayu Utomo Radjikin was still a student at UiTM, Diri 31 embodies the urgency and defiance that defined the early years of MATAHATI (founded 1989), the collective that helped reinvigorate Malaysian contemporary art through a bold return to figuration and social consciousness. Born in Tawau, Sabah, Bayu brought to this milieu a sensibility shaped by distance and intensity, traits evident in the work's confrontational gaze and muscular modelling. The following year, Bayu's rebellious sculpture Bujang Berani (1991) won the Young Contemporary Award, confirming him as a leading figure in this new figurative turn. Diri 31 captures that moment of emergence with the self as site of struggle, pride, and becoming.Beyond his practice, Bayu has profoundly shaped the Malaysian art ecosystem through HOM Art Trans, the HOM Residency, and MAARS (Malaysian Art Archive & Research Support), nurturing a new generation of artists. Seen today, Diri 31 stands as both a personal declaration and a cornerstone in the rise of Malaysian contemporary figuration.