‘Marista’ is Bruneian Malay meaning ‘Lost Memories’ or ‘Talking About the Past’ and like his starting Essence of Culture (Intipati Budaya, 1985-96), the series is a continuation of his expressions about people and land in his obscure farmer-fisherman hometown community in Kuala Penyu in Sabah. The Marista series gained prominence in the Alun-Alun Ke Marista exhibition, featuring 70 oil paintings between 1996 to 2002, at the National Art Gallery. Alun-Alun means ‘a small winding path.’ ADA’s gaining popularity and focus can be gleaned from the succinct observation of Associate Professor Dr Muliyadi Mahamood, of UiTM: “He (ADA) sees, hears, touches, feels, and smells his subject and the world around him. He incorporates all these sensory perceptions into his paintings. A relative late-starter in Art, ADA wasted no time in equipping himself as artist and teacher when he quit his job as a Telekom Malaysia technician in 1975, to study Art at the Mara Institute of Technology University (UiTM(, topping the class in 1983. After following the artists’ delegation to the Malaysian Art at the Asia-Pacific Museum in Pasadena, Los Angeles, in 1989-90, he studied for the Master’s at the Catholic University in Washington D.C., after which he keeps honing his expressionist ideals on canvas while teaching at UiTM. In 1988, he won 2nd Prize in the Malaysian Bank Association art competition. In 1991, Awang won his biggest accolade when Nyanyian Petani Gunung (now in Petronas Collection), won the coveted prize in Salon Malaysia III, organised by the National Art Gallery.