Iqra' (Bacalah) builds a bridge to the past, to a time in the Malay kampung when the Quran would be learnt and recited by lamplight, after Maghrib or Isya’, after the day’s work was done. A young student sits across from an Ustaz, on the floor, a Quran open between them. The Ustaz directs his student’s eyes across the page with some form of pointer. We look down on the scene directly from above, so that we do not see their faces, only their concentration on the effort before them. The unusual diamond format of the canvas allows the two figures to fill most of the painting, with the Quran at its centre, all lit in the golden glow of a kerosene lamp. Fluid arabesques of khat script fill the upper corner, like wisps of smoke floating over the form of a rehal and other objects below, while in the lower corner, traced in elegant Diwani-style khat, is the Quranic verse Al-Alaq’, which includes the imperative “Iqra” – bacalah, or recite, the title of the work.

Subtly integrated into the painting are swatches of batik, adding another layer of texture to the painting and its theme. Muhamed Izz Bukhary Bin Izat Bukhary hopes that, like the elder person guiding the younger in the tradition of Quran recital, his painting, in celebrating the beauty and values of a time rich in traditional pursuits, can encourage further interest in the study of jawi and khat, and batik art.“‘Khat’ calligraphy is a beautiful, artistic expression originating from the Quran, and batik is a creative heritage that should be preserved and embraced in our daily lives.”

Judge Syahrul points out, “many changes have been digitally applied to our lifestyle ¬– we now have the Quran app; therefore, such an old practice as seen in this artwork may have already been abandoned; yet it is still possibly a memory for the artist to carry forward”, in the strength of its content, its structure and its storytelling.