LOT 13
MAT ALI MAT SOM
B. Selangor, 1975
Pertarungan #2, 2017
Metal on natural stone
80 x 49 x 32 cm
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
RM 10,000 – RM 15,000
Mat Ali Mat Som has a passion for everything about silat, a traditional Malay martial art. Being able to share it is a satisfaction he cannot describe in words. Not only has he learnt the martial art, and studied its history and moves, he is now sharing his sculptures based on the art. “I remember making my first metal sculpture – a keris – after watching a television documentary on the keris when I was 10 years old. I made the keris using an iron pipe in the garage of my parents’ home in Ampang,” said Mat Ali. He was a designer at Royal Selangor for 19 years before quitting in 2016. Indeed, the KL-born artist is no stranger to silat. It is, for want of a better term, a family affair, a passion Mat Ali shares with his wife and three children. Now based in Tanjung Malim, Perak, Mat Ali reveals he takes his silat gayung training seriously.